An engraving by Bernard Picart depicting a scene from Ovid's Metamorphoses in which Alpheus attempts to capture the nymph Arethusa. Bernard Picart (1673-1733 was a French Engraver, son of Etienne Picart also an engraver Publius Ovidius Naso ( March 20, 43 BC – 17 AD was a Roman poet known to the English -speaking world as Ovid who wrote on many topics including The Metamorphoses by the Roman poet Ovid is a narrative poem Arethusa (Ἀρέθουσα means "the waterer" She was a nymph and daughter of Nereus (making her a Nereid) and later became a fountain on the island

In Greek mythology Alpheus, or (Greek: Αλφειός, meaning whitish, also romanized as Alfeiós, Alpheios or Alfiós) is a river (present Alfeios River) and river-god. Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and Heroes the nature of the world and the origins and significance Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly Alfeiós ( Greek: Αλφειός also romanized as Alpheus, Alpheios, Alfiós) is a river in Peloponnese, Greece.

Like most river-gods, he is a son of Oceanus and Tethys. Ocean (Ὠκεανός was believed to be the world-ocean in Classical antiquity, which the ancient Romans and Greeks considered to be In Classical Greek mythology, Tethys (Greek Τηθύς) daughter of Uranus and Gaia ( Hesiod, Theogony lines ^[1] Telegone bore his son, the king Orsilochus ^[2]. He was also the grandfather of Diocles, and great grandfather of a pair of soldiers, Crethon and Orsilochus, who were slain by Aeneas during the Trojan War. This article is about the Roman hero For other uses see Aeneas (disambiguation. In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy stole Helen from her ^[3]

Hunting in the forests of Greece, Alpheus came upon Artemis and began to desire her. In Greek mythology, Artemis language|Greek] ( Nominative), ( Genitive))] was the daughter of Zeus and Leto, and the twin sister She, being a chaste goddess, did not return his feelings. Nonetheless, he attempted to charm her, but was never able to win her over. In one instance, she covered her face and the faces of her nymphs with mud. In Greek mythology, a nymph is any member of a large class of mythological entities in human female form Being unable to distinguish which was his love, he gave up the chase. ^[4]

Again Alpheus falls in love when Arethusa, one of Artemis's nymphs, after she unknowingly came upon him and began to bathe in his waters. Arethusa (Ἀρέθουσα means "the waterer" She was a nymph and daughter of Nereus (making her a Nereid) and later became a fountain on the island In Greek mythology, Artemis language|Greek] ( Nominative), ( Genitive))] was the daughter of Zeus and Leto, and the twin sister However, she fled after she discovered his presence. Like her Goddess, she desired nothing more than to hunt and be free in the forest. After running a great distance nude through the forest, she called upon Artemis who hid her in a cloud. Undaunted, Alpheus continued to search for her. She began to perspire profusely from fear, and soon transformed into a stream. Artemis then broke the ground allowing Arethusa another attempt to flee. ^[5] Her stream traveled under the earth to the island of Ortygia, but Alpheus flowed through the sea to reach her and mingle with her waters. Ortygia is an island near the city of Syracuse Sicily. The island also known as Città Vecchia (Old City contains many historical landmarks ^[6]

Alpheus was also the river which Hercules, in the fifth of his labours, re-routed in order to clean the filth from the Augean Stables in a single day, a task which had been presumed to be impossible. Hercules is the Roman name for the Mythical Greek hero Heracles, son of Zeus and the mortal Alcmena. The Twelve Labours of Hercules (Greek Δωδεκαθλος, dodekathlos) age a series of archaic episodes connected by a later continuous narrative concerning

References

1. ^ Hesiod, Theogony 338
2. ^ Pausanias, Description of Greece 4. Hesiod ( Greek: Hesiodos) was an early Greek Poet and Rhapsode, who presumably lived around 700 BCE Theogony ( Greek: Θεογονία theogonia = the birth of God(s is a Poem by Hesiod describing the origins and genealogies Pausanias ( Greek:) was a Greek traveller and Geographer of the 2nd century CE, who lived in the times of Hadrian, Antoninus 30. 2
3. ^ Homer, Iliad 5. Homer ( Ancient Greek:, Homēros) is a legendary ancient Greek epic Poet, traditionally said to be the author of the epic poems the The Iliad ( Greek: Ἰλιάς (Ancient Ιλιάδα (Modern is together with the Odyssey, one of two ancient 45
4. ^ Pausanias, Description of Greece 6. 22. 9
5. ^ Ovid, Metamorphoses 5. Publius Ovidius Naso ( March 20, 43 BC – 17 AD was a Roman poet known to the English -speaking world as Ovid who wrote on many topics including The Metamorphoses by the Roman poet Ovid is a narrative poem 72
6. ^ Pausanias, Description of Greece 5. 7. 3

See also

• Alfeios River
• Sarasvati River, the invisible or subterranean mystical river of Hinduism