# Aurora and Cephalus

- By: Anne-Louis Girodet de Roucy-Trioson (French, 1767–1824)
- Date: c.1810
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Classification: Painting
- Dimensions: Framed: 34.9 x 29.9 x 7 cm (13 3/4 x 11 3/4 x 2 3/4 in.); Unframed: 22.8 x 16.8 cm (9 x 6 5/8 in.)
- Culture: France, 19th century
- Credit line: Gift of the Painting and Drawing Society of The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Museum: [Cleveland Museum of Art](https://clevelandart.org/art/2002.101)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2002.101/2002.101_web.jpg
- Who can see it: Teens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

The goddess of the dawn, Aurora, fell in love with the shepherd Cephalus. She eventually seized him at daybreak, bringing him to the heavens while he slept—the scene Girodet has painted here. Later, missing his wife, Procris, Cephalus begs to return. Aurora agrees, giving him a magic spear that kills every target, including his wife, when he mistakes her for an animal in the brush.