Today’s episode is brought to you by Flexispot. More on them at the end of the video
Thousands of years ago, the ancient Greeks, courtesy of the philosopher Plato, once
believed that human eyes emitted light and that this was the way in which we were able to see.
Vision was of course much less understood in the ancient times,
let alone the function of the eye itself, and so the concept that human beings produced
light from their eyes which enabled them to see was probably not so outlandish.
Such a notion was often attributed to the Titan Hyperion, a deity of heavenly light and a deity
who by the nature of his realm, also maintained some influence over sight.
However, Hyperion is often considered to have been more associated with the sun, more specifically,
the light from the sun - likely in a time before the rise of the more popular Helios.
Instead, it is Hyperion’s wife Theia who becomes more commonly referred to as a goddess of sight,
especially considering that her main symbol was of her eyes.
Considering that she governed over a sense that was and still is most imperative to humans, it’s
interesting that she wasn’t more widely renowned. Another idea suggests that the Greeks believed
that the light which the eyes emitted was much like a lamp and that whatever this light touched,
became visible to the viewer. WIth this, Theia was not only the goddess of sight,
enabling mankind to see, but also the goddess of light, that which the humans would require.
As far as the mythology goes, and at first glance, Theia, like many of the Titans,
does not appear to have a significant role beyond being born to the primordials Uranus and Gaia.
When Zeus overthrew Cronus and established his own Olympian rule, it is believed that many of the
male Titans (most notably, those who sided against him) were thrown into Tartarus or otherwise
killed. The female Titans however appeared to have been not only spared, but also revered,
none the least by Zeus himself. Of course, knowing Zeus, this was likely because of his
sexual appetite, for we do see him attempting to court a few Titanesses once his reign began.
Luckily for Theia, she appeared to have been one of the Titans who alluded Zeus, either
staying out of his sight or perhaps rejoining her husband in the form of ‘heavenly light’.
Despite not having an active role in the mythology, Theia was also believed to have
been a means to explain the birth of the sun, the moon and the dawn; otherwise known to the
Greeks as Helios, Selene and Eos. Helios was said to live in the far east, and every day
he would travel across the sky to the west in his golden chariot. During the evening hours,
he would descend into the west, only to reset the next day and resume his journey.
Of course, Helios was seen as the manifestation of the sun, a god by which the ancient Greeks could
relate to the golden star and by some means understand it. Selene meanwhile would have a
similar trajectory, only she was understood to be the moon - a deity who controlled the lunar
elements and also affected the tides of the ocean. Eos on the other hand was the goddess of dawn,
rising each day just before her brother Helios and bringing with her the golden rays of dawn.
As you might imagine, these three deities were exceptionally important to the Greeks,
giving them the day and night cycle which would effectively govern their everyday lives.
With the Titaness Theia being their mother, she could also be known as the mother of the sun,
the moon and the dawn - granting her considerable staying power within the
ancient belief. Once more, it is therefore interesting that Theia is often overlooked
and not only missing from significant mythology, but also absent in ancient worship.
According to some ideas, Theia was also the female version of the primordial deity Aether, who was
the blue ether of the heavens and the sky. As the female aspect of this deity, she was considered
to be the daughter of the heavens, alongside her titles as the mother of the sun, moon and dawn.
Her name Theia, which has a variety of spellings, could also have been known as Euryphaessa, or
‘wide-shining’ - perhaps on the account that her powers were not limited to giving man light
for which to see, but also granting light to gold, silver and gemstones.
With this notion, Theia became responsible for the stark appearance of jewels,
infusing them with vivid color that man would come to associate with beauty and wealth. In
one of his works, the poet Pindar praises Theia for her influence over gold and gems,
saying “Mother of the Sun, Theia of many names, for your sake men honor gold as more powerful than
anything else; and through the value you bestow on them, o queen, ships contending on the sea
and yoked teams of horses in swift-whirling contests become marvels.” (Fifth Isthmian)
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And now back to Theia
Despite not being in classical mythology, there does exist a fable by Plutarch in which Selene
asks Theia to knit her a garment. Whilst Theia attempts to clothe her daughter, she finds she is
not able to, for Selene kept changing in shape and size; sometimes appearing full, sometimes crescent
shaped and sometimes half in size. Naturally, this was to show the different perceptions of the moon,
but also gave a reason to the ancients as to why the moon was never consistent throughout the year.
As always guys, if you’ve enjoyed today’s episode on Greek Mythology Explained then don’t forget to
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Furthermore, if you’re a fan of Greek Mythology as much as I am,
then you may want to check out a copy of our book Greek Mythology Explained,
where we retell a few of our favorite myths and explore the meanings and themes behind them.
With that being said, I hope you all have a good evening and I’ll see you in the next one.
Until next time!