Hyades

Overview

The Hyades were daughters of the Titan Atlas and the Oceanid Aethra; their number ranged from two to seven, depending on the source. These goddesses were eventually placed in the sky as stars and were associated with the rainy season.

There are at least two versions of the Hyades’ mythology. In one story, the Hyades became stars after they died of grief for their brother Hyas, killed in a hunting accident. In other stories, though, the Hyades nursed the infant Dionysus on Mount Nysa, and it was for this reason that they were placed in the sky.

The Hyades were connected with the stars that rise and set during the rainy parts of the year, and were therefore seen as bringers of rain. Their Roman counterparts were called Suculae.^[1]