InGreek mythology,Aëtos (Greek:Ἀετός,romanized: Aetós,lit. 'eagle') is an earth-born childhood companion ofZeus, the king of the gods, who served as the origin of theEagle of Zeus, the most prominent symbol of the god of thunder.
According to the myth, Aëtos was a beautiful boy born of theearth. While Zeus was young and hiding inCrete from his fatherCronus who had devoured all of Zeus's siblings, Aëtos became friends with the god and was the first one to swear fealty to him as new king. But years later, after Zeus had overthrown his father and become king in his place, Zeus's wifeHera turned Aëtos into an eagle, out of fear that Zeus loved him. Thus the eagle became the sacred bird of Zeus, and a symbol of power and kingship. The eagle even assisted Zeus during theGigantomachy, by placing lightning bolts on Zeus's hands.[1][2][3] A similar tale was sometimes attributed toGanymede, Zeus's cupbearer anderomenos, whom Zeus's eagle abducted or Zeus himself abducted in the form of an eagle.[2][3]
Aëtos was also the eagle Zeus sent, daily atdawn, to claw-out and eat the TitanPrometheus'sliver, only for his liver to grow-back nightly and for this sentence to begin-again the next morning. Aëtos was later killed byHeracles/Hercules, during his11th Labour. Heracles came across Prometheus on his journey, needing information; Heracles shot the eagle eating at Prometheus's liver and set him free and, in return, Prometheus helped Heracles with knowledge that his brother, Atlas, the father of the Hesperides, would know where their garden with theGolden apples was.[citation needed]
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