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River gods (Greek mythology)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
River gods in Greek mythology
"Potamoi" redirects here. For other uses, seePotamoi (disambiguation).
Greek deities
series
Water deities
Waternymphs
Nilus, thepotamos of theNile River, depicted in aCoptic tapestry

Inancient Greek religion andmythology, rivers (Ancient Greek:ποταμοί,romanized: potamoí)[1] were often personified as deities, and in a number of ancient Greek cities river gods were the subject of local worship. InHesiod'sTheogony, the river gods are the offspring of theTitansOceanus andTethys, and the brothers of theOceanids. In Greek mythology, river deities – such asInachus,Scamander, andPeneus – are often progenitors of local genealogical lines.[2]

In theIliad, there are references to sacrifices being made to river deities, including the sacrifice ofephebes' hair. During military campaigns into foreign territory, there is evidence of sacrifices having been made to rivers upon their crossing. River deities could also be invoked as witnesses to an oath.[3]

Depictions of river deities inancient Greek art often combine anthropomorphic features with bull-like elements such as horns.[4]

Mythology

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The river gods were the 3000 sons of the great earth-encircling riverOceanus and his wifeTethys and the brothers of theOceanids.[5] They were also the fathers of theNaiads[citation needed] andPotamides.[6] The river gods were depicted in one of three forms: a man-headed bull, a bull-headed man with the body of a serpent-like fish from the waist down, or as a reclining man with an arm resting upon anamphora jug pouring water.[citation needed]

Notable river gods include:

  • Achelous, the god of theAchelous River, the largest river in Greece, who gave his daughter in marriage toAlcmaeon,[7] and was defeated byHeracles in a wrestling contest for the right to marryDeianira.[8]
  • Alpheus, who fell in love with thenymphArethusa, pursuing her toSyracuse, where she was transformed into a spring byArtemis.[9]
  • Asopus, father of many naiads. His daughterAegina was carried off to the island Aegina by Zeus. Another daughter,Sinope, tricked three amorous gods into leaving her virginity intact.
  • Inachus, the first king of Argos and progenitor of the Argive line through his son Argus.
  • Nilus, Egyptian river god and the father of numerous daughters who mingled with the descendants of Inachus, forming a dynasty of kings in Egypt, Libya, Arabia and Ethiopia.
  • Peneus, river god of Thessaly flowing from the foot of Pindus. He was the father ofDaphne andStilbe, love interests of the god Apollo.
  • Scamander, who fought on the side of theTrojans during theTrojan War, and was offended whenAchilles polluted his waters with a large number of Trojan corpses. In response, he overflowed his banks, nearly drowning Achilles.[10]

Ancient Greek poetHesiod mentioned several river gods by name, along with their origin story, inTheogonia[11] ("the birth of the gods"):

And Tethys bare to Ocean eddying rivers, Nilus, and Alpheus, and deep-swirling Eridanus, Strymon, and Meander, and the fair stream of Ister, and Phasis, and Rhesus, and the silver eddies of Achelous, Nessus, and Rhodius, Haliacmon, and Heptaporus, Granicus, and Aesepus, and holy Simois, and Peneus, and Hermus, and Caicus fair stream, and great Sangarius, Ladon, Parthenius, Euenus, Ardescus, and divine Scamander. —Theogony, Hesiod. Translated by Hugh G. Evelyn-White (1914)[12][13]

List of river gods

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The following are the sons of Oceanus and Tethys:[14]

Name of riverRiver godSourcesLocationSon of Oceanus and Tethys
Hes.OvidApol.Plut.Hyg.Pau.Others
Achelous or Akheloios✓✓✓✓✓✓✓Homer, Sophocles, Euripides, Callimachus, Apollonius Rhodius, Diodorus Siculus, Statius, Hyginus, Plato, AristotleAetolia✓
Acheron✓✓✓Underworld and Thesprotia*presumably
AcisChanged into a river✓Sicilyson of Pan and nymph Symaethis
Acragas?[citation needed]Sicily
Aeas✓✓Epirus*
Aegaeus✓ApolloniusScheria (Corcyra)*
Aesar✓StraboTyrrhenia or Etruria*
Aesepus✓✓Troad✓
Almo✓✓Latium*
Alpheus✓✓✓✓✓✓Arcadia✓
Amnisos✓Apollonius, CallimachusCrete*
Amphrysos✓✓Thessaly*
Anapus✓✓NonnusSicily*
Anauros?[citation needed]Thessaly
Anigros✓StraboElis*
Apidanus✓✓Thessaly*
ArarRiver named after✓Gallia Celtica (Celtic Gaul)
AraxesRiver named after✓Armeniason of Pylus
Ardescus✓✓Thrace✓
Arnos✓StraboEtruria*
Ascanius✓✓AntoninusMysia*
Asopus✓✓✓Boeotia and Argos✓; some accounts, son of Zeus and Eurynome or Poseidon and eitherPero orCelusa
Asterion✓✓Argos*
Axenus orAxius✓✓Paeonia and Macedonia✓
Baphyras?[citation needed]Pieria
Borysthenes✓AntoninusScythia*
Brychon✓LycophronChersonnese*
Caanthus✓✓✓
Caicinus✓✓Bruttium*
Caicus✓✓✓Teuthrania, Mysia✓
Cayster✓✓Lydia*
Cebren✓✓✓PartheniusTroad*
Cephissus✓✓✓✓✓Phocis, Attica, Argos✓
Chremetes✓NonnusLibya*
Cladeus?[citation needed]✓Elis*
Clitumnus?[citation needed]Umbria*
Cocytus✓OppianUnderworld and Thesprotia*
Cratais✓[citation needed]✓*
Crinisus✓✓Virgil, Lycophron, Servius, AelianSicily*
Cydnos✓NonnusCilicia*
Cytheros?[citation needed]✓Elis*
Elisson?[citation needed]StatiusAchaea*
Enipeus✓✓✓Thessaly*
Erasinus✓✓Argos*
Eridanus✓✓✓Attica✓
Eridanus✓✓Virgil, NonnusHyperborea,✓
Erymanthus✓✓AelianAttica*
Euphrates✓✓✓Assyria✓
Eurotas✓ River named after✓✓✓Laconiason ofLelex andCleocharia or of Myles
Evenus or✓✓✓✓Aetolia✓ ; some accounts, a mortal son of Ares and either Demodice or Stratonice who flung himself to the river Lycormas
Lycormas
Ganges✓✓✓India*
Granicus✓✓✓Troad✓
Haliacmon✓✓Macedonia✓
Halys✓Apollonius, Valerius FlaccusPaphlygonia and Pontos*
Hebrus✓✓LucianCiconia, Thrace*
Heptaporus✓✓Troad✓
Hermus✓✓Lydia*
Hydaspes✓✓NonnusIndia✓; son ofThaumas andElectra
Ilissos✓PlatoAttica*
Imbrasos✓AthenaeusSamos*
Inachus✓✓✓✓✓Argos✓
Indus✓✓✓India or Caria✓
Inopos✓CallimachusDelos*
Ismenus✓✓✓Boeotia✓
Istrus or Ister✓✓Scythia✓
Ladon✓✓✓✓Arcadia✓
Lamos✓NonnusCilicia or Boeotia✓
MarsyasRiver named after✓Phrygiaa satyr; son of Hyagnis and either Olympus or Oeagrus
Maeander✓✓✓✓✓✓Caria✓
Meles✓Hellanicus, EugaeonLydia*
Mincius✓VirgilGallia, Italy*
Nestos orNessus✓✓Bistonia, Thrace✓
Nilus✓✓✓✓✓Egypt✓
Numicius✓✓Latium, Italy*
Nymphaeus?[citation needed]Quintus SmyrnaeusBithynia and Paphlagonia
Orontes✓✓Syria✓
Pactolus✓✓NonnusLydia*
Parthenius✓✓Paphlagonia✓
Phasis✓✓✓Colchis✓(sometimes the son ofHelios)
Phlegethon or Pyriphlegethon✓Virgil, StatiusUnderworldson of Cocytus
Phyllis✓ApolloniusThynia, Anatolia*
Peneus✓✓✓✓Thessaly✓
Pleistos✓ApolloniusPhocis*
Porpax✓AelianSicily*
Rhesus✓✓Rhesus (Ancient Greek: Ῥῆσος /Rhẽsos,Latin;Rhesus) was a river inBithynia,[15]Troad, Anatolia (modern-dayHisarlik,Çanakkale,Turkey).[16] Per theBarrington Atlas, the Rhesus is likely Karaath Çay, a tributary of theBiga Çayı (known to antiquity as the Granicus).[17] The Rhesus is alternately called theRhedas, and was said to flow into the "ThracianBosphorus atChalcedon."[18]✓
Rhine✓NonnusSwitzerland/Germany/France/Netherlands*
Rhodius✓✓Troad✓
Rhyndacus✓NonnusPhrygia and Bithynia*
Sangarius or Sagaris✓✓✓✓Phrygia✓
Satnioeis?[citation needed]HomerTroad
Scamander✓✓✓✓✓Troad✓
Selemnus✓✓AchaeaOriginally a mortal man
Simoeis✓✓✓✓✓Troad✓
Spercheus✓✓Malis
Strymon✓✓✓✓✓Edonia, Thrace✓
Symaethus✓✓Sicily*
Tanais✓✓✓Scythia✓
Telmessus✓AelianSicily*
Termessus✓✓Boeotia*
Thermodon✓✓✓Pontos and Assyria✓
Tiberinus✓VirgilLatium, Italy*
Tigris✓✓✓Assyria✓
Tyras[19]✓Scythia*
Titaressus[20]?Homer, Strabo, SenecaThessaly
TOTAL8926181726221840 (+50*)

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^LSJ,s.v. ποταμός.
  2. ^Graf, paras. 1–3.
  3. ^Graf, paras. 4–6.
  4. ^Graf, para. 7.
  5. ^Hesiod,Theogony337–345, 366–370.
  6. ^Rose, Herbert J. (1957); p 25.
  7. ^Apollodorus,3.7.5.
  8. ^Apollodorus,1.8.1,2.7.5.
  9. ^Smith,"Alpheius".
  10. ^Homer,Iliad20.74,21.211 ff..
  11. ^θεογονία.Liddell, Henry George;Scott, Robert;A Greek–English Lexicon at thePerseus Project
  12. ^The Theogony. Translated by Evelyn-White, Hugh G. 1914.ISBN 978-1-4209-0525-0.OCLC 1289856352.{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  13. ^Hesiod (1914).Hesiod, Homeric Hymns, Epic Cycle, Homerica. Vol. 57. H G. Loeb Classical Library. London: William Heinemann.
  14. ^Hesiod,Theogony 334;Pseudo-Plutarch,De fluviis;Hyginus,FabulaePreface
  15. ^William Smith; William Wayte; G. E. Marindin (1890)."Rhesus".Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities. Albemarle Street, London: John Murray. Retrieved2023-01-23 – viawww.perseus.tufts.edu.
  16. ^Homer (2011). "12".The Iliad of Homer. Richmond Lattimore, Richard P. Martin. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.ISBN 978-0-226-47048-1.OCLC 704121276.[After the Greeks had departed from Troy :] Poseidon and Apollon took counsel to wreck the wall [of the Greeks], letting loose the strength of rivers upon it, all the rivers that run to the sea from the mountains of Ida, Rhesos (Rhesus) and Heptaporos, Karesos (Caresus) and Rhodios, Grenikos (Granicus) and Aisepos (Aesepus), and immortal Skamandros (Scamander) and Simoeis (. . .).
  17. ^Huxley, George (2002). "Review of Parthenius of Nicaea. The poetical fragments and the ᾽Ερωτικὰ Παθήματα".Hermathena (172):110–117.ISSN 0018-0750.JSTOR 23041295.
  18. ^A Classical Manual: Being a Mythological, Historical, and Geographical Commentary on Pope's Homer and Dryden's Aeneid of Virgil. London: J. Murray. 1833. p. 216 – viaGoogle Books.
  19. ^Pick В. Die antiken Münzen Nord-Griechenlands. Berlin,1898. Bd. 1. S. 152
  20. ^Homer,Iliad

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