| Greek deities series |
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| Primordial deities | |
| Titans and Olympians | |
| Chthonic deities | |
| Personified concepts | |
| Other deities | |
| Aquatic deities | |
The ancient Greeks had a large number of sea deities. 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 The ancient Greeks proposed many different ideas about primordial deities in their mythology, which would later be largely adapted by the In Greek mythology, the Titans ( Greek: Tītā́n; plural Tītânes) were a race of powerful Deities that ruled during the legendary The Twelve Olympians, also known as the Dodekatheon ( Greek: Δωδεκάθεον Chthonic (from Greek χθόνιος khthonios "of the earth" from khthōn "earth" pertaining to the Earth; earthy subterranean In Greek mythology, the Muses ( Ancient Greek, hai moũsai: perhaps from the Proto-Indo-European root * men- "think" are Asclepius (pronounced /æsˈkliːpiːəs/, Greek, transliterated Asklēpiós; Latin Aesculapius) is the god of Medicine In Greek mythology, Poseidon ( Greek:; Latin: Neptūnus) was the god of the Sea and as "Earth-Shaker" Ocean (Ὠκεανός was believed to be the world-ocean in Classical antiquity, which the ancient Romans and Greeks considered to be Nereus (Νηρεύς in Greek Mythology, was the eldest son of Pontus (the Sea and Gaia (the Earth a Titan who (with Doris) fathered In Greek mythology, Glaucus ("shiny" "bright" or "bluish-green" (Γλαῦκος was the name of several different figures including This article is about the Greek sea nymph Thetis should not be confused with Themis, the embodiment of the laws of nature but see the sea-goddess Tethys. In ancient Greek mythology, Amphitrite (Ἀμφιτρίτη (not to be confused with Aphrodite) was a sea-goddess In Classical Greek mythology, Tethys (Greek Τηθύς) daughter of Uranus and Gaia ( Hesiod, Theogony lines Triton (Τρίτων gen Τρίτωνος is a mythological Greek god, the messenger of the deep In some versions of Greek mythology, Ophion (Ὀφίων "serpent" also called Ophioneus (Ὀφιονεύς ruled the world with Eurynome In Greek mythology, Proteus (Πρωτεύς is an early sea-god one of several deities whom Homer calls the "Old Man of the Sea" whose name suggests the In Greek mythology, Phorcys, or Phorkys (Φόρκυς was one of the names of the "Old Man One of the Sea" the primeval sea god, who according In Greek mythology, Pontus (or Pontos (Πόντος English translation: "sea" was an ancient pre-Olympian sea-god son of In Greek and Roman mythology, the Oceanids ( Greek: Ὠκεανίδαι pl In Greek mythology, the Naiads or Naiades (Ναϊάδες from the Greek νάειν "to flow" and νἃμα "running water" The philosopher Plato once remarked that the Greek people were like frogs sitting around a pond -- their many cities hugging close to the Mediterranean coastline from the Hellenic homeland to Asia Minor, Libya, Sicily and Southern Italy. Biography Early life Birth and family Plato was born in Athens Greece The term ancient Greece refers to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca Anatolia (Anadolu Ανατολία Anatolía) or Asia minor, comprising most of modern Turkey, is the geographic region bounded by the Black Cyrene (in Greek, Κυρήνη &ndash Kurene) was an ancient Greek Colony in present-day Libya, the oldest and most Sicily ( Italian and Sicilian: Sicilia) is an autonomous region of Italy. It was natural, therefore, to develop a rich variety of aquatic divinities. The range of Greek sea gods of the classical era range from primordial powers and an Olympian on the one hand, to heroized mortals, chthonic nymphs, trickster-figures, and monsters on the other. The Twelve Olympians, also known as the Dodekatheon ( Greek: Δωδεκάθεον A hero (from Greek grc ἥρως hērōs) in Greek mythology and Folklore, was originally a Demigod, the offspring of a mortal and Chthonic (from Greek χθόνιος khthonios "of the earth" from khthōn "earth" pertaining to the Earth; earthy subterranean In Greek mythology, a nymph is any member of a large class of mythological entities in human female form In Mythology, and in the study of Folklore and Religion, a trickster is a God, Goddess, spirit, man woman or anthropomorphic
Contents |
Types of Sea-Gods
Primordial powers
Oceanus and Tethys are the father and mother of the gods in the Iliad, while the Spartan poet Alcman made the sea-nymph Thetis a demiurge-figure. 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 The Iliad ( Greek: Ἰλιάς (Ancient Ιλιάδα (Modern is together with the Odyssey, one of two ancient The city of Sparta ( Doric Σπάρτα Attic Σπάρτη Alcman (also Alkman Greek) (7th century BC was an Ancient Greek choral lyric poet from Sparta. This article is about the Greek sea nymph Thetis should not be confused with Themis, the embodiment of the laws of nature but see the sea-goddess Tethys. Demiurge (the Latinized form of Greek demiourgos, δημιουργός, literally "public or skilled worker" from demos Orpheus's song in Book I of the Argonautica hymns the sea-nymph Eurynome as first queen of the gods, as wife of the ocean-born giant Ophion. Orpheus ( Greek: Ὀρφεύς ˈɔrfiəs ( OHR-fee-uhs) or /ˈɔrfjuːs/ ( OHR'-fews) in English is a figure from Greek mythology born in The Argonautica ( Greek:) is a Greek Epic poem written by Apollonius Rhodius in the 3rd century BCE. In Greek mythology, a nymph is any member of a large class of mythological entities in human female form In some versions of Greek mythology, Ophion (Ὀφίων "serpent" also called Ophioneus (Ὀφιονεύς ruled the world with Eurynome
The pre-Socratic cosmogony of Thales, who made water the first element, may be seen as a natural outgrowth of this poetic thinking. The Pre-Socratic Greek philosophers were active before Socrates or contemporaneously but expounding knowledge developed earlier Thales of Miletus According to Bertrand Russell, "Philosophy begins with Thales Many ancient philosophies used a set of archetypal classical "elements" to explain patterns in Nature.
The primacy of aquatic gods is reminiscent of, and may have been borrowed from, ancient Near Eastern mythology - where Tiamat (salt water) and Apsu (fresh water) are the first gods of the Enuma Elish, and where the Spirit of God is said to have "hovered over the waters" in Genesis. The Ancient Near East refers to early Civilizations within a region roughly corresponding to the modern Middle East: Mesopotamia (modern Iraq The word mythology (from the Greek grc μυθολογία mythología, meaning "a story-telling a legendary lore" In Babylonian mythology, Tiamat is the sea personified as a Goddess, and a monstrous embodiment of Primordial chaos. The akk Enûma Eliš is the Babylonian Creation myth (named for its Incipit)
Poseidon and the Heroes
Poseidon, as god of the sea, was an important Olympian power; he was the chief patron of Corinth, many cities of Magna Graecia, and also of Plato's legendary Atlantis. In Greek mythology, Poseidon ( Greek:; Latin: Neptūnus) was the god of the Sea and as "Earth-Shaker" Corinth, or Korinth ( Greek Κόρινθος ( is a city in Greece. Biography Early life Birth and family Plato was born in Athens Greece Atlantis (in Greek,, "island of Atlas " is the name of a Legendary Island, first mentioned in Plato 's dialogues Historians of ancient religion generally agree that Poseidon was a horse-god before he was a sea-god. As such, he was intimately connected with the pre-historic office of king - whose chief emblem of power and primary sacrificial animal was the horse. The horse ( Equus caballus) is a hoofed ( Ungulate) Mammal, one of eight living species of the family Equidae. Thus, on the Mycenean Linear B tablets found at Pylos, the name PO-SE-DA-WO-NE (Poseidon) occurs frequently in connection with the wanax ("king"), whose power and wealth were increasingly maritime rather than equestrian in nature. Mycenaean is the most ancient attested form of the Greek language, spoken on the Greek mainland and on Crete in the 16th to 11th centuries BC, before the Linear B is a script that was used for writing Mycenaean, an early form of Greek. This article is about the Greek geographical feature and town Surprisingly, Poseidon's name is found with greater frequency than that of Zeus (DI-U-JA), and is commonly linked (often in a secondary role) with Demeter (DA-MA-TE). Zeus (zjuːs in Greek: nominative: Zeús /zdeús/ genitive: Diós; Modern Greek /'zefs/ in Greek mythology Demeter (dɨˈmiːtɚ Greek:, possibly "distribution-mother" from the noun of the Indo-European mother-earth * dheghom * mater
When the office of wanax disappeared during the Greek Dark Ages, the link between Poseidon and the kingship was largely, although not entirely, forgotten. The Dark Ages (ca 1150 BC–800 BC refers to Greek history from the presumed Dorian invasion and end of the Mycenaean civilization in the 11th century In classical Athens, Poseidon was remembered as both the opponent and doublet of Erechtheus, the first king of Athens. Athens (ˈæθənz Αθήνα Athina,) the Capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery as one of the world's Erechtheus (Ἐρεχθεύς in Greek Mythology was the name of a King of Athens, and a secondary name for two other characters In Homer Erechtheus was given a hero-cult at his tomb under the title Poseidon Erechtheus. "Cult Hero" redirects here For the Cure sideproject called Cult Hero see I'm a Cult Hero Hero cults were one of the most
In another possible echo of this archaic association, the chief ritual of Atlantis, according to Plato's Critias, was a nocturnal horse-sacrifice offered to Poseidon by the kings of the imagined island power. Atlantis (in Greek,, "island of Atlas " is the name of a Legendary Island, first mentioned in Plato 's dialogues Biography Early life Birth and family Plato was born in Athens Greece
In keeping with the mythic equation between horsemanship and seamanship, the equestrian heroes Castor and Pollux were invoked by sailors against shipwreck. For the stars see Castor (star and Pollux (star, for the sculptural group in the Prado Museum, see Castor and Pollux (Prado, and for Ancient Greeks interpreted the phenomenon now called St. Elmo's Fire as the visible presence of the two demigods. St Elmo's fire is an electrical Weather Phenomenon in which luminous plasma is created by a Coronal discharge originating from
Old Men and Nymphs
Several names of sea gods conform to a single type: that of Homer's halios geron or Old Man of the Sea: Nereus, Proteus, Glaucus and Phorkys. Nereus (Νηρεύς in Greek Mythology, was the eldest son of Pontus (the Sea and Gaia (the Earth a Titan who (with Doris) fathered In Greek mythology, Proteus (Πρωτεύς is an early sea-god one of several deities whom Homer calls the "Old Man of the Sea" whose name suggests the In Greek mythology, Glaucus ("shiny" "bright" or "bluish-green" (Γλαῦκος was the name of several different figures including In Greek mythology, Phorcys, or Phorkys (Φόρκυς was one of the names of the "Old Man One of the Sea" the primeval sea god, who according Each one is a shape-shifter, a prophet, and the father of either radiantly beautiful nymphs or hideous monsters. Nymphs and monsters blur, for Hesiod relates that Phorcys was wed to the "beautiful-cheeked" Ceto, whose name is merely the feminine of the monstrous Cetus, to whom Andromeda was due to be sacrificed. Hesiod ( Greek: Hesiodos) was an early Greek Poet and Rhapsode, who presumably lived around 700 BCE Cetus ( Κῆτος Kētos, referring to the sea monster Cetus) is a Constellation of the northern winter sky in the region known as the Water Andromeda was a woman from Greek mythology who as divine punishment for her mother's bragging was chained to a rock as a sacrifice to a sea monster Each appearance in myth tends to emphasize a different aspect of the archetype: Proteus and Nereus as shape-shifters and tricksters, Phorcys as a father of monsters, Nereus and Glaucus for truth-telling, Nereus for the beauty of his daughters.
Each one of these Old Men is the father or grandfather of many nymphs and/or monsters, who often bear names that are either metaphorical (Thetis, "establishment"; Telesto, "success") or geographical (Rhode from "Rhodes"; Nilos, "Nile"). This article is about the Greek sea nymph Thetis should not be confused with Themis, the embodiment of the laws of nature but see the sea-goddess Tethys. Each cluster of Old Man and daughters is therefore a kind of pantheon in miniature, each one a different possible configuration of the spiritual, moral and physical world writ small - and writ around the sea. A pantheon (from Greek Πάνθειον - pantheion, literally "a temple of all gods " neut
The tantalizing figure of the halios geron has been a favorite of scholarship. In Greek mythology, the Old Man of the Sea was a primordial figure who could be identified by several names Proteus or Nereus or Pontus. The Old Men have been seen as everything from survivals of old Aegean gods who presided over the waves before Poseidon (Kerenyi) to embodiments of archaic speculation on the relation of truth to cunning intelligence (Detienne). Aegean civilization is a general term for the Bronze Age Civilizations of Greece and the Aegean. In Greek mythology, Poseidon ( Greek:; Latin: Neptūnus) was the god of the Sea and as "Earth-Shaker" The meaning of the word truth extends from Honesty, Good faith, and Sincerity in general to agreement with Fact or Reality Intelligence (also called intellect) is an Umbrella term used to describe a property of the Mind that encompasses many related abilities such as the capacities
Homer's Odyssey contains a haunting description of a cave of the Nereids on Ithaca, close by a harbor sacred to Phorcys. Homer ( Ancient Greek:, Homēros) is a legendary ancient Greek epic Poet, traditionally said to be the author of the epic poems the The Odyssey ( Greek: Ὀδύσσεια or Odússeia) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. Ithaca or Ithaka (in Greek, Ιθάκη, Ithaki) is an island in the Ionian Sea, in Greece, with an area of 118 km² In Greek mythology, Phorcys, or Phorkys (Φόρκυς was one of the names of the "Old Man One of the Sea" the primeval sea god, who according The Neoplatonist philosopher Porphyry read this passage as an allegory of the whole universe - and he may not have far off the mark. Neoplatonism (also Neo-Platonism) is the modern term for a school of religious and mystical Philosophy that took shape in the 3rd century AD founded by Porphyry of Tyre ( Greek:, c AD 233&ndashc 309 was a Phoenician Neoplatonic philosopher
Otherworld and Craft
The sea - at once barren and prosperity-bringing, loomed large and ambivalently in the Greek mind. Aside from the ebb and flow of piracy, sea-travel was fraught with superhuman hazard and uncertainty until the Industrial Revolution. Piracy is Robbery committed at sea or sometimes on shore without a commission from a sovereign Nation (as distinct from Privateering It is impossible to assess the spiritual crisis in Aegean culture's relations with the sea's dangers and the capacity of its divinities that must have been engendered by the tsunamis that accompanied the volcanic explosion and collapse of Thera, ca. A tsunami ((tsuːˈnɑːmi is a series of waves created when 1650 – 1600 BCE. Can the sense of the sea and its deities have survived the cataclysm unchanged? It seems unlikely. The sea could therefore stand as a powerful symbol of the unknown and otherworldly. Although many people thought about the sea and her depths, no one would enter the watery grave.
Thus Cape Tanaerum, the point at which mainland Greece juts most sharply into the Mediterranean, was at once an important sailor's landmark, a shrine of Poseidon, and the point at which Orpheus and Heracles were said to have entered Hades. Taenarum or Cape Tenaron (Ταίναρον is where Hercules (Herakles went to find the entrance to Hades (or Άδης in Greek) to fulfill In Greek mythology, Poseidon ( Greek:; Latin: Neptūnus) was the god of the Sea and as "Earth-Shaker" Orpheus ( Greek: Ὀρφεύς ˈɔrfiəs ( OHR-fee-uhs) or /ˈɔrfjuːs/ ( OHR'-fews) in English is a figure from Greek mythology born in In Greek mythology, Heracles or Herakles ("glory of Hera " or Hades (from Greek, Hadēs, originally, Haidēs or, Aidēs, probably from Indo-European *n̥-wid- 'unseen' refers both to the ancient
This motif is apparent in the paradoxical festivals of the shadowy sea-deity Leucothea ("white goddess"), celebrated in many cities throughout the Greek world. In Greek mythology, Leucothea ( Greek: Leukothea (Λευκοθέα English translation: "white goddess" was one of the aspects Identifying her with the drowned heroine Ino, worshippers would offer sacrifice while engaged in frenzied mourning. A hero (from Greek grc ἥρως hērōs) in Greek mythology and Folklore, was originally a Demigod, the offspring of a mortal and The philosopher Xenophanes once remarked that if Leucothea were a goddess, one should not lament her; if she were mortal, one should not sacrifice to her. Xenophanes of Colophon ( Greek ( 570 – 480 BC was a Greek Philosopher, Poet, and social and religious Critic.
At the same time, man's (always partial) mastery over the dangerous sea was one of the most potent marks of human skill and achievement. This theme is exemplified in the second choral ode of Sophocles's Antigone:
- Wonders are many, and none is more wonderful than man. Sophocles (ˈsɒfəkliːz Ancient Greek, sopʰoklɛ̂ːs circa This power spans the sea, even when it surges white before the gales of the south-wind, and makes a path under swells that threaten to engulf him. (lines 332-338)
Certain sea divinities are thus intimately bound up with the practice of human skill. The Telchines, for example, were a class of half-human, half-fish or dolphin aquatic daemons said to have been the first inhabitants of Rhodes. In Greek mythology, the Telchines were the original inhabitants of the island of Rhodes, and were known in Crete and Cyprus. Rhodes (Ρόδος Ródos, ˈɾo̞ðo̞s Rodi ردوس Rodos; Ladino: Rodi or Rodes) is a Greek island These beings were at once revered for their metalwork and reviled for their death-dealing power of the evil eye. Metalworking is craft and practice of working with Metals to create individual parts assemblies or large scale structures The evil eye is a belief that the Envy elicited by the good Luck of fortunate people may result in their misfortune In Aeschylus's Prometheus Bound, the imprisoned craftsman is aided by the daughters of Ocean; and Hephaestus had his forge on "sea-girt Lemnos". Aeschylus (ˈɛskɨləs or /ˈiːskɨləs/ Greek: Ασχύλος, Aischylos, 525 BC/524 BC 456 BC/455 BC was an ancient Greek Playwright Prometheus Bound (Προμηθεύς Δεσμώτης / Promētheus Desmōtēs) is an Ancient Greek tragedy. Ocean (Ὠκεανός was believed to be the world-ocean in Classical antiquity, which the ancient Romans and Greeks considered to be Hephaestus (hɨˈfiːstəs or /hɨˈfɛstəs/ Greek Hēphaistos) was a Greek god whose Roman equivalent was Vulcan. Lemnos (Λήμνος is an island in the northern part of the Aegean Sea.
The nexus of sea, otherworld and craft is most strikingly embodied in the Cabeiri of Samothrace, who simultaneously oversaw salvation from shipwreck, metalcraft, and mystery-rites. In Greek mythology, the Cabeiri, ( Cabiri, Kabeiroi, Greek: Κάβειροι were a group of enigmatic Chthonic deities Samothrace (Σαμοθράκη is an island municipality in Greece, in the northern Aegean Sea. A shipwreck can refer to a wrecked ship or to the event that caused the wreck such as the striking of something that causes the ship to sink the stranding of the ship on rocks Mystery Religions, Sacred Mysteries or simply Mysteries, were "religious cults of the Graeco-Roman
Literature
In Homer's heavily maritime Odyssey, Poseidon rather than Zeus is the primary mover of events. Homer ( Ancient Greek:, Homēros) is a legendary ancient Greek epic Poet, traditionally said to be the author of the epic poems the The Odyssey ( Greek: Ὀδύσσεια or Odússeia) is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. In Greek mythology, Poseidon ( Greek:; Latin: Neptūnus) was the god of the Sea and as "Earth-Shaker" Zeus (zjuːs in Greek: nominative: Zeús /zdeús/ genitive: Diós; Modern Greek /'zefs/ in Greek mythology
Although the sea-nymph Thetis appears only at the beginning and end of the Iliad, being absent for much of the middle, she is a surprisingly powerful and nearly omniscient figure when she is present. This article is about the Greek sea nymph Thetis should not be confused with Themis, the embodiment of the laws of nature but see the sea-goddess Tethys. The Iliad ( Greek: Ἰλιάς (Ancient Ιλιάδα (Modern is together with the Odyssey, one of two ancient She is easily able to sway the will of Zeus, and to turn all the forges of Hephaestus to her purposes. Zeus (zjuːs in Greek: nominative: Zeús /zdeús/ genitive: Diós; Modern Greek /'zefs/ in Greek mythology Hephaestus (hɨˈfiːstəs or /hɨˈfɛstəs/ Greek Hēphaistos) was a Greek god whose Roman equivalent was Vulcan. Her prophecy of Achilles' fate bespeaks a degree of foreknowledge not available to most other gods in the epic. "Achilleus" redirects here For the emperor with this name see Achilleus (emperor.
Art
In classical art the fish-tailed merman with coiling tail was a popular subject, usually portrayed writhing in the wrestling grasp of Heracles. A similar wrestling scene shows Peleus and Thetis, often accompanied by a host of small animal icons representing her metamorphoses.
In Hellenistic art, the theme of the marine thiasos or "assembly of sea-gods" became a favorite of sculptors, allowing them to show off their skill in depicting flowing movement and aquiline grace in a way that land-based subjects did not. This article focuses on the cultural aspects of the Hellenistic age for the historical aspects see Hellenistic period.
In Roman times with the construction of bath houses throughout the empire, mosaic art achieved primacy in the depiction of sea gods. Foremost of these were scenes of the Triumph of Poseidon (or Neptune), riding in a chariot drawn by Hippocamps and attended by a host of sea gods and fish-tailed beasts. Large mosaic scenes also portrayed rows of sea-gods and nymphs arranged in a coiling procession of intertwined fish-tails. Other scenes show the birth of Aphrodite, often raised in a conch shell by a pair of sea centaurs, and accompanied by fishing Erotes (winged love gods). It was in this medium that most of the obscure maritine gods of Homer and Hesiod finally received standardised representation and attributes.
Further reading
- Karl Kerenyi, The Gods of the Greeks, 5:"The Old Ones of the Sea"
- Marcel Detienne, The Masters of Truth in Archaic Greece
External links
One of the founders of modern studies in Greek mythology, Károly (Carl Karl Kerényi ( January 19, 1897 &ndash April 14 1973Dapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic