HD 181068 is the brighter of the two known triply eclipsing hierarchical triple stars in the
Kepler field. It has been continuously observed for more than 2 yr with the Kepler space
telescope. Of the nine quarters of the data, three have been obtained in short-cadence mode,
that is one point per 58.9 s. Here we analyse this unique data set to determine absolute physical
parameters (most importantly the masses and radii) and full orbital configuration using a
sophisticated novel approach. We measure eclipse timing variations (ETVs), which are then
combined with the single-lined radial velocity measurements to yield masses in a manner
equivalent to double-lined spectroscopic binaries. We have also developed a new light-curve
synthesis code that is used to model the triple, mutual eclipses and the effects of the changing
tidal field on the stellar surface and the relativistic Doppler beaming. By combining the stellar
masses from the ETV study with the simultaneous light-curve analysis we determine the
absolute radii of the three stars. Our results indicate that the close and the wide subsystems
revolve in almost exactly coplanar and prograde orbits. The newly determined parameters
draw a consistent picture of the system with such details that have been beyond reach before
