Daughter of Theia – Oil Painting

Daughter of Theia oil on canvas 80×90 cm 2021.

Available from Gallery Tresco.

A favorite subject of mine. Contemplating the origin of the Moon whenever the Moon is visible in the sky. – a remnant of a collison between the Earth and a Mars sized object called Theia approx 4.5 billion years ago, remnants of which still exist deep within the Earth .
In Greek mythology Theia was the goddess of light and of the bright blue sky, of giving sight to mankind. Theia – child of Ouranos and Gaia was also the mother of Helios (thesun) Selene (the Moon) and Eos (the dawn) and was responsible for the lustre of metals like gold.

I love the fact that these stories are continually passed down that astronomers give names to objects like Theia out of respect for these mythological stories. These stories are part of our shared humanity ….. it’s part of why I love astronomy and cosmology so much ….. and especially why I paint such subjects like this