"Rosy fingered Dawn...in her saffron robe"
Homer, The Iliad, The Odyssey
"When the child of morning, rosy-fingered Dawn, appeared, Ulysses put on his shirt and cloak, while the goddess wore a dress of a light gossamer fabric, very fine and graceful, with a beautiful golden girdle about her waist and a veil to cover her head".
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| 5th c. BC krater from Athens. |
In Ancient Greek religion, EOS was the rosy-fingered goddess of the dawn. She has two siblings, her brother
Helios, the Sun, and her sister
Selene, the Moon.
Eos rose up into the sky from the river
Okeanos, the Ocean, at the start of each day, and with her rays of light, dispersed the mists of night. She was sometimes depicted riding in a golden chariot drawn by winged horses, at other times she was shown borne aloft by her own pair of wings.
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| Eos opens the way for the Sun, chasing the Darkness, and scattering roses. Painting by giovanni Francesco Guercino. |
The Greek poet Homer frequently mentions her in the
Iliad and the
Odyssey, referring to her as "rosy-fingered", "early-rising", and "saffron-robed". The team of horses that pull her chariot across the sky are named in the
Odyssey as
Lampos and
Phaethon (translated as Firebright and Daybright).
Read more about Dawn
here.
I am so glad you stopped by my Skywatching. I'll pop back and say "Hello"!
With Thanks to
Skywatch Friday for bringing us together under the same, so different and so beautiful Sky.
3 comments:
Wow! You are one well-read Gal!
I enjoyed reading--again!!
I did notice that one of the horses was named Phaethon. That is very similar to the word I saw in many a Jane Austen novel, isn't it?
Mr. So and So "came in on his Phaeton and two" which I always thought of as a small buggy with two horses.
I guess the British--or whomever first designed the "Phaeton" must have been well-read, too, yeah?
As I write, I see that it is nearly 4 p.m. for you in Greece. I--in Texas--should be fast asleep, but can't sleep! :(
Ahhh well, I got to read your blog, right?
I hope you have a lovely Friday evening, Irene...or--in Greek--Kali (sp?) spera or nita. I can't remember which.
Hello Lolly Fab! That's the magic of blogging I suppose: you there, me here, and communicating. Yes, you are right both about the Phaethon and "kalispera" (good evening"!
Enjoy your weekend!!!
Hey nice sky colors! I really loved that purple...
Pixellicious Photos
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