Monday, September 19, 2011

Eos Ushers In The Dawn

Eos, goddess of the dawn, renews herself and greets her brother Sol. Upon rising from her rest, Eos extends rosy fingers to the gates of heaven, opening them so that Sol, the god of the sun, can ride his chariot across the sky. From the Iliad, "Now Dawn rose from Her couch from beside lordly Tithonus to bring light to Immortals and to mortals." (Iliad XI.1)

Eos Greets Sol

Origins and Genealogy: Eos was daughter of the Titans Theia and Hyperion. She had two close siblings Sol/Helios (the sun) and Selene (the moon). With Aeolus the keeper of the winds, she bore four sons these became the winds of the cardinal directions. The dew was said to be her tears.

This Goddess is most noted for her insatiable appetite for young men. This desire is said to have been the result of a curse, placed upon her by Aphrodite , when she discovered her affair with Ares. She also kidnapped four lovers: Cephalus, Clitus, Ganymede and Tithonus. The later was a Trojan prince whom she begged Zeus to grant immortality. What she forgot to ask for was eternal youth. Eventually he shriveled up with old age and she turned him into a grasshopper. Her love for Orion was unrequited.

Strengths; Passion.
Weaknesses: Insatiable desire.
Sacred Plant: Saffron.
Roman Equivalent: Aurora.

This photograph was taken on the shore of an idyllic lake with a lovely dancer as the model. Keeping with my custom, the model fits Emerson's apt description: "The years teach much which the days never knew." This befits a Goddess who deserves a bit of gravitas. After all, Eos has borne four godlings, and made mistakes and suffered consequences at an epic scale.

The breeze at dawn has secrets to tell you.
Don't go back to sleep.
- Rumi


1 comment:

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