Eos was the name of one of Helios horses in Greek mythology.

More commonly, Eos ("dawn") was, in Greek mythology, the dawn goddess; her Roman equivalent was Aurora or Matuta; her Etruscan equivalent was Thesan. Matuta later became known as Mater Matuta and was associated with dawn, the sea and harbors and ports. She had a temple of the Forum Boarium. On June 11, the Matralia was celebrated at that temple in honor of Mater Matuta; this festival was only for women in their first marriage.

After sharing a bed with Ares, Aphrodite, Ares' lover, cursed Eos with nymphomania.

She was the daughter of Hyperion and Theia (or Pallas and Styx) and sister of Helios and Selene. With her husband, Aeolus, the wind god, she was the mother of Boreas, Eurus, Zephyrus, Notus, Heosphorus and all the stars. As the dawn goddess, she opened up the gates of heaven (with "rosy fingers") so her brother, Helios, the sun, could ride his chariot across the sky every day. She had a horse named Lampos.

Eos kidnapped Cephalus when he was hunting but he refused to be unfaithful to Procris, his wife. Cephalus accidentally killed Procris some time later after he mistook her for an animal while hunting; Procris, a jealous wife, was spying on him. Cephalus was exiled for the death of his wife.

For a time, Eos was Orion's lover.

Eos kidnapped Ganymede, Clitus and Tithonus to be her lovers. Zeus decided he wanted the beautiful youth Ganymede for himself but to repay Eos he promised to fulfill one wish. She asked for Tithonus to be immortal, but forgot to ask for eternal youth. Tithonus indeed lived forever but grew more and more ancient, eventually turning into a cricket. Tithonus and Eos had two sons, Memnon and Emathion.

Zeus and Eos had a daughter named Ersa.

Consorts/Children

  1. With Aeolus
    1. Boreas
    2. Eurus
    3. Heosphorus
    4. Notus
    5. All the stars
    6. Zephyrus
  2. Tithonus
    1. Emathion
    2. Memnon
  3. Unknown father
    1. Hesperos
  4. With Zeus
    1. Ersa