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Potamoi

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For other uses, see Potamoi (disambiguation).

The Potamoi (‹See Tfd›Greek: Ποταμοί, "Rivers") are the gods of rivers and streams of the earth in Greek mythology.

Mythology

The river gods were the 3000 sons of the great earth-encircling river Oceanus and his wife Tethys and the brothers of the Oceanids.[1] They were also the fathers of the Naiads.[citation needed] 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 an amphora jug pouring water.[citation needed]

Notable river gods include:

  • Achelous, the god of the Achelous River, the largest river in Greece, who gave his daughter in marriage to Alcmaeon,[2] and was defeated by Heracles in a wrestling contest for the right to marry Deianira.[3]
  • Alpheus, who fell in love with the nymph Arethusa, pursuing her to Syracuse, where she was transformed into a spring by Artemis.[4]
  • Asopus, father of many naiads. His daughter Aegina 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 of Daphne and Stilbe, love interests of the god Apollo.
  • Scamander, who fought on the side of the Trojans during the Trojan War, and was offended when Achilles polluted his waters with the a large number of Trojan corpses. In response, he overflowed his banks, nearly drowning Achilles.[5]

List of Potamoi

The following are the sons of Oceanus and Tethys:[6]

Name of river River god Sources Location Son of Oceanus and Tethys
Hes. Ovid Apol. Plut. Hyg. Pau. Others
Achelous or Akheloios ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Homer

Sophocles Euripides Callimachus ApolloniusRhodius Diodorus Siculus Statius Hyginus Plato Aristotle

Aetolia ✓
Acheron ✓ ✓ ✓ Underworld and Thesprotia *presumably
Acis Changed into a river ✓ Sicily son of Pan and nymph Symaethis
Acragas ?[citation needed] Sicily
Aeas ✓ ✓ Epirus *
Aegaeus ✓ Apollonius Scheria (Corcyra) *
Aesar ✓ Strabo Tyrrhenia or Etruria *
Aesepus ✓ ✓ Troad ✓
Almo ✓ ✓ Latium *
Alpheus ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Arcadia ✓
Amnisos ✓ Apollonius,

Callimachus

Crete *
Amphrysos ✓ ✓ Thessaly *
Anapos ✓ ✓ Nonnus Sicily *
Anauros ?[citation needed] Thessaly
Anigros ✓ Strabo Elis *
Apidanus ✓ ✓ Thessaly *
Arar River named after ✓ Gallia Celtica (Celtic Gaul)
Araxes River named after ✓ Armenia son of Pylus
Ardescus ✓ ✓ Thrace ✓
Arnos ✓ Strabo Etruria *
Ascanius ✓ ✓ Antoninus Mysia *
Asopus ✓ ✓ ✓ Boeotia and Argos ✓; some accounts, son of Zeus and Eurynome or Poseidon and either Pero or Celusa
Asterion ✓ ✓ Argos *
Axenus or Axius ✓ ✓ Paeonia and Macedonia ✓
Baphyras ?[citation needed] Pieria
Borysthenes ✓ Antoninus Scythia *
Brychon ✓ Lycophron Chersonnese *
Caanthus ✓ ✓ ✓
Caicinus ✓ ✓ Bruttium *
Caicus ✓ ✓ ✓ Teuthrania, Mysia ✓
Cayster ✓ ✓ Lydia *
Cebren ✓ ✓ ✓ Parthenius Troad *
Cephissus ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Phocis, Attica, Argos ✓
Chremetes ✓ Nonnus Libya *
Cladeus ?[citation needed] ✓ Elis *
Clitumnus ?[citation needed] Umbria *
Cocytus ✓ Oppian Underworld and Thesprotia *
Cratais ✓[citation needed] ✓ *
Crinisus ✓ Virgil, Lycophron Sicily *
Cydnos ✓ Nonnus Cilicia *
Cytheros ?[citation needed] ✓ Elis *
Elisson ?[citation needed] Statius Achaea *
Enipeus ✓ ✓ ✓ Thessaly *
Erasinus ✓ ✓ Argos *
Eridanus ✓ ✓ ✓ Attica ✓
Eridanus ✓ ✓ Virgil, Nonnus Hyperborea, ✓
Erymanthus ✓ ✓ Aelian Attica *
Euphrates ✓ ✓ ✓ Assyria ✓
Eurotas ✓ River named after ✓ ✓ ✓ Laconia son of Lelex and Cleocharia 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 Flaccus Paphlygonia and Pontos *
Hebrus ✓ ✓ Lucian Ciconia, Thrace *
Heptaporus ✓ ✓ Troad ✓
Hermus ✓ ✓ Lydia *
Hydaspes ✓ ✓ Nonnus India ✓; son of Thaumas and Electra
Ilissos ✓ Plato Attica *
Imbrasos ✓ Athenaeus Samos *
Inachus ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Argos ✓
Indus ✓ ✓ ✓ India or Caria ✓
Inopos ✓ Callimachus Delos *
Ismenus ✓ ✓ ✓ Boeotia ✓
Istrus or Ister ✓ ✓ Scythia ✓
Ladon ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Arcadia ✓
Lamos ✓ Nonnus Cilicia or Boeotia ✓
Marsyas River named after ✓ Phrygia a satyr; son of Hyagnis and either Olympus or Oeagrus
Maeander ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Caria ✓
Meles ✓ Hellanicus, Eugaeon Lydia *
Mincius ✓ Virgil Gallia, Italy *
Nestos or Nessus ✓ ✓ Bistonia, Thrace ✓
Nilus ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Egypt ✓
Numicius ✓ ✓ Latium, Italy *
Nymphaeus ?[citation needed] Quintus Smyrnaeus Bithynia and Paphlagonia
Orontes ✓ ✓ Syria ✓
Pactolus ✓ ✓ Nonnus Lydia *
Parthenius ✓ ✓ Paphlagonia ✓
Phasis ✓ ✓ ✓ Colchis ✓
Phlegethon or Pyriphlegethon ✓ Virgil, Statius Underworld son of Cocytus
Phyllis ✓ Apollonius Thynia, Anatolia *
Peneus ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Thessaly ✓
Pleistos ✓ Apollonius Phocis *
Porpax ?[citation needed] Sicily
Rhesus ✓ ✓ Troad ✓
Rhine ✓ Nonnus Switzerland/Germany/France/Netherlands *
Rhodius ✓ ✓ Troad ✓
Rhyndacus ✓ Nonnus Phrygia and Bithynia *
Sangarius or Sagaris ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Phrygia ✓
Satnioeis ?[citation needed] Homer Troad
Scamander ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Troad ✓
Selemnus ?[citation needed] ✓ Achaea
Simoeis ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Troad ✓
Spercheus ✓ ✓ Malis
Strymon ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ Edonia, Thrace ✓
Symaethus ✓ ✓ Sicily *
Tanais ✓ ✓ ✓ Scythia ✓
Termessus ✓ ✓ Boeotia *
Thermodon ✓ ✓ ✓ Pontos and Assyria ✓
Tiberinus ✓ Virgil Latium, Italy *
Tigris ✓ ✓ ✓ Assyria ✓
Titaressus[7] ? Homer, Strabo, Seneca Thessaly
TOTAL 25 25 17

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Hesiod, Theogony 337–345, 366–370.
  2. ^ Apollodorus, 3.7.5.
  3. ^ Apollodorus, 1.8.1, 2.7.5.
  4. ^ Smith, "Alpheius".
  5. ^ Homer, Iliad 20.74, 21.211 ff..
  6. ^ Hesiod, Theogony 334; Pseudo-Plutarch, De fluviis; Hyginus, Fabulae Preface
  7. ^ Homer,Iliad

References

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