Eos

The Greek goddess of the dawn, Eos was the daughter of two ealry light deities, Hyperion and Thea, both wereTitans. Her sister was Selene, who represented the moon in Greek mythology. Eos was a winged woman who drove a chariot hitched to four swift steeds, dragging light across the sky; she changed at midday into Hemera ("light of day") and later into the sunset, sometimes called Hesperide.

Eos had many lovers, often kidnapping handsome men to serve her needs. One was the gigantic Orion, a rather brutal human, who, because of his constant mistreatment of his wife Merope, was blinded by Merope's father and by the wine-god Dionysus. In order to restore his sight, Orion was told to bathe his face in Eos's rays. She saw him standing on a hilltop and not only restored Orion's sight but stole him away for her lover. Orion never did remedy his violent ways, however, and was eventually removed to the stars for an offense against Artemis.

Another mortal lover was Tithonus, for whom Eos conceived so lasting an affection that she begged immortality for him. Alas for him, Eos forgot to add a request for eternal youth. Slowly Tithonus wizened, and Eos's love faded. She fled his bed, and took a revenge upon him by turning him into a cricket and installing him in a little cage near her door, as a reminder that love is fleeting.