Theia, goddess of shining

Theia (Thia, Thea, Euryphaessa) was a Titan goddess of shining, associated with shining light, shining metals or jewels. Her other name Euryphaessa means "wide-shining" and therefore she was connected with all that is shining. In Pindar's Isthmian Odes, Theia is described as the goddess of shining after whom men honored gold as the most powerful shining object. She was also a goddess of sight, because ancient Greeks believed that eyes emitted beams of light which allowed them to see what they looked upon. She was one of the twelve titans and one of the six daughters of Uranus and Gaea. Theia was also, like her sisters Phoebe and Themis, associated with prophecies. She had a shrine in Thessaly.

The mother of the Sun, the Moon and the Dawn

Theia married her brother Hyperion (Titan god of light) and together they gave birth to Helios (the sun), Selene (the moon) and Eos (the dawn).

Helios - Titan god of sun dwelled in a golden palace, located at the far east of the earth. He was traveling from the east to the west during daytime with his golden chariot, drawn by four winged horses, and was wearing a radiant circle or aureole of the sun. During night-time he descended into a golden cup which carried him back to his golden palace.

Selene - Titan goddess of moon was depicted as a woman in chariot, drawn by a pair of winged steeds, and wearing a golden cloak. Her great love was a mortal man called Endymion who was granted immortality and eternal youth by Zeus and was placed in a state of eternal slumber near Mount Latmos where his bride came every night to consort with him.

Eos - Titan goddess of dawn who rose each day in the morning from the edge of Oceanus to overcome mists and shadows of the night with her golden rays. She was married to her cousin Astraeus(Titan god of dusk). However, she had fallen under a curse from Aphrodite and became, like her sister Selene, obsessed with young mortal men. Finally, she had chosen Tithonus, prince of Troy, to be her lover. She also asked Zeus for his immortality but forgot to ask for eternal youth and one day he shrivelled up by old age and babbled for eternity