In ancient Greek mythology, Amphitrite (; grc-gre, Ἀμφιτρίτη, Amphitrítē) was the goddess of the sea, the queen of the sea, and the wife of Poseidon. She was a daughter of Nereus and Doris (or

Oceanus In Greek mythology, Oceanus (; grc-gre, , Ancient Greek pronunciation: , also Ὠγενός , Ὤγενος , or Ὠγήν ) was a Titan son of Uranus and Gaia, the husband of his sister the Titan Tethys, and the father of the river gods a ...

and Tethys).Roman, L., & Roman, M. (2010). Under the influence of the

Olympian pantheon Olympian or Olympians may refer to: Religion * Twelve Olympians, the principal gods and goddesses in ancient Greek religion * Olympian spirits, spirits mentioned in books of ceremonial magic Fiction * ''Percy Jackson & the Olympians'', fiction ...

, she became the consort of Poseidon and was later used as a symbolic representation of the sea. Her Roman counterpart is

Salacia In ancient Roman mythology, Salacia ( , ) was the female divinity of the sea, worshipped as the goddess of salt water who presided over the depths of the ocean. Neptune was her consort. That Salacia was the consort of Neptune is implied by Va ...

, a comparatively minor figure, and the goddess of saltwater.

Mythology

Amphitrite was a daughter of Nereus and Doris (and thus a Nereid), according to

Hesiod Hesiod (; grc-gre, Ἡσίοδος ''Hēsíodos'') was an ancient Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. He is generally regarded by western authors as 'the first written poet i ...

's '' Theogony'', but of

and Tethys (and thus an

Oceanid In Greek mythology, the Oceanids or Oceanides (; grc, Ὠκεανίδες, Ōkeanídes, pl. of grc, Ὠκεανίς, Ōkeanís, label=none) are the nymphs who were the three thousand (a number interpreted as meaning "innumerable") daughters o ...

), according to the '' Bibliotheca'', which actually lists her among both the Nereids and the

s. Others called her the

personification Personification occurs when a thing or abstraction is represented as a person, in literature or art, as a type of anthropomorphic metaphor. The type of personification discussed here excludes passing literary effects such as "Shadows hold their b ...

of the sea itself ( saltwater).

Marriage to Poseidon

When Poseidon desired to marry her, Amphitrite, wanting to protect "her virginity", fled to the

Atlas mountains The Atlas Mountains are a mountain range in the Maghreb in North Africa. It separates the Sahara Desert from the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean; the name "Atlantic" is derived from the mountain range. It stretches around through Moroc ...

. Poseidon sent many creatures to find her. A

dolphin A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (the ...

came across Amphitrite and convinced her to marry Poseidon. As a reward for the dolphin's help, Poseidon created the Delphinus constellation. Amphitrite's offspring included seals and dolphins. She also bred sea monsters and her great waves crashed against the rocks, putting sailors at risk. Poseidon and Amphitrite had a son,

Triton Triton commonly refers to: * Triton (mythology), a Greek god * Triton (moon), a satellite of Neptune Triton may also refer to: Biology * Triton cockatoo, a parrot * Triton (gastropod), a group of sea snails * ''Triton'', a synonym of ''Triturus' ...

who was a merman, and a daughter, Rhodos (if this Rhodos was not actually fathered by Poseidon on

Halia Halie or Halia (Ancient Greek: Ἁλίη or Ἁλία ''Haliê'' means 'the dweller in the sea' or 'the briney'Banep. 172/ref>) is the name of the following characters in Greek mythology: * Halie, the "ox-eyed" Nereid, sea-nymph daughter of the ' ...

or was not the daughter of Asopus as others claim). ''Bibliotheca'' (3.15.4) also mentions a daughter of Poseidon and Amphitrite named

Kymopoleia In Greek mythology, Cymopoleia or Cymopolia (; Ancient Greek: Κυμοπόλεια ''Kymopoleia'') was a daughter of sea god Poseidon and the wife of Briareus, one of the three Hundred-Handers. Her only known mention occurs in the Hesiodic ''Th ...

. Amphitrite is not fully personified in the

Homeric epics Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

: "out on the open sea, in Amphitrite's breakers" ('' Odyssey'' iii.101), "moaning Amphitrite" nourishes fishes "in numbers past all counting" (''Odyssey'' xii.119). She shares her Homeric epithet ''Halosydne'' ( grc-gre, Ἁλοσύδνη, Halosúdnē, sea-nourished) with Thetis. In some sense, the sea-nymphs are doublets.

Representation and cult

Though Amphitrite does not figure in Greek '' cultus'', at an archaic stage she was of outstanding importance, for in the

Homeric Hymn The ''Homeric Hymns'' () are a collection of thirty-three anonymous ancient Greek hymns celebrating individual gods. The hymns are "Homeric" in the sense that they employ the same epic meter—dactylic hexameter—as the ''Iliad'' and ''Odyssey'', ...

to Delian Apollo, she appears at the birthing of Apollo among, in Hugh G. Evelyn-White's translation, "all the chiefest of the goddesses,

Dione Dione may refer to: Astronomy *106 Dione, a large main belt asteroid *Dione (moon), a moon of Saturn *Helene (moon), a moon of Saturn sometimes referred to as "Dione B" Mythology *Dione (Titaness), a Titaness in Greek mythology *Dione (mythology) ...

and Rhea and Ichnaea and Themis and loud-moaning Amphitrite"; more recent translators are unanimous in rendering "Ichnaean Themis" rather than treating "Ichnae" as a separate identity. Theseus in the submarine halls of his father Poseidon saw the daughters of Nereus dancing with liquid feet, and "august, ox-eyed Amphitrite", who wreathed him with her wedding wreath, according to a fragment of Bacchylides.

Jane Ellen Harrison Jane Ellen Harrison (9 September 1850 – 15 April 1928) was a British classics, classical scholar and linguistics, linguist. Harrison is one of the founders, with Karl Kerenyi and Walter Burkert, of modern studies in Ancient Greek religio ...

recognized in the poetic treatment an authentic echo of Amphitrite's early importance: "It would have been much simpler for Poseidon to recognize his own son… the myth belongs to that early stratum of mythology when Poseidon was not yet god of the sea, or, at least, no-wise supreme there—Amphitrite and the Nereids ruled there, with their servants the Tritons. Even so late as the '' Iliad'' Amphitrite is not yet 'Neptuni uxor' eptune's wife" Amphitrite, "the third one who encircles

he sea He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...

, was so entirely confined in her authority to the sea and the creatures in it that she was almost never associated with her husband, either for purposes of worship or in works of art, except when he was to be distinctly regarded as the god who controlled the sea. An exception may be the

cult image In the practice of religion, a cult image is a human-made object that is venerated or worshipped for the deity, spirit or daemon that it embodies or represents. In several traditions, including the ancient religions of Egypt, Greece and Rome ...

of Amphitrite that Pausanias saw in the temple of Poseidon at the

Isthmus of Corinth The Isthmus of Corinth (Greek: Ισθμός της Κορίνθου) is the narrow land bridge which connects the Peloponnese peninsula with the rest of the mainland of Greece, near the city of Corinth. The word "isthmus" comes from the Ancien ...

(ii.1.7). Pindar, in his sixth Olympian Ode, recognized Poseidon's role as "great god of the sea, husband of Amphitrite, goddess of the golden spindle." For later poets, Amphitrite became simply a metaphor for the sea: Euripides, in ''Cyclops'' (702) and Ovid, '' Metamorphoses'', (i.14). Eustathius said that Poseidon first saw her dancing at Naxos among the other Nereids, and carried her off. But in another version of the myth, she fled from his advances to Atlas, at the farthest ends of the sea; there the dolphin of Poseidon sought her through the islands of the sea, and finding her, spoke persuasively on behalf of Poseidon, if we may believe Hyginus and was rewarded by being placed among the stars as the constellation Delphinus.''

Catasterismi The ''Catasterismi'' or ''Catasterisms'' (Greek Καταστερισμοί ''Katasterismoi'', "Constellations" or "Placings Among the Stars"), is a lost work attributed to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. It was a comprehensive compendium of astral myth ...

''
31
Hyginus, ''Poetical Astronomy'', ii.17, .132. In the arts of vase-painting and mosaic, Amphitrite was distinguishable from the other Nereids only by her queenly attributes. In works of art, both ancient ones and post-Renaissance paintings, Amphitrite is represented either enthroned beside Poseidon or driving with him in a chariot drawn by sea-horses ('' hippocamps'') or other fabulous creatures of the deep, and attended by Tritons and Nereids. She is dressed in queenly robes and has nets in her hair. The pincers of a crab are sometimes shown attached to her temples. File:Theseus Athena Amphitrite Louvre G104.jpg, Theseus and Amphitrite clasp hands, with Athena looking on ( red-figure cup by

Euphronios Euphronios ( el, Εὐφρόνιος; c. 535 – after 470 BC) was an ancient Greek vase painter and potter, active in Athens in the late 6th and early 5th centuries BC. As part of the so-called "Pioneer Group," (a modern name given to a group ...

and Onesimos, 500–490 BC) File:Sea thiasos Amphitrite Poseidon Glyptothek Munich 239 front n3.jpg, Sea thiasos depicting the wedding of Poseidon and Amphitrite, from the Altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus in the

Field of Mars The term Field of Mars ( la, Campus Martius) goes back to antiquity, and designates an area, inside or near a city, used as a parade or exercise ground by the military. Notable examples of places which were used for these purposes include: * Campus ...

, bas-relief, Roman Republic, 2nd century BC File:Affreschi romani - nettuno anfitrine - pompei.JPG, Poseidon and Amphitrite. Ancient Roman fresco (50-79 AD),

Pompeii Pompeii (, ) was an ancient city located in what is now the ''comune'' of Pompei near Naples in the Campania region of Italy. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area (e.g. at Boscoreale, Stabiae), was buried ...

, Italy. File:House of the Neptune Mosaic (7254082844).jpg, A Roman mosaic on a wall in the House of Neptune and Amphitrite,

Herculaneum Herculaneum (; Neapolitan and it, Ercolano) was an ancient town, located in the modern-day ''comune'' of Ercolano, Campania, Italy. Herculaneum was buried under volcanic ash and pumice in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD 79. Like the nea ...

, Italy Image:JacobdeGheynII-NeptuneandAmphitrite.jpg, ''Neptune and Amphitrite'' by Jacob de Gheyn II (latter 16th-century) File:Nicolas Poussin, French - The Birth of Venus - Google Art Project.jpg, ''The Triumph of Neptune'' by

Nicolas Poussin Nicolas Poussin (, , ; June 1594 – 19 November 1665) was the leading painter of the classical French Baroque style, although he spent most of his working life in Rome. Most of his works were on religious and mythological subjects painted for a ...

, showing Amphitrite ''

velificans ''Velificatio'' is a stylistic device used in ancient Roman art to frame a deity by means of a billowing garment. It represents "vigorous movement," an epiphany, or "the vault of heaven," often appearing with celestial, weather, or sea deities. I ...

'' (1634) File:Cirta mosaic.jpg, ''Triumph of Poseidon and Amphitrite'' showing the couple in procession, detail of a vast mosaic from

Cirta Cirta, also known by various other names in antiquity, was the ancient Berber and Roman settlement which later became Constantine, Algeria. Cirta was the capital city of the Berber kingdom of Numidia; its strategically important port city w ...

Roman Africa Roman Africa may refer to the following areas of Northern Africa which were part of the Imperium Romanum and/or the Western/Byzantine successor empires : ; in the unified Roman empire : * Africa (Roman province), with the great metropolis Cartha ...

(, now at the Louvre) File:Giovanni Battista Crosato, The Triumph of Amphitrite, 1745-1750, NGA 80940.jpg, Drawing of Amphitrite sitting in a sea shell surrounded by her subjects. The Triumph of Amphitrite by

Giovanni Battista Crosato Giovanni Battista Crosato (1686 – July 15, 1758) was an Italian painter of quadratura, active in the 18th century in Piedmont. He was born in Venice, where he had likely his first training. By 1733 he had moved to Turin, where he was recruited ...

(1745–1750). Held at the

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of char ...

Amphitrite legacy

* Amphitrite is the name of a genus of the worm family ''

Terebellidae The Terebellidae is a marine family of polychaete worms, of which the type taxon is ''Terebella'', described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1767 12th edition of ''Systema Naturae''. Characteristics Most terebellids live in burrows or crevices and ar ...

''. * In poetry, Amphitrite's name is often used for the sea, as a synonym of

Thalassa Thalassa (; grc-gre, Θάλασσα, Thálassa, sea; Attic Greek: , ''Thálatta'') was the general word for 'sea' and for its divine female personification in Greek mythology. The word may have been of Pre-Greek origin. Mythology According t ...

. * Seven ships of the Royal Navy were named HMS ''Amphitrite'' * , which wrecked in 1833 with heavy loss of life while transporting convicts to New South Wales * At least one ship of the

Royal Netherlands Navy The Royal Netherlands Navy ( nl, Koninklijke Marine, links=no) is the naval force of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. During the 17th century, the navy of the Dutch Republic (1581–1795) was one of the most powerful naval forces in the world an ...

was named HM ''Amphitrite'' (corvette, in service 1830s). * Three ships of the United States Navy were named USS ''Amphitrite''. * An asteroid,

29 Amphitrite Amphitrite (minor planet designation: 29 Amphitrite) is one of the largest S-type asteroids, approximately in diameter, and probably fifth largest after Eunomia, Juno, Iris and Herculina. Discovery Amphitrite was discovered by Albert Marth o ...

, is named for her. * The figure of Amphitrite plays a role in the 1918 Spanish novel ''Mare Nostrum'' by Vicente Blasco Ibáñez and its 1926 film adaptation. * In 1936, Australia used an image of Amphitrite on a postage stamp as a classical allusion for the

submarine communications cable A submarine communications cable is a cable laid on the sea bed between land-based stations to carry telecommunication signals across stretches of ocean and sea. The first submarine communications cables laid beginning in the 1850s carried tel ...

across

Bass Strait Bass Strait () is a strait separating the island state of Tasmania from the Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Boundary Islet). The strait provides the most direct waterwa ...

from

Apollo Bay, Victoria Apollo Bay is a coastal town in southwestern Victoria, Australia. It is situated on the eastern side of Cape Otway, along the edge of the Barham River and on the Great Ocean Road, in the Colac Otway Shire. The town had a population of 1,790 at ...

to Stanley, Tasmania. * The name of the former Greek Royal Yacht. * Amphitrite Pool, a shallow ceremonial pool on the grounds of the United States Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York contains a statue of Amphitrite. When First Classmen are taking their Third Mate or Third Assistant Engineer License Examinations, it is considered good luck if they bounce a coin off Amphitrite into a seashell at her feet.

Citations

General references

* and

External links

Warburg Institute Iconographic Database
(c. 130 images of Amphitrite) {{Authority control Characters in Greek mythology Greek sea goddesses Nereids Oceanids Queens in Greek mythology Women in Greek mythology Greek goddesses Sea and river goddesses Women of Poseidon Nymphs