Ἀστήρ itself is inherited from the Proto-Indo-European root *h₂ster- "star", from *h₂eh₁s- "to burn".
][citation needed] According to Hesiod's Theogony and Bibliotheca, Astraeus is a second-generation Titan descended from Crius and Eurybia.
In Hesiod's Theogony, Astraeus and Eos produce the winds—namely Zephyrus, Boreas, and Notus—as well as Eosphorus and the stars.
In Nonnus's epic poem Dionysiaca, Astraeus is presented as an oracular god whom the goddess Demeter visits, concerned about her daughter Persephone's future as she had started to attract a significant number of admirers on Olympus and worried that she might end up marrying Hephaestus.
Astraeus then warned her that soon enough, Persephone would be ravished by a serpent and bear fruit from that union, which greatly upset Demeter.