Theia


In Greek mythology, Theia, also called Euryphaessa "wide-shining", is a Titaness. Her brother/consort is Hyperion, a Titan and god of the sun, and together they are the parents of Helios, Selene, and Eos. She may be the same with Aethra, the consort of Hyperion and mother of his children in some accounts.

Etymology

The name Theia alone means simply "goddess" or "divine"; Theia Euryphaessa brings overtones of extent and brightness.

Mythology

Earliest account

The usual accounts gave her an equally primal origin, said to be the eldest daughter of Gaia and Uranus. Robert Graves also relates that later Theia is referred to as the cow-eyed Euryphaessa who gave birth to Helios in myths dating to Classical Antiquity.

Later myths

Once paired in later myths with her Titan brother Hyperion as her husband, "mild-eyed Euryphaessa, the far-shining one" of the Homeric Hymn to Helios, was said to be the mother of Helios, Selene, and Eos.
Pindar praises Theia in his Fifth Isthmian ode:
She seems here a goddess of glittering in particular and of glory in general, but Pindar's allusion to her as "Theia of many names" is telling, since it suggests assimilation, referring not only to similar mother-of-the-sun goddesses such as Phoebe and Leto, but perhaps also to more universalizing mother-figures such as Rhea and Cybele.

Diodorus account

An unorthodox version of the myth presented by Diodorus identified Theia as basileia with the following account:

Theia in the sciences

Theia's mythological role as the mother of the Moon goddess Selene is alluded to in the application of the name to a hypothetical planet which, according to the giant impact hypothesis, collided with the Earth, resulting in the Moon's creation.
Theia's alternate name Euryphaessa has been adopted for a species of Australian leafhoppers Dayus euryphaessa.
A Theia figure has been found at the Necropolis of Cyrene.