Tethys (mythology)

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In Greek mythology, Tethys, daughter of Uranus and Gaea (Hesiod, Theogony lines 136, 337 and Bibliotheke 1.2) was a Titaness and sea goddess who was both sister and wife of Oceanus. She was mother of the chief rivers of the world, such as the Nile, the Alpheus, the Maeander, and about three thousand daughters called the Oceanids. Considered as an embodiment of the waters of the world she may be seen as a counterpart of Thalassa, embodiment of the sea.

Tethys, along with her consort Oceanus, ruled the seas before Poseidon; Roman mosaic from Daphne (near Antioch) made in the 4th century A.D.

Tethys in a Roman mosaic from Antioch (House of Calendar) made in the 2nd and 3rd centuries A.D.

During the war against the Titans, Tethys raised Rhea as her god-child.

Tethys is sometimes confused with the sea-nymph Thetis, the wife of Peleus and mother of Achilles.

Hera was not pleased with the placement of Callisto and Arcas in the sky, as the constellations Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, so she asked her nurse, Tethys, to help. Tethys, a marine goddess, caused the constellations to forever circle the sky and never drop below the horizon, hence explaining why they are circumpolar.

Consorts/Children

With Oceanus

[edit] References

Theoi.com: Tethys

Greek deities series
Primordial deities \| Titans \| Aquatic deities \| Chthonic deities
Titans
Titanes: Oceanus \| Hyperion \| Coeus \| Cronus \| Crius \| Iapetus Titanides: Tethys \| Theia \| Phoebe \| Rhea \| Mnemosyne \| Themis Sons of Iapetus: Atlas \| Prometheus \| Epimetheus \| Menoetius
Aquatic deities
Poseidon \| Oceanus \| Ceto \| Nereus \| Glaucus \| Thetis \| Amphitrite Tethys \| Triton \| Proteus \| Phorcys \| Pontus \| Oceanids \| Nereids \| Naiads