Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and nature of the world, the lives and activities o ...

, Psamathe ( grc, Ψαμάθη) is a

Nereid In Greek mythology, the Nereids or Nereides ( ; grc, Νηρηΐδες, Nērēḯdes; , also Νημερτές) are sea nymphs (female spirits of sea waters), the 50 daughters of the ' Old Man of the Sea' Nereus and the Oceanid Doris, sisters ...

, one of the fifty daughters of the sea god

Nereus In Greek mythology, Nereus ( ; ) was the eldest son of Pontus (the Sea) and Gaia ( the Earth), with Pontus himself being a son of Gaia. Nereus and Doris became the parents of 50 daughters (the Nereids) and a son ( Nerites), with whom Nereus ...

and the

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 ...

Doris. By

Aeacus Aeacus (; also spelled Eacus; Ancient Greek: Αἰακός) was a mythological king of the island of Aegina in the Saronic Gulf. He was a son of Zeus and the nymph Aegina, and the father of the heroes Peleus and Telamon. According to legend, ...

, the king of

Aegina Aegina (; el, Αίγινα, ''Aígina'' ; grc, Αἴγῑνα) is one of the Saronic Islands of Greece in the Saronic Gulf, from Athens. Tradition derives the name from Aegina, the mother of the hero Aeacus, who was born on the island an ...

, she is the mother of a son, Phocus. When Phocus is killed by his half-brothers

Peleus In Greek mythology, Peleus (; Ancient Greek: Πηλεύς ''Pēleus'') was a hero, king of Phthia, husband of Thetis and the father of their son Achilles. This myth was already known to the hearers of Homer in the late 8th century BC. Bi ...

and

Telamon In Greek mythology, Telamon (; Ancient Greek: Τελαμών, ''Telamōn'' means "broad strap") was the son of King Aeacus of Aegina, and Endeïs, a mountain nymph. The elder brother of Peleus, Telamon sailed alongside Jason as one of his Argo ...

, Psamathe sends a giant wolf at Peleus' herd.

Family

Psamathe is one of the fifty

s, daughters of

and Doris. By

, the king of

, she is the mother of a son,

Phocus Phocus (; Ancient Greek: Φῶκος means "seal") was the name of the eponymous hero of Phocis in Greek mythology. Ancient sources relate of more than one figure of this name, and of these at least two are explicitly said to have had Phocis named a ...

. She is later the wife 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)''. ...

, king of Egypt, by whom she has a son,

Theoclymenos In Greek mythology, Proteus (; Ancient Greek: Πρωτεύς - ''protos'', "first") was an ancient Egyptian king who was associated with the island of Pharos, his residence in Homer's ''Odyssey''. Virgil, however, instead of Pharos, mentions t ...

, and a daughter, Eido (later known as

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 ...

Mythology

There are two myths which involve Psamathe. The first is the story of her violation by Aeacus. Upon his advances, she transforms herself into a seal in an attempt to escape. She is unsuccessful, however, and from their union is born Phocus, whose name (''phoke'' meaning "seal") recalls his mother's metamorphosis.

and

are the sons of Aeacus by his wife Endeis. The two of them kill their half-brother Phocus, and they are subsequently exiled from Aegina by their father. The second story which features Psamathe involves her sending of a wolf at the herds of

, out of revenge for her son's death. After the wolf eats part of Peleus' herd, it is turned to stone by either Psamathe herself, or her sister

Thetis Thetis (; grc-gre, Θέτις ), is a figure from Greek mythology with varying mythological roles. She mainly appears as a sea nymph, a goddess of water, or one of the 50 Nereids, daughters of the ancient sea god Nereus. When described as ...

Sources

Psamathe is first mentioned in

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 The ''Theogony'' (, , , i.e. "the genealogy or birth of the gods") is a poem by Hesiod (8th–7th century BC) describing the origins and genealogies of the Greek gods, composed . It is written in the Epic dialect of Ancient Greek and contain ...

'' (c. 730–700 BC), where she described as "Psamathe of charming figure" and "the fair goddess". Hesiod lists her among the Nereids, and calls her the mother of Phocus by Aeacus.

Pindar Pindar (; grc-gre, Πίνδαρος , ; la, Pindarus; ) was an Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes. Of the canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian wrote, "Of the nine lyric poets, Pindar ...

(c. 518–438 BC), who calls her "Psamatheia" (Ψαμάθεια), says that she bore Phocus by the shore of the sea, while

Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars ...

, in his play

Helen Helen may refer to: People * Helen of Troy, in Greek mythology, the most beautiful woman in the world * Helen (actress) (born 1938), Indian actress * Helen (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) Places * Helen, ...

(c. 412 BC), offers a very different account of Psamathe, in which, "after she left Aiakos' bed", she is the wife of

, the king of Egypt, by whom she has two children,

and Eido (the latter of which is later known as

). The myth of Psmathe's transformation into a seal comes from the mythographer

Apollodorus Apollodorus (Greek: Ἀπολλόδωρος ''Apollodoros'') was a popular name in ancient Greece. It is the masculine gender of a noun compounded from Apollo, the deity, and doron, "gift"; that is, "Gift of Apollo." It may refer to: :''Note: A f ...

(first or second century AD) and a scholiast on Euripides' play ''

Andromache In Greek mythology, Andromache (; grc, Ἀνδρομάχη, ) was the wife of Hector, daughter of Eetion, and sister to Podes. She was born and raised in the city of Cilician Thebe, over which her father ruled. The name means 'man battler ...

'', while multiple versions of the story of the wolf are given by different authors.

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Augustan literature (ancient Rome), Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom ...

, in his ''

Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' ( la, Metamorphōsēs, from grc, μεταμορφώσεις: "Transformations") is a Latin narrative poem from 8 CE by the Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his '' magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the ...

'' (c. 8 AD), presents the most detailed account. After Phocus is killed by his half-brothers Peleus and Telamon, they are exiled from the island of Aegina by their father Aeacus. Psamathe, out of revenge for her son's murder, sends at Peleus' herd of cattle a wolf that is described as a "huge beast", with "great, murderous jaws" and "eyes blazing with red fire". Peleus is informed of the wolf by his herdsman, and "well nowsthat the bereaved Nereid ssending this calamity upon him". In desperation, he prays to Psamathe to "put away her wrath and come to his help"; she remains unmoved, however, until her sister

prays for her forgiveness alongside Peleus, at which point she transforms the wolf into what Ovid describes as "marble".

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, '' ...

(second to third century AD), in his ''Metamorphoses'', presents a much briefer version, which he attributes to Nicander of Colophon (second century BC). In this version the origin of the wolf is not specified, and it is transformed into stone, not by Psamathe, but by "divine will". A wolf is similarly mentioned by the

Hellenistic In Classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Mediterranean history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in ...

poet

Lycophron Lycophron (; grc-gre, Λυκόφρων ὁ Χαλκιδεύς; born about 330–325 BC) was a Hellenistic Greek tragic poet, grammarian, sophist, and commentator on comedy, to whom the poem ''Alexandra'' is attributed (perhaps falsely). Life a ...

(born 330–325 BC), in his ''Alexandra'': "... the Wolf that devoured the atonement and was turned to stone ...". The byzantine poet

John Tzetzes John Tzetzes ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης Τζέτζης, Iōánnēs Tzétzēs; c. 1110, Constantinople – 1180, Constantinople) was a Byzantine poet and grammarian who is known to have lived at Constantinople in the 12th century. He was able to pr ...

(c. 1110–1180), in his commentary on Lycophron's ''Alexandra'', presents a version of the story in which Psamathe sends the wolf, but does not transform it herself; instead it is Thetis who turns it to stone. Psamathe also appears in book 43 of

Nonnus Nonnus of Panopolis ( grc-gre, Νόννος ὁ Πανοπολίτης, ''Nónnos ho Panopolítēs'', 5th century CE) was the most notable Greek epic poet of the Imperial Roman era. He was a native of Panopolis (Akhmim) in the Egyptian Theb ...

's ''

Dionysiaca The ''Dionysiaca'' {{IPAc-en, ˌ, d, aɪ, ., ə, ., n, ᵻ, ˈ, z, aɪ, ., ə, ., k, ə ( grc-gre, Διονυσιακά, ''Dionysiaká'') is an ancient Greek epic poem and the principal work of Nonnus. It is an epic in 48 books, the longest surv ...

'' (c. fifth century AD), during the fight between

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 ...

and

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; grc, wikt:Διόνυσος, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstas ...

, where, from the beach, she pleads to

Zeus Zeus or , , ; grc, Δῐός, ''Diós'', label= genitive Boeotian Aeolic and Laconian grc-dor, Δεύς, Deús ; grc, Δέος, ''Déos'', label= genitive el, Δίας, ''Días'' () is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek relig ...

to end the battle.

Iconography

Psamathe is depicted on a number of Attic vases dating from the late fifth century BC. The iconography of Psamathe is typical for a Nereid, and she is depicted in such scenes as the fight between Peleus and Thetis, and the transportation of the weapons and armour of

Achilles In Greek mythology, Achilles ( ) or Achilleus ( grc-gre, Ἀχιλλεύς) was a hero of the Trojan War, the greatest of all the Greek warriors, and the central character of Homer's '' Iliad''. He was the son of the Nereid Thetis and Pe ...

, where she is among the Nereids carrying his weaponry while riding on a dolphin.'' LIMC'
387 (Psamathe 2)
Richter
p. 175
'' LIMC'
10251 (Psamathe 3)
In ''LIMC'' Psamathe 2 she is depicted carrying an Attic helmet, while in ''LIMC'' Psamathe 3 she holds the helmet of Achilles.

Genealogy

Notes

References

, ''The Metamorphoses of Antoninus Liberalis: A Translation with a Commentary'', edited and translated by Francis Celoria, Routledge, 1992.
Online version at ToposText
*

, ''Apollodorus. The Library, Volume I: Books 1-3.9'', translated by James G. Frazer,

Loeb Classical Library The Loeb Classical Library (LCL; named after James Loeb; , ) is a series of books originally published by Heinemann in London, but is currently published by Harvard University Press. The library contains important works of ancient Greek and ...

No. 121, Cambridge, Massachusetts,

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retir ...

, 1921.
Online version at Harvard University PressOnline version at the Perseus Digital Library
* ''Brill’s New Pauly: Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World. Antiquity, Volume 11'', Phi-Prok, editors: Hubert Cancik, Helmuth Schneider, Brill, 2007.
Online version at Brill
* ''Brill’s New Pauly: Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World. Antiquity, Volume 12'', Prol-Sar, editors: Hubert Cancik, Helmuth Schneider, Brill, 2008.
Online version at Brill
* Caldwell, Richard, ''Hesiod's Theogony'', Focus Publishing/R. Pullins Company (June 1, 1987).
Internet Archive
* Dindorf, Karl Wilhelm, ''Scholia Graeca in Euripidis tragoedias'', Volume IV, Oxford, E Typographeo Clarendoniano, 1863
Google Books
*

, ''

'', translated by E. P. Coleridge in ''The Complete Greek Drama'', edited by Whitney J. Oates and Eugene O'Neill, Jr., Volume 2, New York, Random House, 1938
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
* Fontenrose, Joseph Eddy, ''Python: A Study of Delphic Myth and Its Origins'',

University of California Press The University of California Press, otherwise known as UC Press, is a publishing house associated with the University of California that engages in academic publishing. It was founded in 1893 to publish scholarly and scientific works by facul ...

, 1959.
Google Books
* Frazer, James G., ''Apollodorus. The Library, Volume I: Books 1-3.9'',

No. 121, Cambridge, Massachusetts,

, 1921.
Online version at Harvard University PressOnline version at the Perseus Digital Library
* Gantz, Timothy, ''Early Greek Myth: A Guide to Literary and Artistic Sources'', Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, Two volumes: (Vol. 1), (Vol. 2). * Grimal, Pierre, ''The Dictionary of Classical Mythology'', Wiley-Blackwell, 1996.
Internet Archive
* Hard, Robin, ''The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology: Based on H.J. Rose's "Handbook of Greek Mythology"'', Psychology Press, 2004.
Google Books
*

, ''

'', in ''The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White'', Cambridge, Massachusetts,

; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914
Online version at the Perseus Digital LibraryInternet Archive
* Larson, Jennifer, ''Greek Nymphs: Myth, Cult, Lore'', Oxford University Press, 2001. . *

, ''Alexandra'' in ''Callimachus and Lycophron, with an English translation by A. W. Mair; Aratus, with an English translation by G. R. Mair'', London: W. Heinemann, New York: G. P. Putnam, 1921
Online version at Harvard University PressInternet Archive
* March, Jenny, ''Cassell's Dictionary of Classical Mythology'', Cassell & Co., 2001.
Internet Archive
* Newton, Charles Thomas, "The Camirus Vase", in ''The Fine Arts Quarterly Review'', Vol. 2, pp. 1–8
Google Books
*

, ''

, Volume III: Books 36–48'', translated by W. H. D. Rouse,

No. 346, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd., 1940.
Online version at Harvard University PressInternet Archive (1940, reprinted 1942)
*

, ''

, Volume II: Books 9-15'', translated by Frank Justus Miller, revised by G. P. Goold,

No. 43, Cambridge, Massachusetts,

, 1984, first published 1916.
Online version at Harvard University Press
* Paschalis, Michael, "Narratives of ''amor'', ''arma'' and ''armenta'' in Ovid’s Metamorphoses", in ''Trends in Classics'', Vol. 12, No. 1, pp. 154–171
Online version at De Gruyter
*

Pausanias Pausanias ( el, Παυσανίας) may refer to: *Pausanias of Athens, lover of the poet Agathon and a character in Plato's ''Symposium'' *Pausanias the Regent, Spartan general and regent of the 5th century BC * Pausanias of Sicily, physician of t ...

, ''

Description of Greece Pausanias ( /pɔːˈseɪniəs/; grc-gre, Παυσανίας; c. 110 – c. 180) was a Greek traveler and geographer of the second century AD. He is famous for his ''Description of Greece'' (, ), a lengthy work that describes ancient Greece ...

, Volume I: Books 1-2 (Attica and Corinth)'', translated by W. H. S. Jones,

No. 93, Cambridge, Massachusetts,

, 1918.
Online version at Harvard University PressOnline version at the Perseus Digital Library
*

, ''Nemean Odes. Isthmian Odes. Fragments'', edited and translated by William H. Race,

No. 485, Cambridge, Massachusetts,

, 1997.
Online version at Harvard University Press
*

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for hi ...

, ''

Moralia The ''Moralia'' ( grc, Ἠθικά ''Ethika''; loosely translated as "Morals" or "Matters relating to customs and mores") is a group of manuscripts dating from the 10th–13th centuries, traditionally ascribed to the 1st-century Greek scholar Pl ...

, Volume IV: Roman Questions. Greek Questions. Greek and Roman Parallel Stories. On the Fortune of the Romans. On the Fortune or the Virtue of Alexander. Were the Athenians More Famous in War or in Wisdom?'', translated by Frank Cole Babbitt,

No. 305, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 1936.
Online version at Harvard University Press
* Richter, Gisela M. A., ''Red-Figured Athenian Vases in the Metropolitan Museum of Art'', Volume I, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1936
Google Books
* Szabados, Anne-Violaine
"Psamathe"
in ''

Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae The ''Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae'' (abbreviated ''LIMC'') is a multivolume encyclopedia cataloguing representations of mythology in the plastic arts of classical antiquity. Published serially from 1981 to 2009, it is the most ext ...

(LIMC)'' VII.1. Artemis Verlag, Zürich and Munich, 1994.
Internet Archive
* Tripp, Edward, ''Crowell's Handbook of Classical Mythology'', Thomas Y. Crowell Co; First edition (June 1970).
Internet Archive
* Tzetzes, John, ''Scolia eis Lycophroon'', edited by Christian Gottfried Müller, Sumtibus F.C.G. Vogelii, 1811
Internet Archive
{{Greek mythology (deities), state=collapsed Nereids Shapeshifters in Greek mythology Greek goddesses Sea and river goddesses