Hesperus: Greek God of the Evening Star

The Story of Hesperus

Hesperus was the god of the evening star, the planet Venus as it shines in the western sky after sunset. Ancient writers name his parents in different ways, and he is often treated as a brother of Phosphorus, the morning star. His name comes from the Greek word for evening, the same root as the Hesperides, the nymphs of the far west.

Hesperus was the first light to appear as night began to fall, and he was loved for the calm he brought. The poet Sappho sang that the evening star brings home everything the dawn has scattered, the sheep, the goat and the child back to its mother. He was also linked with weddings, because the bride was led to her new home as evening fell.

In time the Greeks learned that Hesperus and Phosphorus were the same planet seen at different times of day. Hesperus kept his place in poetry as the gentle star of evening, rest and love. The Romans called him Vesper, a name that lives on in the evening prayers called vespers.