Eos Greek Goddess of the Dawn. In Greek mythology, Eos is a Titaness and the goddess of the dawn, who rose each morning from her home at the edge of the Oceanus.
Eos had a brother and a sister, Helios, god of the sun, and Selene, goddess of the moon.
Eos, preceded by the Morning Star, is seen as the genetrix of all the stars and planets; her tears are considered to have created the morning dew, personified as Ersa or Herse (Ovid, Metamorphoses 13.621-2). Eos is the daughter of Hyperion, a bringer of light, the One Above, Who Travels High Above the Earth and of Theia, The Divine. Her brother was the Sun god Helios, and her sister was Selene, the Moon goddess. Her team of horses pull her chariot across the sky and are named in the Odyssey as “Firebright” and “Daybright”.
She was the Mother of several notable offspring, including the Winds, Zephyrus, Boreas, and Notus, and the Morning Star, Eosphoros, all of whom she bore to the Titan Astraeus (“of the Stars”), and Memnon, her son by Tithonus.
This rosy-fingered, saffron-robed and golden-throned goddess, who goes up to Olympus to announce the light to the immortals, fell in love several times, and some say it was Aphrodite who cursed her to be perpetually in love, because once had Eos lain with Aphrodite’s sweetheart Ares, the god of war. Reference: Wikipedia
A 19th century shell cameo brooch The oval cameo carved to depict Eos, the Goddess of Dawn, wearing a saffron robe and carrying a lamp, with star above, to a border of rope twist and beaded decoration, the cameo bearing engraved signature ‘T. Saulini’, in fitted case, length 6.6cm.
Sold for £2,750 inc. premium at Bonhams in 2014
Agate scaraboid engraved with a head of Eos, and an inscription 5thC BC
Reference: © The Trustees of the British Museum
AN ATTIC RED-FIGURED HYDRIA CIRCA 420 B.C. With Eos pursuing Kephalos to the right, the goddess stepping forward with outstretched arms, her wings upraised, her garment billowing behind, Kephalos looking back, wearing a chlamys and a short chiton, holding spears in his lowered right hand, his petasos tied at his neck and falling behind; bands of dotted ovolo below, above, and on the rim 6 15/16 in. (17.7 cm.) high
Sold for USD 11,875 at Christies in 2012
In the medallion of this cup, with its molded-edge decoration, are the signatures of Douris, one of the most delicate vase painters of the late Archaic period, and Calliades, a potter who is otherwise unknown. The scene, which is skillfully adapted to the circular format, shows us Eos (Dawn) in the morning collecting the body of her son Memnon, who was killed by Achilles outside Troy. The restrained posture of the goddess and the rigid, bloody corpse of Memnon are highly expressive.
Memnon, king of the Ethiopians and son of Eos (Dawn), was one of the many victims of the most famous of the Greeks. Here, Douris shows us Eos coming to find the body of her son on the battlefield. He is represented as a cadaver with his eyes closed, his arms dangling, and his body rigid and bloody. The composition is extremely pared down, and emphasizes the dramatic intensity of the scene particularly well. Only the numerous inscriptions fill the gaps. They consist of the names of the figures, the signatures of the artists, a kalos inscription, and possibly also the mournful lamentation of the winged goddess.
Reference:The Louvre
Terracotta stemless kylix (drinking cup) Attributed to the Penthesilea Painter
Exterior, obverse, Eos (goddess of dawn) pursuing Tithonos Reverse, Eos pursing Kephalos Eos, the goddess of dawn, is shown with Tithonos and Kephalos, who are on their way to school before sunrise. Though summarily executed, the scenes are perfectly suited to the low walls of a stemless cup, and they effectively contrast the eager goddess and the recalcitrant schoolboys.
Reference: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Oval gem with Eos bearing torch and galloping horse Roman Imperial Period 2nd century A.D.
Red jasper. Intaglio. Flat front and back surfaces with inner front and back bezel. Eos stands at right behind a galloping horse, facing left in profile. She reaches out towards the horse, which looks back at her, with her right hand and holds a torch in her left. Her swirling drapery flies behind her outstretched right arm and conveys a sense of motion. Despite the small size of the figure, a fair amount of detail in the carving is present: her nose and mouth are distinctly rendered, and the folds of her garment and the locks of her hair are indicated by small lines. Eos’s hair is styled in a chignon. The horse is also carved in a detailed fashion. Its hooves are visible, as well as its mane, eye, and mouth. It seems that some of its trappings are indicated around its neck. Between the horse’s hind legs and front legs is a retrograde Greek inscription, reading HW. There are several chips along the back edge of the gem, but they do not interfere with the carved scene.
The figure on the gem was previously identified as a syncretistic Isis-Io and the inscription was interpreted as “Io.” However, this would mean that the iota was inscribed sideways. This identification is problematic because of an absence of the horns which signify Io. It is because of these horns that she was sometimes assimilated to the goddess Isis. Given the lack of attributes, the questionable interpretation of the inscription, and the issue of why Isis-Io would be depicted with a horse and torch, the identification of the figure as such is untenable. It is more likely that the figure represents the goddess of the dawn, Eos, who can be represented with these attributes and to whom the inscription probably refers. It should be noted, however, that there is no sigma in the inscription.
Reference: Museum of Fine Arts Boston
