Editing Eos (section)

== Mythology {{Anchor|Eos in Greek literature}} ==
=== Goddess of the dawn ===
[[File:A terracotta lekanis dish depicting dawn eos on chariot with four horses eros a woman and a swan late 4th century metropolitan museum of art cropped detail eos.jpg|upright=1.3|thumb|Eos in her four horse-drawn chariot, [[terracotta]] [[red-figure]] lekanis vase, late 300s BC, [[Canosa di Puglia|Canosa]], [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]].]]

Each morning, the dawn goddess Eos gets up and opens the gates for her brother, Helios, to pass through and rise, ushering in the new day. Although often her job seems to be done once she announces Helios' coming, in the [[Homeric epic]]s she accompanies him throughout the whole day, and does not leave him until the sunset; hence "Eos" might be used in texts where one would have expected to see "Helios" instead.<ref name=":smith"/> In [[Musaeus Grammaticus|Musaeus]]'s rendition of the story of [[Hero and Leander]] in the sixth century AD, Eos is mentioned during both sunrise and sunset.<ref>[[Musaeus Grammaticus|Musaeus]], ''[[Hero and Leander]]'' 4; 110</ref>

==== Homer and Hesiod ====
From the ''[[Iliad]]'':

<blockquote>Now when Dawn in robe of saffron was hastening from the streams of [[Oceanus]], to bring light to mortals and immortals, [[Thetis]] reached the ships with the armor that the god had given her.<ref>[[Homer]], ''[[Iliad]]'' xix.1</ref>

...

But soon as early Dawn appeared, the [[Rose (color)|rosy]]-fingered, then gathered the folk about the [[pyre]] of glorious [[Hector]].<ref>[[Homer]], ''[[Iliad]]'' xxiv.776</ref></blockquote>

[[File:Francesco Solimena - Aurora Taking Leave of Tithonus - 84.PA.65 - J. Paul Getty Museum.jpg|thumb|''Aurora Taking Leave of Tithonus'' by [[Francesco Solimena]], [[oil on canvas]], 1704, [[J. Paul Getty Museum]].]]

She is most often associated with her Homeric [[epithet]] "rosy-fingered" '''Eos Rhododactylos''' ({{langx|grc|{{lang|grc|Ἠὼς Ῥοδοδάκτυλος}}}}), but Homer also calls her '''Eos Erigeneia''':

<blockquote>That brightest of stars appeared, [[Eosphorus|Eosphoros]], that most often heralds the light of early-rising Dawn (Eos Erigeneia).<ref>[[Homer]], ''[[Odyssey]]'' xiii.93</ref></blockquote>

Near the end of the ''[[Odyssey]]'', [[Athena]], wanting to buy [[Odysseus]] some time with his wife [[Penelope]] after they have reunited with each other, orders Eos not to yoke her two horses, thus delaying the coming of the new day:

<blockquote>And rose-fingered Dawn would have shone for the weepers had not bright-eyed goddess Athena thought of other things. She checked the long night in its passage, and further, held golden-throned Dawn over Ocean and didn't let her yoke her swift-footed horses, that bring daylight to men, Lampus and Phaethon, the colts that carry Dawn.<ref>[[Homer]], ''[[Odyssey]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/3#OD.23.240 13.241&ndash;246]</ref></blockquote>

In the ''[[Theogony]]'', [[Hesiod]] wrote "[a]nd after these Erigeneia ["Early-born"] bore the star [[Eosphoros]] ("Dawn-bringer"), and the gleaming stars with which heaven is crowned".<ref>[[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text.jsp?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0130%3Acard%3D371 378&ndash;382]</ref> Thus Eos is preceded by the [[Phosphorus (morning star)|Morning Star]], and is thus seen as the genetrix of all the stars and planets; her tears are considered to have created the morning dew, [[Personification|personified]] as [[Ersa]] or [[Herse]],<ref>[[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' 13.621&ndash;2</ref> who is otherwise the daughter of her sister Selene by Zeus.<ref>Hard, [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&pg=PA46 p. 46]; Keightley, [https://books.google.com/books?id=YhsYAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA55 p. 55]; [[Alcman]] [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/alcman-fragments/1988/pb_LCL143.435.xml fr. 57 Campbell].</ref>

==== Orphic literature ====
[[File:Eos utgjutande morgondaggen, Nordisk familjebok.png|thumb|Eos pouring the morning dew dressed in a starsprinkled robe, from an antique vase]]

Eos is addressed by the singer in one of the ''[[Orphic Hymns]]'', as the bringer of the new day:

{{Blockquote|
Hear, O goddess, you bring the light of day to mortals<br>
resplendent Dawn, you blush throughout the world<br>
messenger of the great, the illustrious [[Helios|Titan]].
|title=''[[Orphic Hymn]] 78 to the Dawn''.<ref>''[[Orphism (religion)|Orphic Hymn]] 78 to the Dawn'' 1&ndash;3, (Athanassakis & Wolkow, [https://books.google.com/books?id=TTo3r8IHy0wC&pg=PA61 p. 61]).</ref>}}

The position of the hymn in the collection at number 78 is odd, far from the Hymns to the Night (3), the Sun (8) and the Moon (9), where it would be expected to be grouped.<ref name=":181">Athanassakis and Wolkow, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=iaEIvzlc41QC&pg=RA1-PA181 181]</ref> While many of the ''Orphic Hymns'' describe the divinities in terms on light, the hymn to Eos is the only one that calls upon the divinity to provide light to the initiates.<ref name=":181"/>

==== Divine horses ====
Eos's team of horses pull her [[Biga (chariot)|chariot]] across the sky and are named in the ''[[Odyssey]]'' as "Firebright" and "Daybright". [[Quintus Smyrnaeus|Quintus]] described her exulting in her heart over the radiant horses ([[Lampus]] and [[Phaethon (horse)|Phaëton]]) that drew her chariot, amidst the bright-haired [[Horae]], the feminine Hours, the daughters of [[Zeus]] and [[Themis]] who are responsible for the changing of the seasons, climbing the arc of heaven and scattering sparks of fire.<ref>[[Quintus Smyrnaeus]], ''[[Posthomerica]]'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2008.01.0490 1.48]</ref>

=== Lovers ===
In spite of the goddess already having a husband in the face of her first cousin Astraeus, Eos is presented as a goddess who fell in love several times. According to [[Pseudo-Apollodorus]], it was the jealous [[Aphrodite]] who cursed her to be perpetually in love and have an insatiable sexual desire because Eos had once lain with Aphrodite's sweetheart [[Ares]], the god of war.<ref name=":2">Pseudo-Apollodorus, ''[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Bibliotheca]]'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022%3Atext%3DLibrary%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D4%3Asection%3D4 1.4.4]</ref> The curse caused her to abduct a number of handsome young men. This explanatory myth was the reason offered for Eos' ravenous sexual desires, as this pattern of behavior of hers was noticed by the ancient Greeks.<ref name=":181" />

In the [[Odyssey]], [[Calypso (mythology)|Calypso]] complains to [[Hermes]] about the male gods taking many mortal women as lovers, but not allowing goddesses to do the same. She brings up as example Eos's love for the hunter [[Orion (mythology)|Orion]], who was killed by [[Artemis]] on the island of [[Ortygia]].<ref>[[Homer]], ''[[Odyssey]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/3#OD.5.120 5.121&ndash;124]</ref> Apollodorus also mentions Eos's love for Orion, and adds that she brought him to [[Delos]], where he met Artemis and was subsequently slain by her.<ref name=":2"/> The good-looking [[Cleitus (mythology)|Cleitus]] was snatched and made immortal by her.<ref>[[Homer]], ''[[Odyssey]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/3#OD.15.250 15.250&ndash;251]</ref>

Eos fell in love and abducted [[Cephalus (son of Hermes)|Cephalus]], a son of [[Hermes]], who is sometimes the same as or distinct from the Cephalus that was the husband of Procris, whom she also abducted.<ref>[[William Smith (lexicographer)|Smith]], s.v. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DC%3Aentry+group%3D16%3Aentry%3Dcephalus-bio-1 Cephalus 1], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DC%3Aentry+group%3D16%3Aentry%3Dcephalus-bio-2 Cephalus 2]; Hard, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&pg=PA47 47]; see also Frazer's note on Apollodorus [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+3.14.3&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022#note1 1.9.4]</ref>

==== Tithonus ====
[[File:Julien Simon.gif|thumb|''Eos and Tithonus'', by Julien Simon, 1783, [[Musée des Beaux-Arts de Caen]].]]

The myth about the love of Eos and [[Tithonus]] is very old, known as early as Homer, who in the ''Odyssey'' described the coming of the new morning as Eos rising from the bed she shares with Tithonus to bring her light to the world.<ref>[[Homer]], ''[[Odyssey]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text.jsp?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0218%3Abook%3D5%3Acard%3D1 5.1]: "And now, as Dawn rose from her couch beside Tithonos - harbinger of light alike to mortals and immortals." Trans. [[Samuel Butler (novelist)|Samuel Butler]].</ref> The earliest (and fullest) account survives in the ''[[Homeric Hymn]] to Aphrodite'', where Aphrodite herself narrates the story to her own lover Anchises. Additionally, the myth is also the subject of one of the very few substantially complete works of Sappho, pieced together from different fragments discovered over a period of more than a hundred years,{{efn|The first modern printing of the complete poem was published in two sections by Michael Gronewald and Robert W. Daniel in ''Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik'' vol. 147, pp. 1–8, and vol. 149, pp. 1–4 (2004); an English translation by [[Martin Litchfield West|Martin West]] is printed in the ''Times Literary Supplement'', 21 or 24 June 2005.  The right half of this poem was previously found in fragment 58 L-P.  The fully restored version can be found in M. L. West, "The New Sappho", in ''Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik'', vol. 151, pp. 1–9 (2005).}} known as the [[Tithonus poem]] or the Old Age poem:<ref name=":sapph">[[Sappho]], fragment [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/sappho-fragments/1982/pb_LCL142.101.xml?result=1&rskey=kNHZR2 58] [= Oxy. 1787 fr. 1. 4–25, fr. 2. 1 + fr. nov. (Lobel Σ. μ. p. 26)].</ref>

{{Blockquote|
...old age already (withers?) all (my) skin, and<br>
 (my) hair (turned white) from black<br>
] (my) knees do not carry (me)<br>
] (to dance) like young fawns<br>
] but what could I do?<br>
] not possible to become (ageless?)<br>
] rosy-armed Dawn [...]<br>
carrying (to) the ends of the earth<br>
] yet (age) seized (him)<br>
] (immortal?) wife.
|[[Sappho]], fragment 58.<ref name=":sapph"/>}}

The myth goes that Eos fell in love with and abducted Tithonus, a handsome prince from [[Troy]], either the brother or the son of King [[Laomedon]] (the father of [[Priam]]).<ref>Hansen, p. [https://archive.org/details/handbookofclassi0000hans/page/48/mode/2up?view=theater&q= 48]</ref> She went with a request to [[Zeus]], asking him to make Tithonus immortal for her sake. Zeus agreed and granted her wish, but Eos foolishly forgot to ask for eternal youth as well for her beloved. So for a while the two lived happily in her palace, but their happiness eventually came to an end when Tithonus’ hair started turning grey as he aged, and Eos ceased to visit him in their bed. Despite that, the goddess kept him around and nourished him with food and ambrosia; Tithonus never died as he had gained immortality as Zeus promised, but he kept aging and shrivelling, and was soon unable to even move. In the end, Eos locked him up in a chamber, where he withered away alone, forever a helpless old man.<ref>''[[Homeric Hymns|Homeric Hymn]] 5 to [[Aphrodite]]'', [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text.jsp?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0138:hymn=5 lines 220–318]; cf. [[Sappho]], fr. 58 Campbell; [[Mimnermus]], fr. 4 Gerber.</ref><ref>[[Clearchus of Soli]] fragment 20 [= [[Zenobius]] [https://books.google.com/books?id=JA9DAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA309 4.18].]</ref> Out of pity, she turned him into a small bug, a [[cicada]] (Greek {{lang|grc|τέττιξ}}, ''tettix'').<ref>Keightley, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=lWAEAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA63 63]; [[Suda]], s.v [https://topostext.org/work/240#si.122 "Old Man Tithonus"].</ref><ref>[[Hellanicus of Lesbos|Hellanicus]] fragment 142 (FGrH) [= [[Scholia]] on [[Homer]]'s ''[[Iliad]]'' [https://books.google.com/books?id=y5pxAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA64 3.151]; [[scholia]] on the ''[[Odyssey]]'' [https://cts.perseids.org/read/greekLit/tlg5026/tlg007/First1K-grc1/1.5.1-1.6.1 5.1] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230103132927/https://cts.perseids.org/read/greekLit/tlg5026/tlg007/First1K-grc1/1.5.1-1.6.1 |date=2023-01-03 }}.</ref>

In the account of [[Hieronymus of Rhodes]] from the third century BC, the blame is shifted from Eos and onto Tithonus, who asked for immortality but not agelessness from his lover, who was then unable to help him otherwise and turned him into a cicada.<ref>Tsagalis and Markantonatos, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=sFA_DwAAQBAJ&pg=PT297 297]</ref> [[Propertius]] wrote that Eos did not forsake Tithonus, old and aged as he was, and would still embrace him and hold him in her arms rather than leaving him deserted in his cold chamber, while cursing the gods for his cruel fate.<ref>[[Propertius]], ''Elegies'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A2008.01.0494%3Abook%3D2%3Apoem%3D18b 2.18b]</ref>

This myth might have been used to explain why cicadas were particularly noisy during the early hours of the morning, when the dawn appears in the sky.<ref>[[Loeb Classical Library]], ''Homeric Hymns, Homeric Apocrypha, Lives of Homer'', 2003,  [https://archive.org/details/homerichymnshome0000home/page/176/mode/2up?view=theater p. 177, note 48]</ref> Sir [[James George Frazer]] notes that there was a widespread notion among the ancient Greeks and other ancient peoples that the creatures that shed their skin renew their youth and get to live forever.<ref>See Frazer's note on [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]] [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+3.12.4&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022#note1 3.12.4]</ref> It could also be a reference to the fact that the high-pitched talk of old men was compared to a cicada's singing, as evidenced in a passage from the ''[[Iliad]]''.<ref name=":rh47">Hard, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&pg=PA47 47]</ref> The ancient Greeks would use a cicada, the most musical of insects, sitting on a harp as an emblem of music.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article16435670 | title = The Cicada | newspaper = [[The Sydney Morning Herald]] | date = 21 January 1928 | access-date = 7 June 2013 | page = 21 | publisher = National Library of Australia}}</ref> Cicadas were also believed to be able to survive off of dew alone, a substance closely associated with Eos.<ref name=":rh47"/>

==== Cephalus ====
[[File:The rape of cephalus by eos red figure loutrophoros Antikensammlung Kiel B 787 cropped detail.jpg|thumb|left|The rape of Cephalus by Eos, Apulian red-figure [[Loutrophoros]], ca. 330 BC]]

The abduction of [[Cephalus (son of Deione/Deioneus)|Cephalus]] had special appeal for an Athenian audience because Cephalus was a local boy,<ref>[[Mary R. Lefkowitz]], "'Predatory' Goddesses" ''Hesperia'' '''71'''.4 (October 2002, pp. 325-344) p. 326.</ref> and so this myth element appeared frequently in Attic vase-paintings and was exported with them. In the literary myths, Eos snatched Cephalus against his will when he was hunting and took him to Syria.<ref>Pseudo-Apollodorus, ''[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Bibliotheca]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022%3Atext%3DLibrary%3Abook%3D3%3Achapter%3D14%3Asection%3D3 3.14.3]; [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], ''Description of Greece'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D3%3Asection%3D1 1.3.1]; Hyginus, ''Fabulae'' [https://topostext.org/work/206#189 189]; [[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/141#7.685 7.703]; [[Antoninus Liberalis]], ''Collection of Transformations'' [https://topostext.org/work/216#41 41]</ref> Although Cephalus was already married to [[Procris]], Eos bore him three sons, including [[Phaethon (son of Eos)|Phaethon]] and [[Hesperus]], and in some versions the little-attested Aoos who went on to become king of Cyprus,{{sfn|Dickmann-Boedeker|1974|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=irYfAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA66 66-67]}} but he then began pining for Procris, causing a disgruntled Eos to return him to [[Procris]], but not before sowing the seeds of doubt in his mind, telling him that it was highly unlikely that Procris had stayed faithful to him this entire time.

[[File:John Flaxman (1755-1826) - Cephalus and Aurora (1789-90) front, Cephalus's knees upward, Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight, Cheshire, June 2013 (9103098456).png|thumb|250px|Cephalus and Aurora, [[John Flaxman]], 1789–90, [[Lady Lever Art Gallery]].]]

Cephalus, troubled by her words, asked Eos to change his form into that of a stranger's, in order to secretly put Procris's love for him to the test. Cephalus, now disguised, propositioned Procris, who at first declined but eventually gave in when he offered her money. He was hurt by her betrayal, and she left him in shame, but eventually they got back together. This time however it was Procris's turn to doubt her husband's fidelity; while hunting, he would often call upon the breeze ('[[Aura (mythology)|Aura]]' in [[Latin language|Latin]], sounding similar to Eos's Roman equivalent [[Aurora (mythology)|Aurora]]) to refresh his body. Upon hearing that, Procris followed and spied on him. Cephalus, mistaking her for some wild animal, threw his spear at her, killing his wife.<ref>[[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/141#7.685 7.700]-[https://topostext.org/work/141#7.851 722]</ref> The second-century CE traveller [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] knew of the story of Cephalus's abduction too, though he calls Eos by the name of [[Hemera]], goddess of day.<ref name=":pausn">Pausanias remarking on the subjects shown in the Royal Stoa, [[Classical Athens|Athens]] ([http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text.jsp?doc=Paus.+1.3.1&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160 1.3.1]) and on the throne of [[Apollo]] at [[Amyclae]] ([http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text.jsp?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160%3Abook%3D3%3Achapter%3D18%3Asection%3D12 3.18.12]).</ref>

Hyginus omits the kidnapping from the story, and has Cephalus reject Eos out of fidelity to Procris when she begs him to have sex with her. Eos then says to Cephalus that she would not want him to break his vows if Procris herself has not either, and alters his appearance and gives him gifts to trick Procris. Cephalus then goes to Procris as a stranger, and she agrees to lay with him, thereupon Eos removes the enchantment from Cephalus, revealing his identity. Procris, knowing she has been deceived by Eos, flees; she is eventually reunited with Cephalus, but still fearful of Eos, follows him when he goes out hunting, and ends up being accidentally killed by him.<ref>Hyginus, ''Fabulae'' [https://topostext.org/work/206#189 189]</ref>

[[Antoninus Liberalis]] also largely follows the same tradition in his rendition of the myth, though his text contains a lacuna, jumping from Eos' abduction of Cephalus to him having doubts over Procris.<ref>[[Antoninus Liberalis]], ''Collection of Transformations'' [https://topostext.org/work/216#41 41]</ref> The oldest extant account of the myth is attributed to [[Pherecydes of Athens|Pherecydes]], and the elements it contains were all kept by later poets; in his account however Eos plays no role in the myth.<ref>[[Pherecydes of Athens]] FGrHist 3F 34 [= [[Scholia]] on [[Homer]]'s ''[[Odyssey]]'' [https://books.google.com/books?id=tXxxxgDaY4wC&pg=PA90 1.320].]</ref> That being said, artistic evidence of Eos abducting a man that can be identified as Cephalus go as back as the early fifth century BC.{{sfn|Cohen|2006|pages=[https://books.google.com/books?id=SCA2AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA280 280–281]}}

=== Role in wars ===
[[File:Eos Memnon Louvre G115.jpg|thumb|left|Eos and the slain [[Memnon (mythology)|Memnon]] on an [[Attica|Attic]] red-figure cup, ca. 490–480 BCE, the so-called "Memnon Pietà" found at [[Capua]] ([[Musée du Louvre|Louvre]]).]]

==== Gigantomachy ====
[[File:Altar_Pérgamo_Eos_06.JPG|thumb|Eos riding sidesaddle, detail of the Gigantomachy frieze, [[Pergamon Altar]], [[Pergamon museum]], Berlin]]

Eos played a small role in the battle of the earthborn [[Giants (Greek mythology)|Giants]] against the gods, known as the Gigantomachy, who rose in rebellion. When their mother, the earth goddess [[Gaia]] learned of a prophecy that the giants would perish at the hand of a mortal, Gaia sought to find a herb that would protect them from all harm; thus Zeus ordered Eos, as well as her siblings Selene ([[Moon]]) and Helios ([[Sun]]) not to shine so that she would not be able to seek for it, and harvested all of the plant for himself, denying Gaia the chance to make the Giants indestructible.<ref>Apollodorus, ''[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Bibliotheca]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022%3Atext%3DLibrary%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D6%3Asection%3D1 1.6.2]</ref> Moreover, Eos is seen fighting against the Giants in the south frieze of the [[Pergamon Altar]],<ref>Picón and Hemingway, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=Vr3WCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA47 47]; ''[[Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae|LIMC]]'' 617 [https://weblimc.org/page/monument/2071289 Eos 45] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230716120337/https://weblimc.org/page/monument/2071289 |date=2023-07-16 }}</ref> which depicts the Gigantomachy, where she rides hither on either a horse or a mule<ref name=":hon">{{cite book | last = Honan | pages = [https://archive.org/details/guidetopergamonm00perg/page/20/mode/2up?q=&view=theater 20-21] | first = Mary McMahon | title = Guide to the Pergamon Museum | publisher =  [[De Gruyter]] | date = 1904 | isbn = 9783112399330}}</ref> right ahead of Helios, swinging herself on the back of her mount while a Giant already lies on the ground underneath her; a robe wound around her hips serves as her saddle-cloth.<ref>Schmidt, p. 22</ref> She is joined in fight against the Giants by her siblings, her mother Theia, and possibly, conjectured due to the disembodied wing to the right of Eos's shoulder, the goddess Hemera.<ref name=":hon"/>

==== Trojan War ====
According to Hesiod, by her lover Tithonus, Eos had two sons, Memnon and Emathion.<ref name=":1"/> Memnon, king of [[Aethiopia]], joined the Trojans in the [[Trojan War]] and fought against [[Achilles]] in battle. Much like [[Thetis]], the mother of Achilles, did before her, Eos asked the smithing god [[Hephaestus]] with tears in her eyes to forge an armor for Memnon, and he, moved, did as told.<ref name=":arct"/><ref>[[Virgil]], ''[[Aeneid]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/245#8.370 8.384]</ref> [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] mentions images of Thetis and Eos both begging Zeus on behalf of their sons.<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], ''Description of Greece'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text.jsp?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0160%3Abook%3D5%3Achapter%3D22%3Asection%3D2 5.22.2]</ref> In the end, it was Achilles who triumphed and slew Memnon in battle. Mourning greatly over the death of her son, Eos made the light of her brother, Helios the god of the sun, to fade, and begged Nyx, the goddess of the night, to come out earlier, so she could be able to freely steal her son's body undetected by the armies.<ref>[[Philostratus of Lemnos]], ''[[Imagines (work by Philostratus)|Imagines]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/225#1.7.2 1.7.2]</ref> After his death, Eos, perhaps with the help of [[Hypnos]] (Sleep) and [[Thanatos]] (Death), transported Memnon's dead body back to Aethiopia;<ref>Currie, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=zTtaKhpwoP4C&pg=PA51 51]</ref> she also asked Zeus to make her son immortal, and he granted her wish.<ref name=":arct">[[Arctinus of Miletus]], ''[[Aethiopis]]'' [https://web.archive.org/web/20110607190115/http://www.stoa.org/hopper/text.jsp?doc=Stoa:text:2003.01.0004:account=2 summary]</ref> Eos' role in the Trojan War saga mirrors that of Thetis herself; both are goddesses married to aging old men, both see their mortal sons die on the battlefield, and both arrange an afterlife/immortality of sorts for said sons.<ref>Price and Zelnick-Abramovitz, p. [https://books.google.com/books?id=1oTxDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT94 94], "The two mothers, Thetis and Eos, are alike as well."</ref>