Goddess of Sun and Morning.
Alectrona (also known as Electryone or Electryo) was the greek goddess of the sun. It is thought that she might have also been the goddess of morning or ‘waking from slumber’. Some believed wholeheartedly that she was the cause of men waking from their sleep every morning. Her father was Helios, Titan lord of the sun (and the patron god of the Island of Rhodes), and her mother was Rhode (or Rhodos), a nymph from the same island. She was a sister to the Heliadae, the seven sons of Helios and Rhodos. Her seven brothers were known to be skilled in all manner of seafaring and astrology and they were the ones who started the tradition of offering sacrifices to the goddess Athena.
Unfortunately, not much is known about Alectrona, though she did have a temple built in her honor with special rules and regulations to be read before entering. She died a virgin and it is said that after her ‘death’ she was honored as a heroine on the Island of Rhodes. The cause of her death is unknown, though there is speculation that she was killed during a war between the gods.
The name ‘Electryone’ means ‘amber, shining, iridescent’, a fitting name for a goddess of the sun and morning. The ‘Alectrona’ form of her name is also very similar to the word for ‘rooster’ in ancient Greek. This further cements the belief that Alectrona woke the sleeping populace every morning – just like a rooster is prone to do!
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