{"id":1001,"date":"2018-06-12T10:56:51","date_gmt":"2018-06-12T09:56:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/greekgodsandgoddesses.net\/?post_type=goddesses&p=1001"},"modified":"2024-02-13T16:00:29","modified_gmt":"2024-02-13T16:00:29","slug":"hemera","status":"publish","type":"goddesses","link":"https:\/\/greekgodsandgoddesses.net\/goddesses\/hemera\/","title":{"rendered":"Hemera"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hemera, Primordial Goddess of the Day<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Hemera was the goddess of day. She was listed among the first gods, the generations before the Titans<\/a> and Olympians<\/a>. Three different versions of her family tree exist in ancient writings. According to Hesiod’s Theogony, the narrative detailing the genealogy of the gods, She was the daughter of Nyx<\/a> (Night) and Erebos (Darkness), two primordial deities born from Chaos<\/a>, the void or chasm before creation. The poet Bacchylides, on the other hand, named Nyx as Hemera’s mother, but Chronos\u2014the primordial god of time\u2014as her father. Another version by Hyginus stated that Hemera emerged from Chaos<\/a> alongside Nyx, making her Hemera’s sister, not mother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Like Night and Day<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Whether daughter or sister, Hemera was always closely linked with Nyx, their heavenly movements used to explain the cycle of day into night to the ancients. They moved in counterpoint to one another, Nyx retreating from the sky as Hemera appeared. Hesiod described them drawing near and passing one another, one entering a house while the other departed to pass over the earth, the house never holding them both inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"hemera-primordial-goddess-of-day\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n
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Consort and Offspring<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In all ancient sources, Hemera was paired with Aether<\/a> (Light), both her brother and consort. Sources differ, however, when it comes to their children. According to one version Hemera and Aether bore the Titans Gaia<\/a> (Earth), Uranus<\/a> (Sky) and Thalassa (Sea), while another version cited only Thalassa as the child of Hemera and Aether. Yet another claimed Uranus as their only child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hemera and Eos<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Given their similarities, some ancient texts closely associated Hemera with Eos, the goddess of the dawn. In some cases, the two goddesses<\/a> were interchangeable. Philostratus the Elder uses their names interchangeably when describing a painting of the funeral of the Ethiopian king Memnon\u2014also the son of Eos. In addition, both Callistratus and Pausanias, cited Hemera as Memnon’s mother in their writings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hemera Facts<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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  • Unlike other deities associated with time or light, Hemera’s specific domain over the day itself sets her apart. She has a unique role in the pantheon as the embodiment of daylight.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • The mythological depiction of Hemera entering and leaving a house as Nyx departs and returns illustrates the never-ending cycle of day and night. This relationship with Nyx is symbolic of the ancient world’s understanding of balance and duality.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Hemera’s lineage and associations hint at her influence on the creation myths of the ancient Greeks. Suggesting a foundational role in shaping the world and its elements.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • The varying accounts of Hemera’s parentage and offspring in ancient texts reflect the adaptability of myth to convey different cultural and philosophical ideas. Particularly myths about the origins of the world and the nature of light and darkness.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
    <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Hemera, Primordial Goddess of the Day Hemera was the goddess of day. She was listed among the first gods, the generations before the Titans and Olympians. Three different versions of her family tree exist in ancient writings. According to Hesiod’s Theogony, the narrative detailing the genealogy of the gods, She was the daughter of Nyx […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1002,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/greekgodsandgoddesses.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/goddesses\/1001"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/greekgodsandgoddesses.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/goddesses"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/greekgodsandgoddesses.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/goddesses"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greekgodsandgoddesses.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greekgodsandgoddesses.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1001"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/greekgodsandgoddesses.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/goddesses\/1001\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4988,"href":"https:\/\/greekgodsandgoddesses.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/goddesses\/1001\/revisions\/4988"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greekgodsandgoddesses.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1002"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/greekgodsandgoddesses.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greekgodsandgoddesses.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/greekgodsandgoddesses.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}