Coeus

Quality 0.50 · 2 views · Updated 2 months ago

Ancient Greek Titan

title: "Coeus" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["greek-gods", "children-of-gaia", "titans-(mythology)", "condemned-souls-in-tartarus", "metamorphoses-characters", "koan-mythology", "leto"] description: "Ancient Greek Titan" topic_path: "general/greek-gods" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coeus" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Ancient Greek Titan ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox deity"]

FieldValue
typeGreek
nameCoeus
member_ofthe Titans
battlesTitanomachy
consortPhoebe
parentsUranus and Gaia
script_nameAncient Greek
offspringLeto, Asteria
::

| type = Greek | name = Coeus | member_of = the Titans | battles = Titanomachy | consort = Phoebe | parents = Uranus and Gaia | script_name = Ancient Greek | offspring = Leto, Asteria

In Greek mythology, Coeus (; ), also called Koios or Polus, was one of the Titans, the children of Uranus (Sky) and Gaia (Earth).

Mythology

Coeus was an obscure figure, and like most of the Titans he played no active part in Greek mythology—he appears only in lists of Titans—but was primarily important for his descendants. With his sister, "shining" Phoebe, Coeus fathered two daughters, Leto and Asteria. Leto copulated with Zeus (the son of fellow Titans Cronus and Rhea) and bore Artemis and Apollo. Asteria became the mother of Hecate by Perses (son of fellow Titan Crius and half-sister Eurybia).

Along with the other Titans, Coeus was overthrown by Zeus and the other Olympians in the Titanomachy. Afterwards, he and all his brothers (sans Oceanus) were imprisoned in Tartarus by Zeus. Coeus, later overcome with madness, broke free from his bonds and attempted to escape his imprisonment, but was repelled by Cerberus.

Tacitus wrote that Coeus was the first inhabitant of the island of Kos, which claimed to be the birthplace of his daughter Leto. Coeus's name was modified from Κοῖος (Koîos) to Κῶιος (Kōios), leading to his association with the island.

Eventually Zeus freed the Titans, presumably including Coeus.

Genealogy

Notes

References

References

  1. (1887). "Webster's Condensed Dictionary". George Routledge and Sons.
  2. [[Gaius Julius Hyginus. Hyginus]], ''Fabulae'' [https://topostext.org/work/206#0.2 Preface] and [https://topostext.org/work/206#140 140]
  3. [[Ovid]] in ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' (VI.185) alludes to Coeus' obscure nature: "[[Leto. Latona]], that Titaness whom Coeus sired, whoever he may be." (''nescio quoque audete satam Titanida Coeo''): M. L. West, in "Hesiod's Titans" (''The Journal of Hellenic Studies'' '''105''' [1985:174–175]) remarks that Phoibe's "consort Koios is an even more obscure quantity. Perhaps he too had originally to with [[Delphi. Delphic divination]]", and he suspects that Phoebe, Koios and [[Themis]] were Delphic additions to the list of ''Titanes'', drawn from various archaic sources.
  4. Such as [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0130%3Acard%3D104 133]; [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022%3Atext%3DLibrary%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D1%3Asection%3D3 1.1.3]; [[Diodorus Siculus]], ''[[Bibliotheca historica]]'' [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/5D*.html#66.3 5.66.3]; [[Clement of Alexandria]], ''Recognitions'' [http://www.theoi.com/Text/ClementRecognitions.html#31 31].
  5. Hesiod included among his descendants [[Hekate]], daughter of Asteriē, as [[Apostolos Athanassakis. Apostolos N. Athanassakis]], noted, correcting the ''[[Oxford Classical Dictionary. OCD]]'', noted (Athanassakis, "Hekate Is Not the Daughter of Koios and Phoibe" ''The Classical World'' '''71'''.2 [October 1977:127]); R. Renehan expanded the note in "Hekate, H. J. Rose, and C. M. Bowra", ''The Classical World,'' '''73'''.5 (February 1980:302–304).
  6. [[Homeric Hymn. Orphic Hymn]] to Leto she is ''Leto Koiantis'', "Leto, daughter of Koios".
  7. "Hymn 3 to Apollo, line 47".
  8. [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+404&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0130 404 ff]; Pseudo-Apollodorus, ''[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Bibliotheca]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022%3Atext%3DLibrary%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D2%3Asection%3D2 1.2.2]
  9. [[Valerius Flaccus (poet). Valerius Flaccus]], "Argonautica" 3.224 ff
  10. "Cornelius Tacitus, The Annals, BOOK XII, chapter 61".
  11. [[Pindar]], ''Pythian Odes'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0033.tlg002.perseus-eng1:4 4.289-291]; additionally, [[Aeschylus]]' lost play ''[[Prometheus Unbound (Aeschylus). Prometheus Unbound]]'' features a chorus of freed Titans.
  12. [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+132 132–138], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+337 337–411], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+453 453–520], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+901 901–906, 915–920]; Caldwell, pp. 8–11, tables 11–14.
  13. Although usually the daughter of Hyperion and Theia, as in [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+371 371–374], in the ''[[Homeric Hymns|Homeric Hymn]] to Hermes'' (4), [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=HH+4+99&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0138 99–100], Selene is instead made the daughter of Pallas the son of Megamedes.
  14. According to [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+507 507–511], Clymene, one of the [[Oceanid]]s, the daughters of [[Oceanus]] and [[Tethys (mythology)|Tethys]], at [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+351 351], was the mother by Iapetus of Atlas, Menoetius, Prometheus, and Epimetheus, while according to [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022%3Atext%3DLibrary%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D2%3Asection%3D3 1.2.3], another Oceanid, Asia was their mother by Iapetus.
  15. According to [[Plato]], ''[[Critias (dialogue). Critias]]'', [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0059.tlg032.perseus-eng1:113d 113d–114a], Atlas was the son of [[Poseidon]] and the mortal [[Cleito]].
  16. In [[Aeschylus]], ''[[Prometheus Bound]]'' 18, 211, 873 (Sommerstein, pp. [http://www.loebclassics.com/view/aeschylus-prometheus_bound/2009/pb_LCL145.445.xml 444–445 n. 2], [http://www.loebclassics.com/view/aeschylus-prometheus_bound/2009/pb_LCL145.467.xml 446–447 n. 24], [http://www.loebclassics.com/view/aeschylus-prometheus_bound/2009/pb_LCL145.539.xml 538–539 n. 113]) Prometheus is made to be the son of [[Themis]].

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

greek-godschildren-of-gaiatitans-(mythology)condemned-souls-in-tartarusmetamorphoses-characterskoan-mythologyleto