Asterios

This article is about Asterios, the son of Tektamos. Other places and people were referred to as Asterios or Asterion, see Asterion (disambiguation) .

Asterios or Asterion ( ancient Greek Ἀστέριος Astérios or Ἀστερίων Asteríōn ) is a Cretan ruler and consort of Europe in Greek mythology . In prehellenic times, Zeus Asterios ( ancient Greek Ζεὺς Ἀστέριος Zeùs Astérios ) was probably a sun and sky god of the Cretans, who also appeared in the form of a bull and whose attributes were later transferred to Zeus . His name "star king " ( astḗr = star) referred to the "dark side" (night sky) of the old god.

According to Diodor (Diod. Sic. 4,60,2) King Asterios was a son of Tektamos and a daughter of Cretheus. Tektamos, a son of Doros , had immigrated to Crete with Aiolers and Pelasgians . As King of Crete, Asterios Europa adopted three sons, Minos , Rhadamanthys and Sarpedon , whom she had received from Zeus. Asterios himself had no biological children, so that Minos was his successor; According to another tradition, he was the father of the Krete .

swell

• Libraries of Apollodorus , 3, 5–8.

literature

• Adolf Schirmer: Asterion 1 . In: Wilhelm Heinrich Roscher (Hrsg.): Detailed lexicon of Greek and Roman mythology . Volume 1,1, Leipzig 1886, Col. 656 f. ( Digitized version ).
• Konrad Wernicke : Asterion 5 . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume II, 2, Stuttgart 1896, Col. 1784 f.