Hespĕrus

, a son of Japetus, brother to Atlas. He came to Italy, and the country received the name of Hesperia from him, according to some accounts. He had a daughter called Hesperis, who married Atlas, and became mother of seven daughters, called At lan tides or Hesperides. Diodorus , bk. 4 .――The name of Hesperus was also applied to the planet Venus, when it appeared after the setting of the sun. It was called Phosphorus or Lucifer when it preceded the sun. Cicero , de Natura Deorum , bk. 2 , ch. 2 .— Seneca , de Hippolytus , li. 749 ; Medea , li. 71 .