Editing Hemera

{{short description|Ancient Greek goddess of the day}}
{{Infobox deity
| type = Greek
| name = Hemera
| image = Aphrodisias Museum Hemera or Day 4627.jpg
| alt = 
| caption = Relief of Hemera from the [[Aphrodisias]] Sebasteion
| god_of = Personification of day
| abode = Sky and [[Tartarus]]
| symbol = 
| consort = [[Aether (mythology)|Aether]]
| parents = [[Erebus]] and [[Nyx]]
| siblings = [[Aether (mythology)|Aether]]
| mount = 
}}
{{Greek myth (primordial)}}
[[File:William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905) - Day (1884).jpg|thumb|''Hemera'' (1884) by [[William-Adolphe Bouguereau]]]]

In [[Greek mythology]], '''Hemera''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|h|ɛ|m|ər|ə}}; {{langx|grc|Ἡμέρα|Hēmérā|[[Day]]}} {{IPA|el|hɛːméraː|}}) was the personification of day. According to [[Hesiod]], she was the daughter of [[Erebus]] (Darkness) and [[Nyx (mythology)|Nyx]] (Night), and the sister of [[Aether (mythology)|Aether]]. Though separate entities in [[Hesiod]]'s ''[[Theogony]]'', Hemera and [[Eos]] (Dawn) were often identified with each other.<ref>Tripp, s.v. Hemera; Grimal, s.v. Hemera.</ref>

== Genealogy ==
In [[Hesiod]]'s ''[[Theogony]]'', Hemera and her brother Aether were the offspring of Erebus and Nyx.<ref>Hard, [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&pg=PA24 p. 24]; Gantz, p. 4; [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/hesiod-theogony/2018/pb_LCL057.13.xml 123&ndash;125].</ref> [[Bacchylides]] apparently had Hemera as the daughter of [[Chronus]] (Time) and Nyx.<ref>[[Bacchylides]],  ''Victory Odes'' [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/bacchylides-victory_odes/1992/pb_LCL461.157.xml 7].</ref> In the lost epic poem the ''[[Titanomachy (epic poem)|Titanomachy]]'' (late seventh century BC?),<ref>West 2002, p. 109 says that the ''Titanomachy'' was "composed in the late seventh century at the earliest".</ref> Hemera was perhaps the mother, by Aether, of [[Uranus]] (Sky).<ref>Grimal, s.v. Uranus; Eumelus fr. 1 (West 2003, [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/eumelus-epic_testimonia_fragments/2003/pb_LCL497.223.xml pp. 222&ndash;225]); compare [[Callimachus]], [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/callimachus-fragments_uncertain_location/1973/pb_LCL421.257.xml fr. 498]. According to Grimal the mother was "doubtless" Hemera, compare with [[Cicero]], ''[[De Natura Deorum]]'' [http://archive.org/stream/denaturadeorumac00ciceuoft#page/328/mode/2up 3.44], which has Aether and Dies as the parents of [[Caelus]] (Sky).</ref> In some rare versions, Hemera was instead the daughter of [[Helios]] (the [[Sun]]) by an unknown mother.<ref>[[Pindar]], ''Olympian Odes'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text.jsp?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0162%3Abook%3DO.%3Apoem%3D2 2.32]</ref><ref>[[Scholia]] on [[Pindar]]'s ''Olympian Odes'' [https://scaife.perseus.org/reader/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg5034.tlg001a.perseus-grc1:2.58 2.58].</ref>

== Mythology ==
According to Hesiod's ''Theogony'', Hemera left [[Tartarus]] just as [[Nyx]] (Night) entered it; when Hemera returned, Nyx left:<ref>Tripp, s.v. Hemera.</ref>

{{blockquote|Night and Day passing near greet one another as they cross the great bronze threshold. The one is about to go in and the other is going out the door, and never does the house hold them both inside, but always the one goes out from the house and passes over the earth, while the other in turn remaining inside the house waits for the time of her own departure, until it comes. The one holds much-seeing light for those on the earth, but the other holds [[Hypnos|Sleep]] in her hands, the brother of [[Thanatos|Death]]—deadly Night, shrouded in murky cloud.<ref>[[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/hesiod-theogony/2018/pb_LCL057.63.xml 748&ndash;757].</ref>}}

== Roman counterpart Dies ==
Hemera's Roman counterpart [[Dies (deity)|Dies]] (Day) had a different genealogy. According to the Roman mythographer [[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]], Chaos and Caligio (Mist) were the parents of Nox (Night), Dies, Erebus, and Aether.<ref>[[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]], ''[[Fabulae]]'' Theogony 1 (Smith and Trzaskoma, [https://books.google.com/books?id=vczTNMWLGdoC&pg=PA95 p. 95]).</ref> [[Cicero]] says that Aether and Dies were the parents of [[Caelus]] (Sky).<ref>[[Cicero]], ''[[De Natura Deorum]]'' [http://archive.org/stream/denaturadeorumac00ciceuoft#page/328/mode/2up 3.44].</ref> While, Hyginus says that, in addition to  Caelus, Aether and Dies were also the parents of [[Terra (mythology)|Terra]] (Earth), and Mare (Sea).<ref>[[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]], ''[[Fabulae]]'' Theogony 1&ndash;2 (Smith and Trzaskoma, [https://books.google.com/books?id=vczTNMWLGdoC&pg=PA95 p. 95]).</ref> Cicero also says that  Dies and Caelus were the parents of [[Mercury (mythology)|Mercury]], the Roman counterpart of [[Hermes]].<ref>[[Cicero]], ''[[De Natura Deorum]]'' [https://archive.org/details/denaturadeorumac00ciceuoft/page/338/mode/2up?view=theater 3.56].</ref>

== Identified with Eos ==
Although Eos (Dawn) is a separate entity in Hesiod's ''Theogony''&mdash;where she is the daughter of the [[Titans]] [[Theia]] and [[Hyperion (Titan)|Hyperion]], the mother of [[Memnon (mythology)|Memnon]], and the lover of [[Cephalus (son of Hermes)|Cephalus]]<ref>[[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/hesiod-theogony/2018/pb_LCL057.33.xml 371&ndash;374], [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/hesiod-theogony/2018/pb_LCL057.81.xml 984&ndash;987].</ref>&mdash;elsewhere Eos and Hemera are identified.<ref>Hard, [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&pg=PA46 p. 46]; Tripp, s.v. Hemera.</ref> For example, the geographer [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] describes seeing depictions, on the "Royal Portico" at [[Athens]] and on the [[throne of Apollo]] at [[Amyclae]], of Cephalus being carried off by a goddess whom he identifies as Hemera.<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.perseus-eng1:1.3.1 1.3.1] (Royal Portico), [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.perseus-eng1:3.18.12 3.18.12] (throne of Apollo). For the abduction of Cephalus by Eos, see [[Euripides]], ''[[Hippolytus (play)|Hippolytus]]'' [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/euripides-hippolytus/1995/pb_LCL484.169.xml 454&ndash;456]; [[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0028%3Abook%3D7%3Acard%3D661 7.700&ndash;704]; [[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]], ''[[Fabulae]]'' 270; [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:1.9.4 1.9.4], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:3.14.3 3.14.3].</ref> He also describes a stone pedestal at [[Olympia, Greece|Olympia]] which depicted Hemera pleading with Zeus for the life of her son Memnon.<ref>[[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0525.tlg001.perseus-eng1:5.22.2 5.22.2].</ref> Similarly, although, in [[Homer]]'s ''[[Odyssey]]'', Eos is said to be the abductor of [[Orion (mythology)|Orion]],<ref>[[Homer]], ''[[Odyssey]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg002.perseus-eng1:5.92-5.144 5.122].</ref> a [[scholiast]] on that passage says that, according to [[Euphorion of Chalcis|Euphorion]], Hemera fell in love with Orion and carried him away.<ref>Hard, [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&pg=PA562 p. 562]; [[Euphorion of Chalcis|Euphorion]] [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/euphorion_chalcis-poetic_fragments/2010/pb_LCL508.297.xml fr. 66] Lightfoot [= fr. 103 Powell].</ref>

== Worship ==
While there is little evidence of Hemera having received a cult in ancient times, archaeological evidence has proven the existence of a small shrine to Hemera and [[Helios]], the god of the sun, on the island of [[Kos]].<ref>Farnell, [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.56576/page/n533/mode/2up?view=theater p. 419].</ref>

== Notes ==
{{reflist}}

== References ==
* [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], ''Apollodorus, The Library, with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes.'' Cambridge, Massachusetts, [[Harvard University Press]]; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. {{ISBN|0-674-99135-4}}. [http://data.perseus.org/texts/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
* Campbell, David A., ''Greek Lyric, Volume IV: Bacchylides, Corinna'',  [[Loeb Classical Library]] No. 461. Cambridge, Massachusetts, [[Harvard University Press]], 1992. {{ISBN|978-0-674-99508-6}}. [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL461/1992/volume.xml Online version at Harvard University Press].
* [[Cicero|Cicero, Marcus Tullius]], ''[[De Natura Deorum]]'' in ''Cicero: On the Nature of the Gods. Academics'', translated by H. Rackham, [[Loeb Classical Library]] No. 268, Cambridge, Massachusetts, [[Harvard University Press]], first published 1933, revised 1951. {{ISBN|978-0-674-99296-2}}. [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL268/1933/volume.xml Online version at Harvard University Press]. [https://archive.org/stream/denaturadeorumac00ciceuoft#page/n5/mode/2up  Internet Archive].
* [[Euripides]], ''[[Andromache (play)|Andromache]]'' in ''Euripides: Children of Heracles. Hippolytus. Andromache. Hecuba'', edited and translated by David Kovacs, [[Loeb Classical Library]] No. 484. Cambridge, Massachusetts, [[Harvard University Press]], 1995. {{ISBN|978-0-674-99533-8}}. [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL484/1995/volume.xml Online version at Harvard University Press].
* [[Lewis Richard Farnell|Farnell, Lewis Richard]], ''[[The Cults of the Greek States]]'' vol 5, [[Clarendon Press]] Oxford, 1909. [https://archive.org/details/cultsofthegreek05farnuoft/page/n3 Internet Archive].
* Gantz, Timothy, ''Early Greek Myth: A Guide to Literary and Artistic Sources'', Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, Two volumes: {{ISBN|978-0-8018-5360-9}} (Vol. 1), {{ISBN|978-0-8018-5362-3}} (Vol. 2).
* Grimal, Pierre, [https://books.google.com/books?id=iOx6de8LUNAC ''The Dictionary of Classical Mythology''], Wiley-Blackwell, 1996, {{ISBN|9780631201021}}.
* Hard, Robin, ''The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology: Based on H.J. Rose's "Handbook of Greek Mythology"'', Psychology Press, 2004, {{ISBN|9780415186360}}. [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC Google Books].
* [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'', in ''Hesiod, Theogony, Works and Days, Testimonia,'' Edited and translated by Glenn W. Most. [[Loeb Classical Library]] No. 57. Cambridge, Massachusetts, [[Harvard University Press]], 2018. {{ISBN|978-0-674-99720-2}}. [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL057/2018/volume.xml Online version at Harvard University Press].
* [[Homer]], ''The Odyssey with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, PH.D. in two volumes''. Cambridge, Massachusetts, [[Harvard University Press]]; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1919. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0136%3Abook%3D1%3Acard%3D1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
* [[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus, Gaius Julius]], ''[[Fabulae]]'' in ''Apollodorus' ''Library'' and Hyginus' ''Fabulae'': Two Handbooks of Greek Mythology, Translated, with Introductions by R. Scott Smith and Stephen M. Trzaskoma'', Hackett Publishing Company,  2007. {{ISBN|978-0-87220-821-6}}.
* Lightfoot, J. L., ''Hellenistic Collection: Philitas, Alexander of Aetolia, Hermesianax, Euphorion, Parthenius,'' edited and translated by J. L. Lightfoot, [[Loeb Classical Library]] No. 508, Cambridge, Massachusetts, [[Harvard University Press]], 2010. {{ISBN|978-0-674-99636-6}}. [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL508/2010/volume.xml Online version at Harvard University Press].
* [[Ovid]]. ''[[Metamorphoses]], Volume I: Books 1-8''. Translated by Frank Justus Miller. Revised by G. P. Goold. [[Loeb Classical Library]] No. 42. Cambridge, Massachusetts: [[Harvard University Press]], 1977, first published 1916. {{ISBN|978-0-674-99046-3}}. [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL042/1916/volume.xml Online version at Harvard University Press].
* [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], ''Pausanias Description of Greece with an English Translation by W.H.S. Jones, Litt.D., and H.A. Ormerod, M.A., in 4 Volumes.'' Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1918. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.+1.1.1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
* Tripp, Edward, ''Crowell's Handbook of Classical Mythology'', Thomas Y. Crowell Co; First edition (June 1970). {{ISBN|069022608X}}.
* [[Martin Litchfield West|West, M. L.]] (2002), "'Eumelos': A Corinthian Epic Cycle?" in ''The Journal of Hellenic Studies'', vol. 122, pp.&nbsp;109–133. {{JSTOR|3246207}}.
* [[Martin Litchfield West|West, M. L.]] (2003), ''Greek Epic Fragments: From the Seventh to the Fifth Centuries BC'', edited and translated by Martin L. West, [[Loeb Classical Library]] No. 497, Cambridge, Massachusetts, [[Harvard University Press]], 2003.  {{ISBN|978-0-674-99605-2}}. [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL497/2003/volume.xml Online version at Harvard University Press].

== External links ==
* {{commons-inline}}
* [https://www.theoi.com/Protogenos/Hemera.html HEMERA from the Theoi Project]

{{Greek religion|state=collapsed}}
{{Greek mythology (deities)|state=collapsed}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Day]]
[[Category:Greek goddesses]]
[[Category:Personifications in Greek mythology]]
[[Category:Greek primordial deities]]
[[Category:Children of Helios]]
[[Category:Children of Nyx]]
[[Category:Personifications]]
[[Category:Eos]]