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Hyperion (Greek: Ὑπερίων, "The High-One") was one of the 12 Titans of Greek mythology, the sons and daughters of Gaia, personification of the Earth, and Uranus (literally meaning 'the Sky'), which were later supplanted by the Olympians. He was the brother of Cronus. He was also the lord of light, early Sungod, and the Titan of the east. He was referred to in early mythological writings as Helios Hyperion (Ἥλιος Ὑπερίων), 'Sun High-one'. In Homer's Odyssey, Hesiod's Theogony and the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, the Sun is once in each work called Hyperionides (Ὑπεριωνίδης) 'son of Hyperion', and Hesiod certainly imagines Hyperion as a separate being in other writings. In later Greek literature, Hyperion is always distinguished from Helios; the former was ascribed the characteristics of the 'God of Watchfulness, Wisdom and Light', while the latter became the physical incarnation of the Sun. Hyperion is an obscure figure in Greek culture and mythology, mainly appearing in lists of the twelve Titans. 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. There is little to no reference to Hyperion during the Titanomachy, the epic in which the Olympians battle the ruling Titans, or the Gigantomachy, in which Gaia attempts to avenge the Titans by enlisting the aid of the giants (Γίγαντες) that were imprisoned in Tartarus to facilitate the overthrow of the Olympians. As the father of Helios, Hyperion was regarded as the "first principle" by Emperor Julian, though his relevance in his notions of Theurgy is unknown. En la mitología griega, Hiperión (griego antiguo: Ὑπερίων, romanización: Hiperíón, significado: el que camina en las alturas) es un Titán, hijo de Urano (el Cielo) y Gea (la Tierra). En la Ilíada de Homero, el dios sol se llamaba Helios Hyperion (‘Sol en lo más alto’), pero en la Odisea, la Teogonía de Hesíodo y el himno homérico a Deméter el sol recibe el nombre de Hyperonides (‘hijo de Hiperión’), y ciertamente Hesíodo imaginaba a Hiperión como un ser separado de Helios en otras obras. De hecho, algunos traducen «Hiperión» como ‘el que aparece antes que el Sol’. En la literatura griega posterior Hiperión siempre se distingue de Helios. |
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Hiperión es considerado a menudo el dios de la observación, y su hermana Tea la diosa de la vista. Según Hesíodo, se casó con Tea (llamada Eurifaesa en el Himno homérico a Helios), su hermana, con la que tuvo tres hijos: Helios (el Sol), Selene (la Luna) y Eos (la Aurora) Tea concibió del amor de Hiperión y dio a luz al gran Helios y las brillantes Selene y Eos, que traen la luz a todos los mortales de esta tierra y a los inmortales dioses que gobiernan el ancho cielo. Hiperión desempeña un papel virtualmente nulo en los cultos griegos y muy pequeño en la mitología, con la excepción de aparecer en la lista de los doce Titanes. Autores griegos posteriores intelectualizaron sus mitos. De Hiperión se nos dice que fue el primero en entender, por su diligente atención y observación, el movimiento del sol, la luna y las demás estrellas, así como de las estaciones, que están provocadas por estos cuerpos, y dar a conocer estos hechos a los demás; y por esta razón fue llamado padre de estos cuerpos, pues había engendrado, por así decirlo, la especulación sobre ellos y su naturaleza. |
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HYPERION was the Titan god of light, one of the sons of Ouranos (Heaven) and Gaia (Earth), and the father of the lights of heaven--Eos the Dawn, Helios the Sun, and Selene the Moon. His wife was Theia, lady of the aither--the shining blue of the sky. Hyperion's name means "watcher from above" or "he who goes above" from the greek words hyper and iôn. Hyperion was one of the four Titan brothers who conspired with Kronos in the castration of their father Ouranos. When Sky descended to lie with Earth, Hyperion, Krios, Koios and Iapetos--posted at the four corners of the world--seized hold of their father and held him fast while Kronos castrated him with a sickle. In this myth these four Titanes personify the great pillars which appear in Near-Eastern cosmogonies holding heaven and earth apart, or else the entire cosmos aloft. As the father of the sun and dawn, Hyperion was no doubt regarded as the Titan of the pillar of the east. His brothers Koios, Krios and Iapetos presided respectively over the north, south and west. The Titanes were eventually deposed by Zeus and cast into the pit of Tartaros. Hesiod describes this as a void located beneath the foundations of all, where earth, sea and sky have their roots. Here the Titanes shift in cosmological terms from being holders of heaven to bearers of the entire cosmos. According to Pindar and Aeschylus (in his lost play Prometheus Unbound) the Titanes were eventually released from the pit through the clemency of Zeus. |
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