Potamoi

The Potamoi (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. 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.

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]
  • Inachus, the first king of Argos and progenitor of Argive line through his son grandson Argus.
  • Nilus, Egyptian river god and the father of numerous daughters that 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, offended when Achilles polluted his waters with the a large number of Trojan corpses, overflowed his banks nearly drowning Achilles.[5]

List of Potamoi

The following are the sons of Oceanus and Tethys:[6][7][8]

LIST OF RIVER GODS ACCORDING TO VARIOUS SOURCES
Name of River River god Sources Location Son of Oceanus and Tethys
Hes. Ovid Apol. Plut. Hyg. Pau. Others
Achelous or Akheloios Aetolia
Acheron Underworld and Thesprotia *presumably
Acis Changed into a river Sicily son of Pan and nymph Symaethis
Acragas ? 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 ? 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 ? 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 or Kladeos ? Elis *
Clitumnus ? Umbria *
Cocytus Oppian Underworld and Thesprotia *
Cratais *
Crinisus Virgil, Lycophron Sicily *
Cydnos Nonnus Cilicia *
Cytheros ? Elis *
Elisson ? Statius Achaea *
Enipeus Thessaly *
Erasinus Argos *
Eridanus Hyperborea, Attica
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 or Nile Egypt
Numicius Latium, Italy *
Nymphaeus ? 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 ? Sicily
Rhesus Troad
Rhine Nonnus Switzerland/Germany/Netherlands *
Rhodius Troad
Rhyndacus Nonnus Phrygia and Bithynia *
Sangarius or Sagaris Phrygia
Satnioeis ? Homer Troad
Scamander Troad
Selemnus ? 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 ? Homer, Strabo, Seneca Thessaly
TOTAL 25 25 17

See also

Notes

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.