Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...

, Eidothea or Idothea (

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

: Εἰδοθέα) was the name of the following women: *Idothea, a daughter of

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 possibly Tethys, thus considered to be one of the

Oceanids 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 ...

. Together with her sisters Adrasta and Althaea ( Amalthea), she was one of the nurses of young

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label=Genitive case, genitive Aeolic Greek, Boeotian Aeolic and Doric Greek#Laconian, Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label=Genitive case, genitive el, Δίας, ''D� ...

. *Eidothea, a sea goddess and daughter of

Proteus In Greek mythology, Proteus (; Ancient Greek: Πρωτεύς, ''Prōteus'') is an early prophetic sea-god or god of rivers and oceanic bodies of water, one of several deities whom Homer calls the "Old Man of the Sea" ''(hálios gérôn)''. ...

, the

Old Man of the Sea In Greek mythology, the Old Man of the Sea ( grc-gre, ἅλιος γέρων, hálios gérōn; grc-gre, Γέροντας της Θάλασσας, Gérontas tēs Thálassas) was a primordial figure who could be identified as any of several water-god ...

. She told

Menelaus In Greek mythology, Menelaus (; grc-gre, Μενέλαος , 'wrath of the people', ) was a king of Mycenaean (pre- Dorian) Sparta. According to the ''Iliad'', Menelaus was a central figure in the Trojan War, leading the Spartan contingent of th ...

how to hold her father so that he could not escape. Eidothea was simply called Eido who changed her name into

Theonoe In Greek mythology, Theonoe (Ancient Greek: Θεονόη means "divine wisdom" from ''theós'' 'god' and ''nóos'' or ''noûs'' 'mind') was a name that may refer to the following women: * Theonoe, daughter of the prophet Thestor, sister to Theoc ...

. Another of her name was

Eurynome Eurynomê (; Ancient Greek: Εὐρυνόμη, from , ''eurys'', "broad" and , ''nomos'', "pasture" or "law") is a name that refers to the following characters in Greek mythology: *Eurynome, pre-Olympian queen and wife of Ophion *Eurynome (Ocean ...

. * Eidothea, a

nymph A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are ty ...

Othreis In Greek mythology, Othreis (Ancient Greek: Οθρηις ''Othrêis'' means "of Mount Othrys") was an oread nymph who consorted with both Zeus and Apollo and became by them mother of Meliteus and Phager respectively. Mythology When Meliteus ...

who mothered by Eusiros (son of

Poseidon Poseidon (; grc-gre, Ποσειδῶν) was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a ch ...

) of

Cerambus In Greek mythology, Cĕrambus (Ancient Greek: Κέραμβος), a son of Euseiros (himself son of Poseidon) and the nymph Eidothea of Othreis. Mythology Cerambus was a survivor of Deucalion's flood by means of wings which he received from the ...

who was metamorphosed by the

nymphs A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are typ ...

into a gnawing beetle because of his insolence. In some myths, her son was borne up into the air on wings by the nymphs escaping the flood of

Deucalion In Greek mythology, Deucalion (; grc-gre, Δευκαλίων) was the son of Prometheus; ancient sources name his mother as Clymene, Hesione, or Pronoia.A scholium to ''Odyssey'' 10.2 (='' Catalogue'' fr. 4) reports that Hesiod called Deucalion ...

. * Eidothea or Eidothee, a

Carian The Carian language is an extinct language of the Luwic subgroup of the Anatolian branch of the Indo-European language family. The Carian language was spoken in Caria, a region of western Anatolia between the ancient regions of Lycia and Lydia, ...

woman, daughter of King

Eurytus Eurytus, Eurytos (; Ancient Greek: Εὔρυτος) or Erytus (Ἔρυτος) is the name of several characters in Greek mythology, and of at least one historical figure. Mythological *Eurytus, one of the Giants, sons of Gaia, killed by Dionysus ...

and possible spouse of

Miletus Miletus (; gr, Μῑ́λητος, Mī́lētos; Hittite transcription ''Millawanda'' or ''Milawata'' (exonyms); la, Mīlētus; tr, Milet) was an ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the Maeander River in a ...

who bore him

Byblis In Greek mythology, Byblis or Bublis (Ancient Greek: Βυβλίς) was a daughter of Miletus. Her mother was either Tragasia, daughter of Celaenus; Parthenius, ''Erotica Pathemata'' 11 Cyanee, daughter of the river-god Meander, or Eidothea, d ...

and

Caunus Kaunos (Carian: ''Kbid'';. Translator Chris Markham. Lycian: ''Khbide''; Ancient Greek: ; la, Caunus) was a city of ancient Caria and in Anatolia, a few kilometres west of the modern town of Dalyan, Muğla Province, Turkey. The Calbys riv ...

. * Eidothea, second wife of

Phineus In Greek mythology, Phineus (; Ancient Greek: Φινεύς, ) or Phineas, was a king of Salmydessus in Thrace and seer, who appears in accounts of the Argonauts' voyage. Some accounts make him a king in PaphlagoniaScholia on Apollonius of Rhod ...

, king of

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to t ...

. She was the sister of

Cadmus In Greek mythology, Cadmus (; grc-gre, Κάδμος, Kádmos) was the legendary Phoenician founder of Boeotian Thebes. He was the first Greek hero and, alongside Perseus and Bellerophon, the greatest hero and slayer of monsters before the da ...

and thus, maybe the daughter of

Agenor Agenor (; Ancient Greek: Ἀγήνωρ or Αγήνορας ''Agēnor''; English language, English translation: "heroic, manly") was in Greek mythology and history a Phoenician monarch, king of Tyre, Lebanon, Tyre or Sidon. The Dorians, Doric Gr ...

, king of Tyre. Eidothea put out the eyes of her stepsons ( Gerymbas and Aspondus) with the sharp shuttle in her blood-stained hands and also caused to imprisoned them.

Sir Richard C. Jebb Sir Richard Claverhouse Jebb (27 August 1841 – 9 December 1905) was a British classical scholar. Life Jebb was born in Dundee, Scotland. His father Robert was a well-known Irish barrister; his mother was Emily Harriet Horsley, daughter of t ...

.
Commentary on Sophocles: Antigone, 966
'

Notes

References

Antoninus Liberalis Antoninus Liberalis ( el, Ἀντωνῖνος Λιβεράλις) was an Ancient Greek grammarian who probably flourished between AD 100 and 300. His only surviving work is the ''Metamorphoses'' (Μεταμορφώσεων Συναγωγή, ''Me ...

, ''The Metamorphoses of Antoninus Liberalis'' translated by Francis Celoria (Routledge 1992)
Online version at the Topos Text Project.
*

Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful e ...

, ''The Complete Greek Drama'', edited by Whitney J. Oates and Eugene O'Neill, Jr. in two volumes. 2. Helen, translated by Robert Potter. New York. Random House. 1938
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
*Euripides, ''Euripidis Fabulae.'' ''vol. 3''. Gilbert Murray. Oxford. Clarendon Press, Oxford. 1913
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
* Hyginus, Gaius Julius, ''

Fabulae Gaius Julius Hyginus (; 64 BC – AD 17) was a Latin author, a pupil of the scholar Alexander Polyhistor, and a freedman of Caesar Augustus. He was elected superintendent of the Palatine library by Augustus according to Suetonius' ''De Grammati ...

'', in ''The Myths of Hyginus'', edited and translated by Mary A. Grant, Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 1960
Online version at ToposText
*

Homer 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 ...

, ''The Iliad'' with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, Ph.D. in two volumes. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924.
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
* Homer, ''Homeri Opera'' in five volumes. Oxford, Oxford University Press. 1920.
Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library
* Publius Ovidius Nasao, ''Metamorphoses'' translated by Brookes More (1859-1942). Boston, Cornhill Publishing Co. 1922
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
*Publius Ovidius Naso, ''Metamorphoses.'' Hugo Magnus. Gotha (Germany). Friedr. Andr. Perthes. 1892
Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library
* Smith, Scott R., and Stephen M. Trzaskoma, ''Apollodorus' ''Library'' and Hyginus' ''Fabulae'': Two Handbooks of Greek Mythology'', Hackett Publishing, Indianapolis/Cambridge, 2007.
Google Books
*Trzaskoma, Stephen M., R. Scott Smith, and Stephen Brunet, ''Anthology of Classical Myth: Primary Sources in Translation'', Hackett Publishing, 2004.
Google books
* West, M. L. (1983), ''The Orphic Poems'',

Clarendon Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

Oxford, 1983. . {{Greek myth index Oreads Nymphs Greek goddesses Princesses in Greek mythology Queens in Greek mythology