In Greek mythology, Cephalus (/ˈsɛfələs/; Ancient Greek: Κέφαλος Kephalos) was a member of the Athenian royal family as the son of Princess Herse and Hermes.
In some accounts, Cephalus was said to be the son of Hermes by Creusa[1] or of Pandion I.[2]
Because of Cephalus's great beauty, Eos (Dawn) fell in love with him. He was eventually carried off and ravished by her in Syria.[3] Consorting with the goddess, by some accounts Cephalus became the father of Tithonus, the father of Phaethon.[4] Another version of the myth provides that Phaethon was said to be his son instead of Tithonus.[5]
On the pediment of the kingly Stoa in the Kerameikos at Athens, and on the temple of Apollo at Amyclae, the carrying off of Cephalus by Hemera (not Eos) was represented.[6] According to a single myth, Eosphorus was also called the son of Cephalus and Eos.[7]
