Wikipedia
In Greek mythology, Astraeus was an astrological deity and the Titan-god of the dusk. Some also associate him with the winds, as he is the father of the four Anemoi/wind deities.
In Hesiod's Theogony and in the Bibliotheca, Astraeus is a second-generation Titan, descended from Crius and Eurybia. However, Hyginus wrote that he was descended directly from Tartarus and Gaia, and referred to him as one of the Gigantes.
Appropriately, as god of the dusk, Astraeus married Eos, goddess of the dawn. Together as nightfall and daybreak they produced many children who are associated with what occurs in the sky during twilight.
They had many sons, the four Anemoi ("Winds"): Boreas, Notus, Eurus, and Zephyrus, and the five Astra Planeta ("Wandering Stars", i.e. planets): Phainon (Saturn), Phaethon (Jupiter), Pyroeis (Mars), Eosphoros/Hesperos (Venus), and Stilbon (Mercury). A few sources mention one daughter, Astraea, the goddess of innocence and, sometimes, justice.
He is also sometimes associated with Aeolus, the Keeper of the Winds, since winds often swell up around dusk.
Astraeus is a genus of fungi in the family Diplocystaceae. The genus, which has a cosmopolitan distribution, contains nine species of earthstar mushrooms. They are distinguished by the outer layer of flesh ( exoperidium) that at maturity splits open in a star-shape manner to reveal a round spore sac. Additionally, they have a strongly hygroscopic character—the rays will open when moist, but when hot and dry will close to protect the spore sac. Species of Astraeus grow on the ground in ectomycorrhizal associations with trees and shrubs.
Astraeus is a genus of beetles in the family Buprestidae, containing the following species:
- Astraeus aberrans van de Poll, 1886
- Astraeus acaciae Barker, 1999
- Astraeus adamsi Barker, 1975
- Astraeus aridus Barker, 1989
- Astraeus badeni van de Poll, 1889
- Astraeus bakeri Barker, 1975
- Astraeus blackdownensis Barker, 1977
- Astraeus caledonicus Fauvel, 1904
- Astraeus carnabyi Barker, 1975
- Astraeus carteri Barker, 1975
- Astraeus crassus van de Poll, 1889
- Astraeus crockerae Barker, 1977
- Astraeus cyaneus Kerremans, 1900
- Astraeus dedariensis Barker, 1975
- Astraeus dilutipes van de Poll, 1886
- Astraeus elongatus van de Poll, 1886
- Astraeus flavopictus Laporte & Gory, 1837
- Astraeus fraseriensis Barker, 1975
- Astraeus fraterculus van de Poll, 1889
- Astraeus globosus Barker, 1975
- Astraeus goerlingi Barker, 1975
- Astraeus goldingi Barker, 2007
- Astraeus hanloni Barker, 2007
- Astraeus intricatus Carter, 1925
- Astraeus irregularis van de Poll, 1889
- Astraeus jansoni van de Poll, 1889
- Astraeus kitchini Barker, 2004
- Astraeus lineatus van de Poll, 1889
- Astraeus macmillani Barker, 1975
- Astraeus major Blackburn, 1890
- Astraeus mastersii Macleay, 1872
- Astraeus mayoi Barker, 2007
- Astraeus meyricki Blackburn, 1890
- Astraeus minutus Barker, 1975
- Astraeus mourangeensis Barker, 1977
- Astraeus multinotatus van de Poll, 1889
- Astraeus navarchis (Thomson, 1856)
- Astraeus oberthuri van de Poll, 1889
- Astraeus obscurus Barker, 1975
- Astraeus occidentalis Barker, 1989
- Astraeus polli Barker, 1975
- Astraeus powelli Barker, 1995
- Astraeus princeps Barker, 1989
- Astraeus prothoracicus van de Poll, 1889
- Astraeus pygmaeus van de Poll, 1886
- Astraeus robustus Barker, 1975
- Astraeus samouelli Saunders, 1868
- Astraeus simulator van de Poll, 1889
- Astraeus smythi Barker, 1975
- Astraeus sundholmi Barker, 2007
- Astraeus tamminensis Barker, 1975
- Astraeus vittatus van de Poll, 1889
- Astraeus watsoni Barker, 1975
- Astraeus williamsi Barker, 1989
- Astraeus yarrattensis Barker, 1989