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 ...

, Tethys (; grc, Τηθύς, Tēthýs) was a Titan daughter of

Uranus Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. Its name is a reference to the Greek god of the sky, Uranus (mythology), Uranus (Caelus), who, according to Greek mythology, was the great-grandfather of Ares (Mars (mythology), Mars), grandfather ...

and

Gaia In Greek mythology, Gaia (; from Ancient Greek , a poetical form of , 'land' or 'earth'),, , . also spelled Gaea , is the personification of the Earth and one of the Greek primordial deities. Gaia is the ancestral mother—sometimes parthenog ...

, a sister and wife of the Titan

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 the mother of the

river gods A water deity is a deity in mythology associated with water or various bodies of water. Water deities are common in mythology and were usually more important among civilizations in which the sea or ocean, or a great river was more important. Ano ...

and 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 ...

. Although Tethys had no active role in Greek mythology and no established cults, she was depicted in mosaics decorating baths, pools, and

triclinia A ''triclinium'' (plural: ''triclinia'') is a formal dining room in a Roman building. The word is adopted from the Greek ()—from (), "three", and (), a sort of couch or rather chaise longue. Each couch was sized to accommodate a diner who ...

in the

Greek East Greek East and Latin West are terms used to distinguish between the two parts of the Greco-Roman world and of Medieval Christendom, specifically the eastern regions where Greek was the ''lingua franca'' (Greece, Anatolia, the southern Balkans, the ...

, particularly in

Antioch Antioch on the Orontes (; grc-gre, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου, ''Antiókheia hē epì Oróntou'', Learned ; also Syrian Antioch) grc-koi, Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπὶ Ὀρόντου; or Ἀντιόχεια ἡ ἐπ� ...

and its suburbs, either alone or with Oceanus.

Genealogy

Tethys was one of the Titan offspring of Uranus (Sky) and Gaia (Earth).

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 ...

lists her Titan siblings as

Coeus In Greek mythology, Coeus (; grc, Κοῖος, ''Koios'', "query, questioning" or "intelligence"), also called Polus, was one of the Titans, one of the three groups of children born to Uranus ( Sky) and Gaia (Earth). Mythology Coeus was an ...

Crius In Greek mythology, Crius (; grc, Κρεῖος or Κριός, ''Kreios''/''Krios'') was one of the Titans, children of Uranus and Gaia. Like other Titans, Crius lacks much characterization, with no unique domain or mythology of his own, instead ...

, Hyperion,

Iapetus In Greek mythology, Iapetus (; ; grc, Ἰαπετός, Iapetós), also Japetus, is a Titan, the son of Uranus and Gaia and father of Atlas, Prometheus, Epimetheus, and Menoetius. He was also called the father of Buphagus and Anchiale in other ...

Theia In Greek mythology, Theia (; grc, Θεία, Theía, divine, also rendered Thea or Thia), also called Euryphaessa ( grc, Εὐρυφάεσσα) "wide-shining", is one of the twelve Titans, the children of the earth goddess Gaia and the sky god ...

, Rhea,

Themis In Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion, Themis (; grc, Θέμις, Themis, justice, law, custom) is one of the twelve Titans, Titan children of Gaia and Uranus (mythology), Uranus, and the second wife of Zeus. She is the godde ...

Mnemosyne In Greek mythology and ancient Greek religion, Mnemosyne (; grc, Μνημοσύνη, ) is the goddess of memory and the mother of the nine Muses by her nephew Zeus. In the Greek tradition, Mnemosyne is one of the Titans, the twelve divine chil ...

, Phoebe, and

Cronus In Ancient Greek religion and mythology, Cronus, Cronos, or Kronos ( or , from el, Κρόνος, ''Krónos'') was the leader and youngest of the first generation of Titans, the divine descendants of the primordial Gaia (Mother Earth) and ...

. Tethys married her brother Oceanus, an enormous river encircling the world, and was by him the mother of numerous sons (the

) and numerous daughters (the

). According to Hesiod, there were three thousand (i.e. innumerable) river gods. These included

Achelous In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Achelous (also Acheloos or Acheloios) (; Ancient Greek: Ἀχελώϊος, and later , ''Akhelôios'') was the god associated with the Achelous River, the largest river in Greece. According to Hesiod, he ...

, the god of the

Achelous River The Achelous ( el, Αχελώος, grc, Ἀχελῷος ''Akhelôios''), also Acheloos, is a river in western Greece. It is long. It formed the boundary between Acarnania and Aetolia of antiquity. It empties into the Ionian Sea. In ancient ...

, the largest river in Greece, who gave his daughter in marriage to Alcmaeon and was defeated by

Heracles Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive ...

in a wrestling contest for the right to marry

Deianira Deianira, Deïanira, or Deianeira (; Ancient Greek: Δηϊάνειρα, ''Dēiáneira'', or , ''Dēáneira'', ), also known as Dejanira, is a Calydonian princess in Greek mythology whose name translates as "man-destroyer" or "destroyer of her hu ...

; Alpheus, who fell in love with the

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 ...

Arethusa and pursued her to

Syracuse Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York *Syracuse, Indiana * Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

, where she was transformed into a spring by

Artemis In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Artemis (; grc-gre, Ἄρτεμις) is the goddess of the hunt, the wilderness, wild animals, nature, vegetation, childbirth, care of children, and chastity. She was heavily identified wit ...

; and

Scamander Scamander (; also Skamandros ( grc, Σκάμανδρος) or Xanthos () was a river god in Greek mythology. Etymology The meaning of this name is uncertain. The second element looks like it is derived from Greek () meaning 'of a man', but t ...

who fought on the side of the

Trojans Trojan or Trojans may refer to: * Of or from the ancient city of Troy * Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans Arts and entertainment Music * ''Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 1890 ...

during the

Trojan War In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and has ...

and, offended when

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 Peleus, k ...

polluted his waters with a large number of Trojan corpses, overflowed his banks nearly drowning Achilles. According to Hesiod, there were also three thousand Oceanids. These included

Metis Metis or Métis may refer to: Ethnic groups * Métis, recognized Indigenous communities in Canada and America whose distinct culture and language emerged after early intermarriage between First Nations peoples and early European settlers, prima ...

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� ...

' first wife, whom Zeus impregnated with

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of ...

and then swallowed;

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 ...

, Zeus' third wife, and mother of the

Charites In Greek mythology, the Charites ( ), singular ''Charis'', or Graces, were three or more goddesses of charm, beauty, nature, human creativity, goodwill, and fertility. Hesiod names three – Aglaea ("Shining"), Euphrosyne ("Joy"), and Thalia ...

; Doris, the wife of

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 liv ...

and mother of the

Nereids 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 ...

;

Callirhoe Callirrhoe (, grc, Καλλιρρόη; also Callirhoe) may refer to: * Callirhoe (mythology), several figures in Greek mythology, including: ** Callirrhoe (Oceanid), daughter of Oceanus and Tethys ** Callirrhoe (daughter of Achelous) * Callirrhoe ...

, the wife of

Chrysaor In Greek mythology, Chrysaor ( el, Χρυσάωρ, ''Chrysáor'', ''gen''.: Χρυσάορος, ''Chrysáoros''; English translation: "he who has a golden sword" rom χρυσός, "golden" and ἄορ, "sword", was the brother of the winged ho ...

and mother of

Geryon In Greek mythology, Geryon ( or ;"Geryon"
''

Clymene, the wife of Iapetus, and mother of

Atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of maps of Earth or of a region of Earth. Atlases have traditionally been bound into book form, but today many atlases are in multimedia formats. In addition to presenting geographic ...

Menoetius Menoetius or Menoetes (; grc-gre, Μενοίτιος, Μενοίτης ''Menoitios''), meaning ''doomed might'', is a name that refers to three distinct beings from Greek mythology: * Menoetius, a second generation Titan, son of Iapetus an ...

Prometheus In Greek mythology, Prometheus (; , , possibly meaning "forethought")Smith"Prometheus". is a Titan god of fire. Prometheus is best known for defying the gods by stealing fire from them and giving it to humanity in the form of technology, know ...

, and

Epimetheus In Greek mythology, Epimetheus (; grc-gre, Ἐπιμηθεύς, , afterthought) was the brother of Prometheus (traditionally interpreted as "foresight", literally "fore-thinker"), a pair of Titans who "acted as representatives of mankind". They ...

; Perseis, wife of

Helios In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Helios (; grc, , , Sun; Homeric Greek: ) is the deity, god and personification of the Sun (Solar deity). His name is also Latinized as Helius, and he is often given the epithets Hyper ...

and mother of

Circe Circe (; grc, , ) is an Magician (paranormal), enchantress and a minor goddess in ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion. She is either a daughter of the Titans, Titan Helios and the Oceanid nymph Perse (mythology), Perse ...

and Aeetes;

Idyia In Greek mythology, Idyia ( grc, Ἰδυῖα, Idyîa) or Eidyia ( grc, Εἰδυῖα, Eidyîa; ) was a daughter of Oceanus and Tethys, and queen to Aeëtes, king of Colchis. She was the mother of Medea, Chalciope and Absyrtus. According to Apoll ...

, wife of Aeetes and mother of

Medea In Greek mythology, Medea (; grc, Μήδεια, ''Mēdeia'', perhaps implying "planner / schemer") is the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis, a niece of Circe and the granddaughter of the sun god Helios. Medea figures in the myth of Jason an ...

; and Styx, goddess of the river Styx, and the wife of

Pallas Pallas may refer to: Astronomy * 2 Pallas asteroid ** Pallas family, a group of asteroids that includes 2 Pallas * Pallas (crater), a crater on Earth's moon Mythology * Pallas (Giant), a son of Uranus and Gaia, killed and flayed by Athena * Pa ...

and mother of

Zelus In Greek mythology, Zelus or Zelos (; Ancient Greek: Ζῆλος ''Zēlos,'' literally 'zeal') was the daimon that personifies dedication, emulation, eager rivalry, envy, jealousy, and zeal. The English word "zeal" is derived from his name. Hi ...

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine give ...

, Kratos, and Bia.

Primeval mother?

Passages in book 14 of the ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odysse ...

'', called the Deception of Zeus, suggest the possibility that

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 ...

knew a tradition in which Oceanus and Tethys (rather than Uranus and Gaia, as in Hesiod) were the primeval parents of the gods. Twice Homer has

Hera In ancient Greek religion, Hera (; grc-gre, Ἥρα, Hḗrā; grc, Ἥρη, Hḗrē, label=none in Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she ...

describe the pair as "Oceanus, from whom the gods are sprung, and mother Tethys". According to

M. L. West Martin Litchfield West, (23 September 1937 – 13 July 2015) was a British philologist and Classics, classical scholar. In recognition of his contribution to scholarship, he was awarded the Order of Merit in 2014. West wrote on Music of Ancien ...

, these lines suggests a myth in which Oceanus and Tethys are the "first parents of the whole race of gods." However, as

Timothy Gantz Timothy Nolan Gantz (23 December 1945 – 20 January 2004) was an American classical scholar and the author of ''Early Greek Myth: A Guide to Literary and Artistic Sources''. Gantz received his Bachelor of Arts from Haverford College in 1967, and h ...

points out, "mother" could simply refer to the fact that Tethys was Hera's foster mother for a time, as Hera tells us in the lines immediately following, while the reference to Oceanus as the genesis of the gods "might be simply a formulaic epithet indicating the numberless rivers and springs descended from Okeanos" (compare with ''Iliad'
21.195–197
. But, in a later ''Iliad'' passage,

Hypnos In Greek mythology, Hypnos (; Ancient Greek: means 'sleep') also spelled Hypnus is the personification of sleep; the Roman equivalent is known as Somnus. His name is the origin of the word hypnosis. Pausanias wrote that Hypnos was a dearest fr ...

also describes Oceanus as "''genesis'' for all", which, according to Gantz, is hard to understand as meaning other than that, for Homer, Oceanus was the father of the Titans.

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

, in his ''

Timaeus Timaeus (or Timaios) is a Greek name. It may refer to: * ''Timaeus'' (dialogue), a Socratic dialogue by Plato *Timaeus of Locri, 5th-century BC Pythagorean philosopher, appearing in Plato's dialogue *Timaeus (historian) (c. 345 BC-c. 250 BC), Greek ...

'', provides a genealogy (probably

Orphic Orphism (more rarely Orphicism; grc, Ὀρφικά, Orphiká) is the name given to a set of religious beliefs and practices originating in the ancient Greek and Hellenistic world, associated with literature ascribed to the mythical poet Orpheus ...

) which perhaps reflected an attempt to reconcile this apparent divergence between Homer and Hesiod, in which Uranus and Gaia are the parents of Oceanus and Tethys, and Oceanus and Tethys are the parents of Cronus and Rhea and the other Titans, as well as

Phorcys In Greek mythology, Phorcys or Phorcus (; grc, Φόρκυς) is a primordial sea god, generally cited (first in Hesiod) as the son of Pontus and Gaia (Earth). Classical scholar Karl Kerenyi conflated Phorcys with the similar sea gods Nereus a ...

. In his ''

Cratylus Cratylus ( ; grc, Κρατύλος, ''Kratylos'') was an ancient Athenian philosopher from the mid-late 5th century BCE, known mostly through his portrayal in Plato's dialogue '' Cratylus''. He was a radical proponent of Heraclitean philosophy ...

'', Plato quotes Orpheus as saying that Oceanus and Tethys were "the first to marry", possibly also reflecting an Orphic theogony in which Oceanus and Tethys—rather than Uranus and Gaia—were the primeval parents. Plato's apparent inclusion of Phorkys as a Titan (being the brother of Cronus and Rhea), and the mythographer

Apollodorus Apollodorus (Ancient Greek, 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: ...

's inclusion of Dione, the mother of

Aphrodite Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman goddess . Aphrodite's major symbols include ...

by Zeus, as a thirteenth Titan, suggests an Orphic tradition in which Hesiod's twelve Titans were the offspring of Oceanus and Tethys, with Phorkys and Dione taking the place of Oceanus and Tethys. According to

Epimenides Epimenides of Cnossos (or Epimenides of Crete) (; grc-gre, Ἐπιμενίδης) was a semi-mythical 7th or 6th century BC Greek seer and philosopher-poet, from Knossos or Phaistos. Life While tending his father's sheep, Epimenides is said to ...

, the first two beings,

Night Night (also described as night time, unconventionally spelled as "nite") is the period of ambient darkness from sunset to sunrise during each 24-hour day, when the Sun is below the horizon. The exact time when night begins and ends depends o ...

and Aer, produced

Tartarus In Greek mythology, Tartarus (; grc, , }) is the deep abyss that is used as a dungeon of torment and suffering for the wicked and as the prison for the Titans. Tartarus is the place where, according to Plato's ''Gorgias'' (), souls are judg ...

, who in turn produced two Titans (possibly Oceanus and Tethys) from whom came the

world egg The world egg, cosmic egg or mundane egg is a mythological motif found in the cosmogonies of many cultures that is present in Proto-Indo-European culture and other cultures and civilizations. Typically, the world egg is a beginning of some sort ...

Mythology

Tethys played no active part in Greek mythology. The only early story concerning Tethys is what Homer has

briefly relate in the ''

''’s Deception of Zeus passage. There, Hera says that when

was in the process of deposing

, she was given by her mother Rhea to Tethys and Oceanus for safekeeping and that they "lovingly nursed and cherished me in their halls". Hera relates this while dissembling that she is on her way to visit Oceanus and Tethys in the hopes of reconciling her foster parents, who are angry with each other and are no longer having sexual relations. Originally Oceanus' consort, at a later time Tethys came to be identified with the sea, and in Hellenistic and Roman poetry Tethys' name came to be used as a poetic term for the sea. The only other story involving Tethys is an apparently late astral myth concerning the polar constellation

Ursa Major Ursa Major (; also known as the Great Bear) is a constellation in the northern sky, whose associated mythology likely dates back into prehistory. Its Latin name means "greater (or larger) bear," referring to and contrasting it with nearby Ursa ...

(the Great Bear), which was thought to represent the

catasterism The ''Catasterismi'' or ''Catasterisms'' (Greek language, Greek Καταστερισμοί ''Katasterismoi'', "Constellations" or "Placings Among the Stars"), is a lost work attributed to Eratosthenes of Cyrene, Libya, Cyrene. It was a comprehen ...

Callisto Callisto most commonly refers to: *Callisto (mythology), a nymph *Callisto (moon), a moon of Jupiter Callisto may also refer to: Art and entertainment *''Callisto series'', a sequence of novels by Lin Carter *''Callisto'', a novel by Torsten Kro ...

who was transformed into a bear and placed by Zeus among the stars. The myth explains why the constellation never sets below the horizon, saying that since Callisto had been Zeus's lover, she was forbidden by Tethys from "touching Ocean's deep" out of concern for her foster-child Hera, Zeus's jealous wife.

Claudian Claudius Claudianus, known in English as Claudian (; c. 370 – c. 404 AD), was a Latin poet associated with the court of the Roman emperor Honorius at Mediolanum (Milan), and particularly with the general Stilicho. His work, written almost ent ...

wrote that Tethys nursed two of her nephlings in her breast,

and

Selene In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Selene (; grc-gre, Σελήνη , meaning "Moon"''A Greek–English Lexicon's.v. σελήνη) is the goddess and the personification of the Moon. Also known as Mene, she is traditionally the daughter o ...

, the children of her siblings Hyperion and

, during their infancy, when their light was weak and had not yet grown into their older, more luminous selves. In

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

's ''

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 wo ...

'', Tethys turns

Aesacus In Greek mythology, Aesacus or Aisakos (; grc, Αἴσακος) was a son of King Priam of Troy. Aesacus sorrowed for the death of his wife or would-be lover, a daughter of the river Cebren, and was transformed into a seabird. Mythology Ap ...

into a

diving bird Diving birds are birds which plunge into the water to catch fish or other prey. Such birds may enter the water from flight, such as pelicans, gannets and tropicbirds; or they may dive from the surface of the water, such as the diving ducks, cormora ...

. Tethys was sometimes confused with another sea goddess, the sea-nymph

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 ...

, wife of

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. Biograp ...

and mother of

Tethys as Tiamat

detects in the

's Deception of Zeus passage an allusion to a possible archaic myth "according to which ethyswas the mother of the gods, long estranged from her husband," speculating that the estrangement might refer to a separation of "the upper and lower waters ... corresponding to that of heaven and earth," which parallels the story of " Apsū and

Tiamat In Mesopotamian religion, Tiamat ( akk, or , grc, Θαλάττη, Thaláttē) is a primordial goddess of the sea, mating with Abzû, the god of the groundwater, to produce younger gods. She is the symbol of the chaos of primordial creati ...

in the Babylonian cosmology, the male and female waters, which were originally united ( En. El. I. 1 ff.)," but that, "By Hesiod's time the myth may have been almost forgotten and Tethys remembered only as the name of Oceanus' wife." This possible correspondence between Oceanus and Tethys, and Apsū and Tiamat has been noticed by several authors, with Tethys' name possibly having been derived from that of Tiamat.

Iconography

Representations of Tethys before the Roman period are rare. Tethys appears, identified by inscription (ΘΕΘΥΣ), as part of an illustration of the wedding of

and

on the early sixth-century BC

Attic An attic (sometimes referred to as a '' loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building; an attic may also be called a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because attics fill the space between the ceiling of the ...

black-figure Black-figure pottery painting, also known as the black-figure style or black-figure ceramic ( grc, , }), is one of the styles of painting on antique Greek vases. It was especially common between the 7th and 5th centuries BCE, although there are ...

"Erskine"

dinos In the typology of ancient Greek pottery, the ''dinos'' (plural ''dinoi'') is a mixing bowl or cauldron. ''Dinos'' means "drinking cup," but in modern typology is used (wrongly) for the same shape as a ''lebes'', that is, a bowl with a spherical ...

Sophilos Sophilos ( grc, Σώφιλος; active about 590 – 570 BC) was an Attic potter and vase painter in the black-figure style. Sophilos is the oldest Attic vase painter so far to be known by his true name. Fragments of two wine basins ( dino ...

(

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

1971.111–1.1). Accompanied by

Eileithyia Eileithyia or Ilithyiae or Ilithyia (; grc-gre, Εἰλείθυια; (''Eleuthyia'') in Crete, also (''Eleuthia'') or (''Elysia'') in Laconia and Messene, and (''Eleuthō'') in literature)Nilsson Vol I, p. 313 was the Greek goddess of ch ...

, the goddess of childbirth, Tethys follows close behind Oceanus at the end of a procession of gods invited to the wedding. Tethys is also conjectured to be represented in a similar illustration of the wedding of Peleus and Thetis depicted on the early sixth-century BC Attic black-figure

François Vase François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, King o ...

(Florence 4209). Tethys probably also appeared as one of the gods fighting the

Giants A giant is a being of human appearance, sometimes of prodigious size and strength, common in folklore. Giant(s) or The Giant(s) may also refer to: Mythology and religion *Giants (Greek mythology) *Jötunn, a Germanic term often translated as 'gi ...

in the

Gigantomachy In Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology, the Giants, also called Gigantes (Ancient Greek, Greek: Γίγαντες, ''Gígantes'', Γίγας, ''Gígas''), were a race of great strength and aggression, though not necessarily of great size. ...

frieze of the second-century BC

Pergamon Altar The Pergamon Altar () was a monumental construction built during the reign of the Ancient Greek King Eumenes II in the first half of the 2nd century BC on one of the terraces of the acropolis of Pergamon in Anatolia, Asia Minor. The structure wa ...

. Only fragments of the figure remain: a part of a

chiton Chitons () are marine molluscs of varying size in the class Polyplacophora (), formerly known as Amphineura. About 940 extant and 430 fossil species are recognized. They are also sometimes known as gumboots or sea cradles or coat-of-mail s ...

below Oceanus' left arm and a hand clutching a large tree branch visible behind Oceanus' head. Antakya Arkeoloji Muzesi 02366 nevit

During the second to fourth centuries AD, Tethys—sometimes with Oceanus, sometimes alone—became a relatively frequent feature of mosaics decorating baths, pools, and

in the

, particularly in

and its suburbs. Her identifying attributes are wings sprouting from her forehead, a rudder/oar, and a ''

ketos In Ancient Greek ''kētŏs'' (, plural ''kētē''=''kētea'', ), Latinized as ''cetus'' (pl. ''ceti'' or ''cetē'' = ''cetea''), is any huge sea creature or sea monster. According to the mythology, Perseus slew Cetus to save Andromeda from bein ...

'', a creature from Greek mythology with the head of a dragon and the body of a snake. The earliest of these mosaics, identified as Tethys, decorated a triclinium overlooking a pool, excavated from the House of the Calendar in Antioch, dated to shortly after AD 115 (

Hatay Archaeology Museum The Hatay Archaeology Museum ( tr, Hatay Arkeoloji Müzesi) is the archaeology museum of Antakya, Turkey. It is known for its extensive collection of Roman and Byzantine Era mosaics. The museum is located in Antakya, the main city of Hatay. Const ...

850). Tethys, reclining on the left, with Oceanus reclining on the right, has long hair, a winged forehead, and is nude to the waist with draped legs. A ''ketos'' twines around her raised right arm. Other mosaics of Tethys with Oceanus include

1013 (from the House of Menander,

Daphne Daphne (; ; el, Δάφνη, , ), a minor figure in Greek mythology, is a naiad, a variety of female nymph associated with fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of freshwater. There are several versions of the myth in whi ...

), Hatay Archaeology Museum 9095, and

Baltimore Museum of Art The Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, is an art museum that was founded in 1914. The BMA's collection of 95,000 objects encompasses more than 1,000 works by Henri Matisse anchored by the Cone Collection of ...

1937.126 (from the House of the Boat of Psyches: triclinium). In other mosaics, Tethys appears without Oceanus. One of these is a fourth-century AD mosaic from a pool (probably a public bath) found at

, now installed in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

at the

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA p ...

's Morgan Hall and formerly at

Dumbarton Oaks Dumbarton Oaks, formally the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, is a historic estate in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It was the residence and garden of wealthy U.S. diplomat Robert Woods Bliss and his wife, M ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

(Dumbarton Oaks 76.43). Besides the Sophilos dinos, this is the only other representation of Tethys identified by inscription. Here Tethys, with a winged forehead, rises from the sea bare-shouldered, with long dark hair parted in the middle. A golden rudder rests against her right shoulder. Others include Hatay Archaeology Museum 9097, Shahba Museum (''in situ''), Baltimore Museum of Art 1937.118 (from the House of the Boat of Psyches: Room six), and Memorial Art Gallery 42.2. Toward the end of the period represented by these mosaics, Tethys' iconography appears to merge with that of another sea goddess

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 ...

, the Greek personification of the sea (''thalassa'' being the Greek word for the sea).Wages, pp. 124–126; Jentel, p. 1195; Cahn, p. 1199; Campbell 1998
p. 20
Such a transformation would be consistent with the frequent use of Tethys' name as a poetic reference to the sea in Roman poetry (see above).

Modern use of the name

Tethys, a moon of the planet

Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant with an average radius of about nine and a half times that of Earth. It has only one-eighth the average density of Earth; h ...

, and the prehistoric

Tethys Ocean The Tethys Ocean ( el, Τηθύς ''Tēthús''), also called the Tethys Sea or the Neo-Tethys, was a prehistoric ocean that covered most of the Earth during much of the Mesozoic Era and early Cenozoic Era, located between the ancient continents ...

are named after this goddess.

Notes

References

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Prometheus Bound ''Prometheus Bound'' ( grc, Προμηθεὺς Δεσμώτης, ''Promētheús Desmṓtēs'') is an Ancient Greek tragedy traditionally attributed to Aeschylus and thought to have been composed sometime between 479 BC and the terminus ante ...

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Apollonius of Rhodes Apollonius of Rhodes ( grc, Ἀπολλώνιος Ῥόδιος ''Apollṓnios Rhódios''; la, Apollonius Rhodius; fl. first half of 3rd century BC) was an ancient Greek author, best known for the ''Argonautica'', an epic poem about Jason and t ...

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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 ...

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Diodorus Siculus Diodorus Siculus, or Diodorus of Sicily ( grc-gre, Διόδωρος ; 1st century BC), was an ancient Greek historian. He is known for writing the monumental universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty books, fifteen of which su ...

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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 contains 10 ...

'', in ''The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White'', Cambridge, Massachusetts., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914
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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 ''Apollodorus' ''Library'' and Hyginus' ''Fabulae'': Two Handbooks of Greek Mythology, Translated, with Introductions by R. Scott Smith and Stephen M. Trzaskoma'', Hackett Publishing Company, 2007. . * ''Homeric Hymn to Hermes (4)'', in ''The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White'', Cambridge, Massachusetts.,

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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 and ...

, ''Alexandra'' (or ''Cassandra'') 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
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Macrobius Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius, usually referred to as Macrobius (fl. AD 400), was a Roman provincial who lived during the early fifth century, during late antiquity, the period of time corresponding to the Later Roman Empire, and when Latin was ...

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Saturnalia Saturnalia is an ancient Roman festival and holiday in honour of the god Saturn, held on 17 December of the Julian calendar and later expanded with festivities through to 23 December. The holiday was celebrated with a sacrifice at the Temple ...

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Critias Critias (; grc-gre, Κριτίας, ''Kritias''; c. 460 – 403 BC) was an ancient Athenian political figure and author. Born in Athens, Critias was the son of Callaeschrus and a first cousin of Plato's mother Perictione. He became a leading ...

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Volume 136. Cambridge, MA. Harvard Univserity Press. 1922. * Pollitt, Jerome Jordan, ''Art in the Hellenistic Age'', Cambridge University Press. . * Queyrel, François, ''L'Autel de Pergame: Images et pouvoir en Grèce d'Asie'', Paris: Éditions A. et J. Picard, 2005. . * Smith, William; ''

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' (1849, originally published 1844 under a slightly different title) is an encyclopedia/biographical dictionary. Edited by William Smith, the dictionary spans three volumes and 3,700 p ...

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External links

TETHYS from Mythopedia
{{Authority control Titans (mythology) Greek goddesses Greek sea goddesses Sea and river goddesses Children of Gaia Deities in the Iliad Characters in Greek mythology Metamorphoses characters Women in Greek mythology Helios in mythology