Hesperus

Hesperus

In Greek mythology, Hesperus (Greek _gr. Ἓσπερος "Hesperos") (Roman equivalent: Vesper cf. "evening", "supper", "evening star", "west" [Collins Latin Dictionary plus Grammar, p. 231. ISBN 0-06-053690-X)] ), the Evening Star is the son of the dawn goddess Eos (Roman equivalent: Aurora) and brother of Eosphorus ( _gr. Ηωσφόρος "Eosphoros" "dawn-bearer"; also _gr. Φωσφόρος "Phosphorus", "Lucifer" "light-bearer", "Iubar"), the Morning Star. Hesperus' father was Cephalus, a mortal, while Eosphoros' was the star god Astraios.

Variant names

Hesperus (Greek Hesperos) is the personification of the "evening star", the planet Venus in the evening. His name is sometimes conflated with the names for his brother the personification of the planet as the "morning star" Eosphorus (Greek polytonic|Ἐωσφόρος, "bearer of dawn") or Phosphorus (Ancient Greek: polytonic|Φωσφόρος, "bearer of light", often translated as "Lucifer" in Latin), since they are all personifications of the same planet Venus. "Heosphoros" in the Greek LXX Septuagint and "Lucifer" in Jerome's Latin Vulgate were used to translate the Hebrew "Helel" (Venus as the brilliant, bright or shining one), "son of Shahar (Dawn)" in the Hebrew version of Isaiah 14:12.

When named thus by the early Greeks, it was thought that Eosphorus (Venus in the morning) and Hesperos (Venus in the evening) were two different celestial objects. The Greeks later accepted the Babylonian view that the two were the same, and the Babylonian identification of the planets with the Great Gods, and dedicated the "wandering star" (planet) to Aphrodite (Roman Venus), as the equivalent of Ishtar.

Eosphorus/Hesperus was said to be the father of Ceyx [Hyg. Fab. 65] and Daedalion. [Ovid. "Metamorphoses". Book XI, 295.] In some sources, he is also said to be the father of the Hesperides. [Servius. ad Aen. 4,484.]

"Hesperus is Phosphorus"

"Hesperus is Phosphorus" is a famous sentence in the philosophy of language (see, e.g., proper name). Gottlob Frege used the terms "Hesperus" and "Phosphorus" to illustrate his distinction between sense and reference. Saul Kripke used the sentence to demonstrate that the knowledge of something necessary (in this case the identity of Hesperus and Phosphorus) could be discoverable rather than known a priori.

ee also

*Latin name for the Morning Star
*Earendel

References


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  • Hesperus — Научная классификация промежуточные ранги Царство:  …   Википедия

  • Hesperus — Hes pe*rus, n. [L. See {Hesper}.] 1. Venus when she is the evening star; Hesper. [1913 Webster] 2. Evening. [Poetic] [1913 Webster] The Sun was sunk, and after him the Star Of Hesperus. Milton. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Hesperus — late 14c., poetic for the evening star, from L. Hesperus, from Gk. hesperos (aster) western (star), from PIE *wes pero evening, night (see VESPER (Cf. vesper)). Hence also Hesperides (1590s), from Greek, daughters of the West, the nymphs… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Hespĕrus — (Astron.), s. Hesperos …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Hesperus — Hesperus, siehe Abendstern …   Damen Conversations Lexikon

  • Hesperus — Hesperus, griech. lat., der Morgen u. Abendstern, nach der griech. Mythe ein Sohn der Aurora und Asträa (die Griechen erkannten frühe, daß Morgen und Abendstern derselbe Stern sei); aus dem Orient kam in späterer Zeit die Zueignung des H. an die… …   Herders Conversations-Lexikon

  • Hesperus — [hes′pər əs] n. [L < Gr Hesperos: see HESPERIAN] the evening star, esp. Venus …   English World dictionary

  • Hesperus, S. — S. Hesperus, M. (2. Mai). Der hl. Sclave Hesperus (nach dem Mart. Rom. Exuperius) litt mit seiner Ehefrau Boë und seinen Söhnen Cyriacus21 und Theodulus in der Stadt Attalia (nun Antalia) in Pamphylien. Die letztern, von den sorgsamen Eltern im… …   Vollständiges Heiligen-Lexikon

  • Hesperus — He|spe|rus auch: Hẹs|pe|rus 〈m.; ; unz.; grch. Myth.〉 = Hesperos * * * Hẹs|pe|ros, Hẹs|pe|rus, der; <meist o. Art.> [lat. Hesperus, Hesperos < griech. hésperos] (griech. Mythol.): der Abendstern. * * * Hẹs|pe|ros, Hẹs|pe|rus, der;… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Hesperus — Venus Ve nus, n. [L. Venus, eris, the goddess of love, the planet Venus.] 1. (Class. Myth.) The goddess of beauty and love, that is, beauty or love deified. [1913 Webster] 2. (Anat.) One of the planets, the second in order from the sun, its orbit …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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