Friday, 27 July 2012

Other Goddesses- Amphitrite

Amphitrite- a sea goddess, wife to Poseidon and either a Nereid (daughter of Nereus and Doris), or an Okeanid (daughter of Okeanos and Tethys).

Eustathius says he saw at Naxos with her sister the Nereids and abducted her. Another tale says she fled to Atlas, Poseidon sent minions to find her and one, Delphinus found her and wooed her on Poseidon's behalf. For his success, Poseidon created a dolphin constellation.

When Minos demanded that Theseus prove he was a son of Poseidon by fetching a signet ring he threw into the sea, Theseus went after it and found himself in Poseidon's home. Down there Amphitrite, according to the Bacchylides gave him a purple cloak and garland, according to Pausanias and Hyginus she gave him a gold crown and the ring.

She attended the birth of Apollo with Rhea, Dione, Themis and Ichnaea.

Sometimes she is said to have turned Scylla into a monster out of jealously. Scylla was a nymph or naiad, possibly a daughter of Phorcys or Crataeis, she was loved by either Poseidon or Glaucus and out of jealousy Amphitrite or Circe poisoned the waters she bathed in causing her to be turned into a monster with tentacle legs, four/six dog heads at her waist, long necks, a cat's tail and four eyes.

She turned the Alkyonides/Alcyonides into halycons when they threw themselves into the sea. They were the seven daughters of Alyconeus/Alykoneus the eldest of the Gigantes who was killed by Heracles, after he attacked him when he was driving away the cattle of Geryon, he killed him with a club after dragging him from his homeland. His daughters were called- Alkippe/Alkippa/Alcippe, Anthe, Asteria/Asterie, Drimo, Methone, Pallene, and Phthonia/Chthonia/Phosthonia. 

With Poseidon she was mother to Triton, the half-man, half-fish sea god who could still the waves with a conch shell; Rhode the nymph who was Helios wife (though she may have been a daughter of Poseidon and Halia, a sea nymph, or Polyphe, an Okeanid); Cymopoleia/Kymopoleia, a sea nymph of violent storms at sea who was married to the Hekantonkherie Briareus/Briareos, also a god of sea storms; and Benthesicyme/Benthesikyme, a sea nymph and wave goddess who was married to Enalos. Homer described her as mother to dolphins, seals, fish and other creatures of the sea.

Pindar described her as 'goddess of the golden spindle'. She had nets in her hair, and crab claws at her forehead, and was usually shone in a throne or in a chariot with her husband. Bacchylides described the Nereids as having fire at their limbs and golden ribbons in their hair and described Amphitrite as 'august ox-eyed' whilst Pausanias called her blue eyed. Venilia, goddess of the calm waters and the wind was also considered a wife of Neptune.

Her Roman counterpart was Salacia/Salachia the goddess of salt water and sometimes springs. She wore a crown of seaweed.

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