Hyperion (Titan)

Hyperion ( ancient Greek Ὑπερίων Hyperíōn , German 'the higher one' ), son of Uranos ( heaven ) and Gaia ( earth ), is one of the titans in Greek mythology . He was the titan of light.

Myths

His sister and wife was the Titan Theia , even Euryphaessa (the widely Bright ) or Aithra ( the Radiant called). With her he begat the sun god Helios , the moon goddess Selene and the goddess of the dawn, Eos .
In turn, Helios was also nicknamed Hyperion by Homer ; Here the traditions merge, which is why one can see the moon goddess in his mother and the sun god himself in his father.

In addition to the genealogy ( derived from Hesiod ), the ancient historian Diodor also mentions a variant in which Hyperion's wife is called Basileia (queen) or Méter megále (great mother). Out of envy of the siblings' blessings, the other titans conspired, threw Hyperion into the Tartaros, threw Helios into the river Eridanos . Hyperion later escaped from Tartarus and took revenge on the other Titans by mercilessly slaying their mortal children.

In another interpretation of titanium history Hesiod by Diodorus Hyperion was the son of Curetes and Titaia ; as the first astronomer he was later called the father of the sun and moon.

When his mother Gaia gave them the task of emasculating Uranus , he and his brothers Krios , Koios and Iapetos held their father. Kronos then emasculated him with a sickle. Since Hyperion kept the father in the east, Hyperion became the titan of the east or the titan of the eastern sky. According to another legend, Hyperion was angry that the Titans were born later. So he threw Tartaros into a part of the underworld that was so deep that it was named after Tartaros.

Pedigree of the Titans

chaos

→

Gaia

→

Uranus

Family of gods

of the titans

Name bearer

A Saturn moon and the highest known tree on earth were named after Hyperion .

literature

Paul Weizsäcker : Hyperion 1 . In: Wilhelm Heinrich Roscher (Hrsg.): Detailed lexicon of Greek and Roman mythology . Volume 1,2, Leipzig 1890, Col. 2842 ( digitized version ).
Otto Jessen : Hyperion 2. In: Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume IX, 1, Stuttgart 1914, Col. 287 f.

Individual evidence

↑ Otto Jessen: Hyperion 2. In: Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume IX, 1, Stuttgart 1914, Col. 287–288, here Col. 287 (“a comparative formation ὑπερίων to ὕπερος as superior to superus ”).

↑ Karl Kerényi : The Mythology of the Greeks , Vol. I: The stories of gods and mankind . dtv, Munich 1984, p. 152f. ISBN 3-423-01345-1

↑ HYPERION: Greek Titan god of light. Theoi Project, Aaron J. Atsma, New Zealand, accessed December 7, 2013 .

[1] Otto Jessen: Hyperion 2. In: Paulys Realencyclopädie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume IX, 1, Stuttgart 1914, Col. 287–288, here Col. 287 (“a comparative formation ὑπερίων to ὕπερος as superior to superus ”).

[2] Karl Kerényi : The Mythology of the Greeks , Vol. I: The stories of gods and mankind . dtv, Munich 1984, p. 152f. ISBN 3-423-01345-1

[3] HYPERION: Greek Titan god of light. Theoi Project, Aaron J. Atsma, New Zealand, accessed December 7, 2013 .