Hyperion in the ancient sources

Ancient Sources / Figures / Hyperion

6 passages from 4 ancient authors that tell of Hyperion, in the original with English translation, author by author in the order the Greeks read them. Hyperion was one of the Titans, son of Uranus and Gaia. He represented light, wisdom and watchfulness. He was the father of the sun, the moon, and the... For the story in one place, read our article on Hyperion.

Hesiod (1)

Hesiod, Theogony 370–404Children of Hyperion and Crius; Styx and her sons (370-404)Theia bears Helios, Selene and Eos to Hyperion, and Eos bears the winds and the morning star; Crius and Eurybia's sons include Astraeus, Pallas and Perses. Styx, daughter of Oceanus, bears to Pallas Zelus, Nike, Cratos and Bia, and Zeus honours her as the great oath of the gods because she was first to support him against the Titans. The section ends as Phoebe comes to the embrace of Coeus.

Homer (2)

Homer, The Homeric Hymns 2.1–86Hymn 2 to Demeter (1): the abduction of PersephonePersephone is gathering flowers in a meadow when the earth opens and Hades seizes her and carries her away in his chariot. Her mother Demeter hears her cry, searches the earth for nine days with torches, and learns the truth from Hecate and from Helios, who tells her that Zeus gave Persephone to Hades.
Homer, The Homeric Hymns 30.1–33.19Hymns 30 to 33: Earth, Helios, Selene and the DioscuriFour hymns to cosmic and heroic figures. Earth, mother of all, feeds every creature and gives or takes away the means of life, and Helios drives his chariot, the son of Hyperion and Euryphaessa. Selene, the Moon, rides with a radiance that fills the sky, and the Dioscuri, Castor and Polydeuces, are saviours of ships in storms.

Diodorus Siculus (1)

Diodorus Siculus, Library of History, Books 4 to 6 (the Greek myths) 5.64.1–5.67.5Early Crete: the Dactyls, the Curetes and the TitansThe Cretans claim that the Eteocretans were native to the island, and that the Idaean Dactyls discovered fire and the working of metals. They tell of the Curetes and of the Titans near Cnosus under Cronus' rule, whose age is described with lines of Hesiod, and of Hyperion's observation of the heavens.

Nonnus of Panopolis (2)

Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 23.225–320Book 23: Dionysos threatens the river and sets it on fireDionysos warns the river that Zeus may strike it as he struck Eridanos, but Hydaspes only rages the more. The god sets the water on fire with a burning fennel stalk, driving the Naiads out of their homes. Oceanos then threatens to flood the sky, drown the stars and constellations, and calls on Tethys and the sea to join him against Dionysos.
Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 38.0–102Book 38: An omen at midday; Idmon and Hermes interpret itThe truce lasts until the seventh year of the war, when a darkness at midday and an eagle carrying a snake that slips into the Hydaspes appear as omens. Idmon, asked by Erechtheus, says they foretell Deriades' drowning in his father's river, and Hermes tells Dionysos that the omen means his own victory, as the sun returns after darkness. Dionysos asks to hear the story of Phaethon.