The sea goat is a legendary aquatic animal described as a creature that is half goat and half fish. The constellation

Capricornus Capricornus is one of the constellations of the zodiac. Its name is Latin for "horned goat" or "goat horn" or "having horns like a goat's", and it is commonly represented in the form of a sea goat: a mythical creature that is half goat, half f ...

was commonly imagined as a type of sea goat. This has been done since the Bronze Age within Mesopotamia. Then the Babylonians used , 'the goat fish', to symbolize the god

Enki , image = Enki(Ea).jpg , caption = Detail of Enki from the Adda Seal, an ancient Akkadian cylinder seal dating to circa 2300 BC , deity_of = God of creation, intelligence, crafts, water, seawater, lakewater, fertility, semen, magic, mischief ...

Greek interpretation

The Greek interpretation of the sea goat comes from the introduction of the Babylonian zodiac. In an attempt to codify the constellation Capricorn within the Greek pantheon, two myths were used as an explanation. One being that the constellation is Amalthea, the goat that raised

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� ...

. As thanks for caring for him as a child, Zeus places her amongst the stars. The other being that the sea goat is the wilderness god Pan. The myth goes that Zeus jumped into the river to escape the monster

Typhon Typhon (; grc, Τυφῶν, Typhôn, ), also Typhoeus (; grc, Τυφωεύς, Typhōeús, label=none), Typhaon ( grc, Τυφάων, Typháōn, label=none) or Typhos ( grc, Τυφώς, Typhṓs, label=none), was a monstrous serpentine giant an ...

. He tries to turn himself into a fish while jumping into the river, but he moves too quickly and only his lower half becomes that of a fish. Zeus then engages in combat with the monster. Zeus defeats him, but not without Typhon pulling the muscles out of Zeus’ legs. With the help of

Hermes Hermes (; grc-gre, Ἑρμῆς) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology. Hermes is considered the herald of the gods. He is also considered the protector of human heralds, travellers, thieves, merchants, and orato ...

, Pan replaces the damaged muscles. As a reward for healing him, Zeus placed Pan in the sky as Capricorn. The god Aegipan is also depicted in Greek art as a sea goat.

Jewish tradition

In Jewish oral history, sea goats are mentioned. The story goes that one day all the creatures of the sea must offer themselves to the monster

Leviathan Leviathan (; he, לִוְיָתָן, ) is a sea serpent noted in theology and mythology. It is referenced in several books of the Hebrew Bible, including Psalms, the Book of Job, the Book of Isaiah, the Book of Amos, and, according to some ...

. In another, a sailor encountered a sea goat while far at sea. On its horns was carved the sentence, translated as "I am a little sea-animal, yet I traversed three hundred

parasang The parasang is a historical Iranian unit of walking distance, the length of which varied according to terrain and speed of travel. The European equivalent is the league. In modern terms the distance is about 3 or 3½ miles (4.8 or 5.6 km). His ...

s to offer myself as food to the leviathan."Louis Ginzberg. (1909)

Legends of the Jews The ''Legends of the Jews'' is a chronological compilation of aggadah from hundreds of biblical legends in Mishnah, Talmud and Midrash. The compilation consists of seven volumes (four volumes of narrative texts and two volumes of footnotes with a ...

. Entries: Vol I, "The Creation of the World: The Sixth Day" and Vol IV, "Elisha and Jonah: Jonah in the Whale"

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References

{{reflist Greek legendary creatures Jewish legendary creatures Mythological caprids Mythological aquatic creatures Mythological hybrids Capricorn in astrology

Greek interpretation

Jewish tradition

See also

References