Astraeus

:"For the airline, see Astraeus (airline). For the genus of earthstars, see Astraeus (genus)."

In Greek mythology, Astraeus (or Astraeos) was an astrological deity and the Titan-god of the dusk. His original Greek name, "Astraios" (Ἀστραῖος), translates as "dawn of the stars", the time when the stars come out, or simply dusk (lit. "stardawn": astra- meaning "stars"; the -eos portion meaning "dawn"). In Hesiod's "Theogony" and in the "Bibliotheca", Astraeus is a second-generation Titan, descended from Crius and Eurybia.cite book|last=Hesiod|title=The Theogony of Hesiod|publisher=Forgotten Books|pages=p13|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=jN6KasrDA04C&pg=PA13&dq=Astraeus&lr=&as_brr=3&ei=zZmISLyHNI3gswOthsyXBg&sig=ACfU3U3b5XS3cWo1N-YSdo8N3yYx9kVVQg] However, Hyginus wrote that he was descended directly from Tartarus and Gaia, and referred to him as one of the Gigantes. Appropriately, as god of the dusk, Astraeus married Eos, goddess of the dawn. Together as nightfall and daybreak they produced many children who are associated with what occurs in the sky during twilight. They had many sons, the four Anemoi ("Winds"): Boreas, Notus, Eurus, and Zephyrus,cite book|last=Smith|first=William|title=Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology|publisher=Little, Brown and Company|date=1859|pages=p389|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=H8QPAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA389&dq=Astraeus&as_brr=3&ei=NJSISKS7DYOQsgPt8Iz1AQ] and the five Astra Planeta ("Wandering Stars", i.e. planets): Phainon (Saturn), Phaethon (Jupiter), Pyroeis (Mars), Eosphoros/Hesperos (Venus), and Stilbon (Mercury). A few sources mention one daughter, Astraeacite book|last=Anthon|first=Charles|title=A Classical Dictionary|publisher=Harper & Brothers|date=1855|pages=p219|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=-LAMAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA219&dq=Astraeus+Hyginus&as_brr=3&ei=rqCISMXlG6f0iwHfpNDoAQ#PPA219,M1] ("stars", fem. personification. Sometimes: "justice"), but most writers considered Astraea the child of Zeus and Themis. He is sometimes associated with Aeolus, the Keeper of the Winds, since winds often swell up around dusk.

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