Bulfinch’s Mythology · Chapter
Aurora and Tithonus explained
The goddess of the Dawn, Aurora, falls in love with the mortal Tithonus, son of King Laomedon of Troy.
What happens
The goddess of the Dawn, Aurora, falls in love with the mortal Tithonus, son of King Laomedon of Troy. She obtains immortality for him from Jupiter but forgets to request eternal youth, leading to his gradual aging and eventual transformation into a grasshopper. Their son Memnon, king of the Aethiopians, comes to aid Troy in the Trojan War but is slain by Achilles. Aurora mourns him inconsolably, and Jupiter turns the embers of his funeral pyre into birds that annually reenact his obsequies. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the vocal statue of Memnon in Egypt, a subject of poetic allusion.
Themes in this chapter
Love and Transformation
Aurora's love for Tithonus leads to his transformation into a grasshopper, illustrating the theme of love intertwined with change and loss.
Mortality and Immortality
The story explores the tension between immortality granted by the gods and the inevitable decay of mortal life, as Tithonus ages eternally.
Characters to notice
- Aurora
Goddess of the Dawn, lover of Tithonus, mother of Memnon; mourns her son's death and is associated with dewdrops as her tears.
- Tithonus
Son of Laomedon, king of Troy; granted immortality by Jupiter but not eternal youth, eventually turns into a grasshopper.
- Jupiter
Grants immortality to Tithonus at Aurora's request; later turns the embers of Memnon's funeral pyre into birds.
- Memnon
Son of Aurora and Tithonus, king of the Aethiopians; slain by Achilles during the Trojan War.
- Achilles
Greek hero who defeats and kills Memnon in battle.
- King Priam
King of Troy; receives Memnon with honors and listens to his narratives.
Key passages
“The goddess of the Dawn, like her sister the Moon, was at times inspired with the love of mortals.”
Aurora, like her sister the Moon, occasionally fell in love with mortal men.
Introduces Aurora's romantic inclination toward mortals.
“She stole him away, and prevailed on Jupiter to grant him immortality; but, forgetting to have youth joined in the gift, after some time she began to discern, to her great mortification, that he was growing old.”
Aurora abducted Tithonus and persuaded Jupiter to make him immortal, but she neglected to ask for eternal youth, so she eventually noticed with dismay that he was aging.
Highlights the critical oversight in the gift of immortality.
“Finally she turned him into a grasshopper.”
In the end, she transformed him into a grasshopper.
Climax of Tithonus's transformation.
“Aurora remains inconsolable for the loss of her son. Her tears still flow, and may be seen at early morning in the form of dewdrops on the grass.”
Aurora never gets over Memnon's death; her tears are said to appear as morning dew on the grass.
Poetic explanation for dew as Aurora's eternal mourning.
“Ancient writers record that when the first rays of the rising sun fall upon this statue a sound is heard to issue from it, which they compare to the snapping of a harp-string.”
Ancient authors wrote that at sunrise, the statue of Memnon emitted a sound like a harp string breaking.
Describes the legendary vocal property of Memnon's statue.
