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Hyperion

Titan son of Earth and Heaven and father of the three lights — Helios, Selene and Eos — by his sister Theia in Hesiod, or by Euryphaessa in the Homeric Hymn to Helios. In Homer the name is the Sun's own: "Helios Hyperion".

Why this wins its question: Explains why "Hyperion" can mean a Titan or the Sun by citing the texts where it does each, and records the two names of his wife.

Key takeaways

  • Father of Sun, Moon and Dawn in every witness (Theog. 371–374; HH31 4–7; Apollod. 1.2.2).
  • The mother is Theia in Hesiod and Apollodorus, Euryphaessa in the Hymn.
  • Homer's "Helios Hyperion" is one god, not father and son.

Claims

Every assertion below is bound to registered sources and carries its own confidence. Weight them; do not treat the page as uniformly authoritative.

  1. Hyperion is one of the Titans Earth bore to Heaven — "Oceanus, Coeus and Crius and Hyperion and Iapetus" (Theog. 134); Apollodorus lists him third (Apollod. 1.1.3).

    confidence 0.95Hesiod, Theogony — tr. Hugh G. Evelyn-White (Loeb, 1914), Perseus TEI edition · primaryApollodorus, The Library (Bibliotheca) — tr. Sir James George Frazer (Loeb, 1921), Perseus TEI edition · primary

  2. In Hesiod his wife is his sister Theia: "Theia was subject in love to Hyperion and bore great Helius (Sun) and clear Selene (Moon) and Eos (Dawn) who shines upon all that are on earth" (Theog. 371–374); Apollodorus has "to Hyperion and Thia were born Dawn, Sun, and Moon" (Apollod. 1.2.2).

    confidence 0.95Hesiod, Theogony — tr. Hugh G. Evelyn-White (Loeb, 1914), Perseus TEI edition · primaryApollodorus, The Library (Bibliotheca) — tr. Sir James George Frazer (Loeb, 1921), Perseus TEI edition · primary

  3. The Homeric Hymn to Helios names the mother differently: "Hyperion wedded glorious Euryphaessa, his own sister, who bare him lovely children, rosy-armed Eos and rich-tressed Selene and tireless Helios" (HH31 4–7). Same father, same three children, a different wife.

    confidence 0.93The Homeric Hymns — tr. Hugh G. Evelyn-White (Loeb, 1914), Perseus TEI edition · primary

  4. In Homer "Hyperion" is the Sun's own name: the cattle belong to "Helios Hyperion" (Od. 12.133, 263, 374), the rays are those of "Helios Hyperion" (Il. 8.480), and Lampetie brings her tidings "to Helios Hyperion" (Od. 12.374). Hesiod's Circe is "daughter of Helius, Hyperion's son" (Theog. 1011) — father in Hesiod, epithet in Homer.

    confidence 0.92Homer, Odyssey — tr. A. T. Murray (Loeb, 1919), Perseus TEI edition · primaryHomer, Iliad — tr. A. T. Murray (Loeb, 1924), Perseus TEI edition · primaryHesiod, Theogony — tr. Hugh G. Evelyn-White (Loeb, 1914), Perseus TEI edition · primary

Questions answered

Who are the children of Hyperion?
In Hesiod his wife is his sister Theia: "Theia was subject in love to Hyperion and bore great Helius (Sun) and clear Selene (Moon) and Eos (Dawn) who shines upon all that are on earth" (Theog. 371–374); Apollodorus has "to Hyperion and Thia were born Dawn, Sun, and Moon" (Apollod. 1.2.2). source
Who is the wife of Hyperion?
The Homeric Hymn to Helios names the mother differently: "Hyperion wedded glorious Euryphaessa, his own sister, who bare him lovely children, rosy-armed Eos and rich-tressed Selene and tireless Helios" (HH31 4–7). Same father, same three children, a different wife. source
Is Hyperion the same as Helios?
In Homer "Hyperion" is the Sun's own name: the cattle belong to "Helios Hyperion" (Od. 12.133, 263, 374), the rays are those of "Helios Hyperion" (Il. 8.480), and Lampetie brings her tidings "to Helios Hyperion" (Od. 12.374). Hesiod's Circe is "daughter of Helius, Hyperion's son" (Theog. 1011) — father in Hesiod, epithet in Homer. source
Is Hyperion a Titan?
Hyperion is one of the Titans Earth bore to Heaven — "Oceanus, Coeus and Crius and Hyperion and Iapetus" (Theog. 134); Apollodorus lists him third (Apollod. 1.1.3). source