coeus

2 0 0
                                    

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" pheobe, Coeus fathered two daughters, asteria and leto . 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 (Koĩos) to Κῶιος (Kō̃ios), leading to his association with the island.

Eventually Zeus freed the Titans, presumably including Coeus.

greek and roman mythololgyWhere stories live. Discover now