Phosphorus

Phosphorus, also called Eosphorus, was the personified Morning Star in Greek mythology, a son of the dawn goddess Eos. The name means “light-bringer”, and the Romans called the star Lucifer. In Ovid he is the father of King Ceyx of Trachis and of Daedalion, and the later writers identify his star with Hesperus, the evening star.

Parents and Siblings

Hesiod lists Eosphorus among the children of Eos. After she bore the winds to Astraeus (the swift west wind Zephyrus, the north wind Boreas and the south wind Notus), Eos bore the star Eosphorus and the shining stars with which heaven is crowned (Theogony 378–382). His parents are therefore Astraeus and Eos, and his brothers the Winds and the stars. Hesiod makes Astraeus a son of the Titan Crius and Eurybia (Theogony 375–377).

The Morning Star

Homer names both stars. In the Iliad, Achilles’ spear flashes like Hesperus, the fairest star set in heaven (22.317–318), and the funeral pyre of Patroclus burns down when Eosphorus comes bringing light over the earth, and saffron-robed Dawn spreads over the sea (23.226–227). In the Odyssey the star that rises brightest, to announce the light of early-born Dawn, appears as the ship approaches Ithaca (13.93–95).

Ovid names the star in Latin as Lucifer and says that he is the last to leave the sky as the day begins (Metamorphoses 2.114–115). The same Lucifer calls the dawn (Metamorphoses 11.296).

Phosphorus and Hesperus

Hyginus says that the fourth wandering star, that of Venus, is called Lucifer, and that many accounts say it is also called Hesperus. He adds that some made the star the son of Aurora and Cephalus, surpassing many in beauty, so that he was even said to have contended with Venus (Astronomica 2.42). Plato’s Epinomis likewise treats Phosphorus and Hesperus as one star, saying that the Morning Star, or Hesperus, which is the same, belongs almost to Aphrodite (987b). Hesiod does not name the Evening Star among the children of Eos.

Children

Ovid makes Lucifer the father of Ceyx, who ruled the land of Trachis without violence or bloodshed and bore his father’s bright looks (Metamorphoses 11.270–273). He also makes him the father of Daedalion, Ceyx’s brother, a fierce warrior (Metamorphoses 11.291–296). After his daughter Chione was killed, Daedalion threw himself from a cliff and Apollo, taking pity, changed him into a hawk (Metamorphoses 11.291–345). Ovid calls Ceyx “born of Lucifer” again (Metamorphoses 11.346), and later in the same book tells how Ceyx drowned at sea; on that day Lucifer was dark and could not be recognized, and since he could not leave the sky he hid his face in thick clouds (Metamorphoses 11.569–572).

Phosphorus Sources

Hesiod, Theogony 375–382; Homer, Iliad 22.317–318 and 23.226–227; Homer, Odyssey 13.93–95; Ovid, Metamorphoses 2.114–115, 11.270–346 and 11.569–572; Hyginus, Astronomica 2.42; Plato, Epinomis 987b.

See Also: Eos, Astraeus, Hesperus, Aphrodite, Cephalus, Ceyx, Daedalion, Apollo