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In the Homer's Iliad and Odyssey the sun god is called Helios Hyperion, 'Sun High-one'. But in the Odyssey, Hesiod's Theogony and the Homeric Hymn to Demeter the sun is once in each work called Hyperonides 'son of Hyperion' and Hesiod certainly imagines Hyperion as a separate being in other places.
Hyperion is often considered the 'God of Obesrvation' and is the brother of Theia the 'Goddess of Sight.'
In later Greek literature Hyperion is always distinguished from Helios as a Titan, the son of Gaia 'Earth Mother' and Uranus 'Father of the Sky' and the father of Helios 'God of the Sun', Selene 'Goddess of the Moon' and Eos 'God of Dawn' by his sister Theia 'Goddess of Sight]] or, in the Homeric Hymn to Helios, Euryphaessa:
- "Theia yielded to Hyperion's love and gave birth
- to great Helios and bright Selene and Eos,
- who brings light to all the mortals of this earth
- and to the immortal gods who rule the wide sky."
- (Hesiod, Theogony, 371-374)
Hyperion plays virtually no role in Greek cult and little role in mythology, save in lists of the twelve Titans. Later Greeks intellectualized their myths:
- "Of Hyperion we are told that he was the first to understand, by diligent attention and observation, the movement of both the sun and the moon and the other stars, and the seasons as well, in that they are caused by these bodies, and to make these facts known to others; and that for this reason he was called the father of these bodies, since he had begotten, so to speak, the speculation about them and their nature.” —Diodorus Siculus (5.67.1)
Hyperion in Modern Paganism
Modern interpretations of Hyperion by Hellenistic Pagans, particularly sects in the United States, include the interpretation that he is the all seeing, and subsequently all knowing, god of observation. Hyperion is seen as impartial and unconcerned with mortals. Some modern pagans burn oils and incense to Hyperion and pray for worldly knowledge, or in some cases extended sight. There are those who believe that extended sight in is impossible to control, and that some things in the universe are beyond mortal comprehension and should remain unseen. Others claim that extended sight can result in madness, thus some sects discourage active worship of Hyperion.
External link
- Hyperion: excerpts from original Greek sources