Asterope (Hesperid)

Asterope (/æˈstɛrəp/ Ancient Greek: Ἀστεροπή or Στεροπή, Asteropē or Steropē, "lightning") was a Hesperid in Greek mythology.[1]

Garden of the Hesperides by Albert Herter, 1898

Parents and names

Asterope's parents, along with her sisters, were sometimes daughters of Nyx and Erebus, sometimes of Atlas, even Zeus in some cases. Other possible parents were Phorcys and Ceto, and Hesperus. Her sisters were Chrysothemis, Hygieia and Lipara.[2]

Literally, her name means "Starry-Faced",[3] a compound of ἄστηρ (ástēr, "star")[4] and ὄψ (ops, "face"),[5] but its idiomatic meaning is "lightning".[1] She also has another name she sometimes uses: Hesperia, which is probably linked to one of her putative parents.

Namesake

Asterope is a genus of butterflies of the family Nymphalidae.

Notes

  1. ἀστεροπή. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project
  2. Walters, Henry Beauchamp (1905). History of Ancient Pottery: Greek, Etruscan, and Roman: Based on the Work of Samuel Birch. Vol. 2. pp. 92.
  3. "Asterope Hesperia". theoi. Retrieved 2016-09-13.
  4. ἄστηρ. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project
  5. ὄψ. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project


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