Writer: Lichtluxx
Subject: Lucifer In Greek Mythology
Link: Tumblr / 22.03.2025
Lucifer In Greek Mythology
Lucifer in Greek mythology had different names: Phosphorus, Eosphorus and Hesperus, and he was a minor deity associated with light and dawn. His many faces came into existence because the Greeks, in ancient times, believed that Phosphorus (his name means: the bringer of light) brought the light of dawn and Hesperus (the Bringer of Night) would slowly extinguish the light of the sun in the sky until darkness (night) took over.
The morning star is the last “Star” to disappear once morning appears. The first “Star” to appear once night falls is called the evening “Star” — thus, Phosphorus and Hesperus.
In short, in Greek mythology, he has three faces: Phosphorus (Lucifer), Eosphorus and Hesperus. Phosphorus is the one who brings light, Eosphorus is the morning star and Hesperus is the evening star. However, these three faces are not separate, they are part of the same god. The star that represents him is Venus, which is the largest of the four and the closest to the Earth. He is also related to the sea and lunar fire. And he brings both light and darkness.
He is mentioned as the son of Astraeus and Eos, and in other versions, he is the son of Cephalus and Eos or even of Atlas.
Later, the Greeks realized that Venus was the same star, and began to identify it with the goddess of love, Aphrodite — a divinity that was equivalent to the one that represented it for the Babylonians, Ishtar.
His name was the equivalent of Lucifer for the Romans who, then, with the advent of Christianity, the Fathers of the Church (more precisely, Saint Jerome) identified him with Satan, the “Angel of Light” who, through vanity and pride, fell from heaven after declaring himself superior to God.
Eosphorus is considered the father of Ceyx by Khione and Deucalion. Other sources cite him as the father of Hesperia, who together with Atlas became the mother of the Hesperides.
In an ancient Greek vase painting, Eosphorus / Hesperus was depicted as a young man, either in the form of a bust surrounded by the shining orb of his star or as a winged god holding a torch and crowned with a shining halo — an image that follows Lucifer to his Roman counterpart, as he has a very cute painting just like this.
Furthermore, there are two prayers to Hesperus – although they are from plays, they may suggest the sort used in real life:
“Stars (asters), bow to my prayer, and become sightless; Moon (mênê), suffer your light to sink swiftly and depart!’ So she [Hero] spoke, for to see Laandros (Leander) was all her heart’s desire. Then did he too make supplication: ‘Back, Hesperos, to hiding!’ – thus prayed, Laandros — “Ride backwards, all the stars, that night and heaven and sun and earth may grow dark!”
And
“Now, O Phoebus [Helios the Sun], speed thy chariot with no check of rein; let friendly darkness veil the light and let Hesperus, vanguard of the night, plunge deep this fearful day.”
Ovid tells the tale of Lucifer as an “Overseer” of the sky who tells the stars in which order to leave and then goes away last to make room for the sun.
Digging a bit further, Theoi says Lucifer is the Roman name of the Greek Hesperus and provides information on a specific cult dedicated to him as detailed by Strabo in Geography: The Westerners [of the two lands called Lokris] are called Lokrians and Ozolai, and they have the star Hesperos engraved on their public seal. He was worshipped for navigation and travel.
However, he as a Greek entity didn’t have a temple. Ovid seems to allude to the existence of at least two shrines to Eos, his mother; although the only evidence for an early cult of Eos is a reference to libations she received in Athens. Whether Eos actually had any shrines and altars in ancient Greece, we are not aware of them. But he is depicted as a torch-bearing child who is always accompanying her.
Now, in his Roman mythology, he is the son of the Roman Goddess Aurora, considered a minor god and a deity associated with the planet Venus, which was often associated with a deity or personification of the dawn.
The second-century Roman mythographer Hyginus said of the planet — The fourth star is that of Venus, Luciferus by name. Some say it is Juno’s. In many tales, it is recorded that it is called Hesperus, too. It seems to be the largest of all stars. Some have said it represents the son of Aurora and Cephalus, who surpassed many in beauty, so that he even vied with Venus, and, as Eratosthenes says, for this reason, it is called the star of Venus. It is visible both at dawn and sunset and so properly has been called both Luciferus and Hesperus.
The Latin poet Ovid, in his first-century epic Metamorphoses, describes Lucifer as ordering the heavens:
Aurora, watchful in the reddening dawn, threw wide her crimson doors and rose-filled halls; the Stellae took flight, in marshaled order set by Lucifer who left his station last.
In the classical Roman period, Lucifer was not typically regarded as a deity and had few, if any, myths, though the planet was associated with various deities and often poetically personified.
Cicero stated “You say that Sol and Luna are deities, and the Greeks identify the former with Apollo and the latter with Diana. But if Luna is a goddess, then Lucifer (the Morning-Star) also and the rest of the Wandering Stars (Stellae Errantes) will have to be counted gods; and if so, then the Fixed Stars (Stellae Inerrantes) as well.”
There is no Scriptural source which defines Lucifer as Satan. In fact, the word Lucifer was an addition to the Scriptures in place of the Hebrew word, Heylel, which was the literal name of Venus; and, Shahar, which just means “Star of the Morning” or sometimes translated, “Son of the Morning”.
The word was about Babylonian Kings and the titles they used to claim their divine right to rule. Artifacts such as the Cyrus Cylinder, confirm such assertions were made by kings of the ancient world.
So when they say, “Oh, how have you fallen, O Morning star,” The prophet is saying this king rose to power under the guidance and blessing of the Hebrew divine God yet he haughtily believes he has risen in power by his brilliance and might and is therefore condemned by God to be “Thrown down” and made humble. The writer never intended it to mean any fallen angel of any kind. It was simply a metaphor for the pride before a crash that was destined to happen to this earthly king.
The Latin word (Lucifer) was added to the Hebrew Text by Jerome in the 4th Century and was the first to ever present the belief that Lucifer was the serpent in the Garden with Adam and Eve. In addition, the reasons for Jerome’s misguided and inaccurate translation of Heylel may be found in his religious politics within the church itself.
One of Jerome’s main adversaries (satan it’s a title and it means adversary) was the Bishop of Cagliari, who was also named Lucifer Calaritanus, who founded the Luciferians (you got context about this guy in the first part, go read it if you haven’t already).
Hoping that the allusion itself was strong enough to condemn the Bishop of Cagliari and his followers as heretics, Jerome hoped to have their ideas and movement abolished. In the Seventh Century, Augustine focused on the Vulgate mistranslation and added more to the idea of an angel named Lucifer who rebelled against God because of pride and took down one-thirds of the angels.
In summary, the name “Lucifer” evolved from a Roman term denoting light to a figure associated with pride and rebellion against God, ultimately becoming a name for Satan in Christian theology.
Moving closer to the Stregheria (Italian witchcraft, in case you don’t know this term) now, Dianus Luciferus was an ancient god of the Italian Witches. Brother, son and consort of the Goddess Diana, he is the Bringer of Light and Lord of Splendor, as well as being the Lord of the Morning and Evening Star for the Romans. He was later associated with the Christian Devil.
Dianus Luciferus is also known as Dis in his aspect as God of Death and the Afterlife and as Lupercusem in his aspect as the Child of Promise, bearer of hope and Light.
The connection with light and stars also came from the association with Venus, especially because of its proximity to the Sun. Furthermore, the name Dianus is directly linked to his mother and consort, the Goddess Diana.
His name comes from the Latin Luxferres, Bearer of Light, which ended up being transformed into Lucifer. Despite this, he can also be known as the Morning Star, Son of the Dawn, The Shining One or The Bringer of Light.
Dianus Luciferus is endowed with three aspects —
The Horned One: Lord of the Wild Forests and God of Fertility, Sexuality, Life and Death. Associated with the Fauns, but Fauns are goat-men while Dianus is a Stag God.
The Hooded One: Lord of the Fields and Plantations; King of the Harvest and Lord of Flora; Rex Nemorensis; similar to the Greenman of the Celts.
The Elder: Lord of Wisdom and Guardian of the Sanctuaries.
The Stregas say that Dianus was created when Goddess Diana separated herself in two, Darkness and Light, Feminine and Masculine. Diana (as Great Mother) created her son, husband and consort, and is considered a Creator Goddess, the dark sacred goddess.
At first, the goddess tried to make her new creation show some sexual desire, but the plan was frustrated. So, she ended up embarking on a plan of betrayal through magic, stealing his semen. It is said that she bewitched him and copulated with Dianus while he slept, and from this union, Aradia was born, their daughter, and she is seen as a protector of the oppressed and a bearer of ancient wisdom, being sent to Earth by her mother to teach humans about magic.
Like Lucifer, Aradia represents equality, liberation and independence.⠀
Overall, Lucifer embodies enlightenment, knowledge, rebellion, justice, light and darkness, and much more. As I said, he is a very complex, very multifaceted deity, with a large history that I could keep going on and on without stopping. This post was made in his honor. I hope it helps those who want to know a little more about him too.