Amphitrite: Difference between revisions
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| caption = ''Amphitrite'' with downturned trident, by [[François Théodore Devaulx]] (1866) |
| caption = ''Amphitrite'' with downturned trident, by [[François Théodore Devaulx]] (1866) |
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| god_of = {{unbulleted list|Queen of the sea|Goddess of the sea}} |
| god_of = {{unbulleted list|Queen of the [[sea]]|Goddess of the sea}} |
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| member_of = the [[Nereids]] |
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| abode = [[Mount Olympus]], or the sea |
| abode = [[Mount Olympus]], or the sea |
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| symbol = Trident, dolphin, seal |
| symbol = Trident, dolphin, seal |
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| consort = [[Poseidon]] |
| consort = [[Poseidon]] |
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| parents = [[Nereus]] and [[Doris (mythology)|Doris]], {{small|or}} [[Oceanus]] and [[Tethys (mythology)|Tethys]] |
| parents = [[Nereus]] and [[Doris (mythology)|Doris]], {{small|or}} [[Oceanus]] and [[Tethys (mythology)|Tethys]] |
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| siblings = |
| siblings = [[Nerites (mythology)|Nerites]] and the [[Nereid]]s {{small|or}} the [[Potamoi]] and the [[Oceanids]] |
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| children = [[Triton (mythology)|Triton]] |
| children = [[Triton (mythology)|Triton]], [[Rhodos]], [[Benthesikyme]] |
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| mount = |
| mount = |
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| roman_equivalent = [[Salacia]] |
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{{Ancient Greek religion}} |
{{Ancient Greek religion}} |
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In ancient [[Greek mythology]], '''Amphitrite''' ({{IPAc-en|æ|m|f|ɪ|ˈ|t|r|aɪ|t|iː}}; {{lang-grc |
In ancient [[Greek mythology]], '''Amphitrite''' ({{IPAc-en|æ|m|f|ɪ|ˈ|t|r|aɪ|t|iː}}; {{lang-grc|{{linktext|Ἀμφιτρίτη}}|Amphitrítē}}) was the goddess of the sea, the queen of the sea, and her consort is [[Poseidon]].<ref>Compare the North Syrian [[Atargatis]].</ref> She was a daughter of [[Nereus]] and [[Doris (mythology)|Doris]] (or [[Oceanus]] and [[Tethys (mythology)|Tethys]]).<ref name=":0">Roman, L., & Roman, M. (2010). {{Google books|tOgWfjNIxoMC|Encyclopedia of Greek and Roman mythology.|page=58}} </ref> Under the influence of the [[Olympian pantheon]], she became the consort of Poseidon and was later used as a symbolic representation of the sea. Her [[Interpretatio graeca#Interpretatio romana|Roman counterpart]] is [[Salacia (mythology)|Salacia]], a comparatively minor figure, and the goddess of saltwater.{{secondary source needed|date=February 2024}}<ref>''Sel'', "salt"; "…Salacia, the folds of her garment sagging with fish" ([[Apuleius]], ''[[The Golden Ass]]'' 4.31).</ref> |
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==Family== |
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According to [[Hesiod]]'s ''[[Theogony]]'', Amphitrite was one of the [[Nereid]] daughters of [[Nereus]] and [[Doris (mythology)|Doris]]. The mythographer [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], however, lists her among both the Nereids, as well as the [[Oceanids]], the daughters of [[Oceanus]] and [[Tethys (mythology)|Tethys]].<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:1.2.2 1.2.2], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:1.2.7 1.2.7], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:1.4.5 1.4.5].</ref> |
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⚫ | Amphitrite's offspring included seals<ref>"''…A throng of seals, the brood of lovely Halosydne.''" (Homer, ''[[Odyssey]]'' iv.404).</ref> and dolphins.<ref>[[Claudius Aelianus|Aelian]], ''On Animals'' (12.45) ascribed to [[Arion]] a line "Music-loving dolphins, sea-nurslings of the Nereis maids divine, whom Amphitrite bore."</ref> She also bred sea monsters and her great waves crashed against the rocks, putting sailors at risk.<ref name=":0" /> Poseidon and Amphitrite had a son, [[Triton (mythology)|Triton]], who was a merman, and a daughter, [[Rhodos]] (if this Rhodos was not actually fathered by Poseidon on [[Halia of Rhodes|Halia]] or was not the daughter of [[Asopus]] as others claim). According to the mythographer [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [[Benthesikyme]] was the daughter of Poseidon and Amphitrite.<ref>Hard, [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&pg=PA105 p. 105]; [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:3.15.4 3.15.4].</ref> |
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==Mythology== |
==Mythology== |
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[[File:Amphitrite Penteskouphia Louvre MNC208.jpg|thumb|left|Amphitrite ("Aphirita") bearing a [[trident]] on a ''[[pinax]]'' from [[Corinth]] (575–550 BC).<ref>{{cite book|last=Ogden |first=Daniel |author-link=<!--Daniel Ogden--> |translator-last=Raffan |translator-first=John |translator-link=<!--John Raffan--> |title=The Legend of Seleucus |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2017|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-M8oDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA41 |page=41, note 64|isbn=978-1-107-16478-9}}</ref>]] |
[[File:Amphitrite Penteskouphia Louvre MNC208.jpg|thumb|left|Amphitrite ("Aphirita") bearing a [[trident]] on a ''[[pinax]]'' from [[Corinth]] (575–550 BC).<ref>{{cite book|last=Ogden |first=Daniel |author-link=<!--Daniel Ogden--> |translator-last=Raffan |translator-first=John |translator-link=<!--John Raffan--> |title=The Legend of Seleucus |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2017|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-M8oDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA41 |page=41, note 64|isbn=978-1-107-16478-9}}</ref>]] |
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⚫ | When Poseidon desired to marry her, Amphitrite, wanting to protect her virginity, fled to the [[Atlas Mountains]]. Poseidon sent many creatures to find her. A [[dolphin ]] came across Amphitrite and convinced her to marry Poseidon. As a reward for the dolphin's help, Poseidon created the [[Delphinus]] constellation.<ref>[[Gaius Julius Hyginus]], ''[[De Astronomica]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/207#2.17.1 2.17.1]</ref> |
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Amphitrite was a daughter of [[Nereus]] and [[Doris (mythology)|Doris]] (and thus a [[Nereid]]), according to [[Hesiod]]'s ''[[Theogony]]'', but of [[Oceanus]] and [[Tethys (mythology)|Tethys]] (and thus an [[Oceanid]]), according to the ''[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Bibliotheca]]'', which actually lists her among both the Nereids<ref>Pseudo-[[Apollodorus of Athens|Apollodorus]], ''Bibliotheca'' i.2.7</ref> and the [[Oceanid]]s.<ref>''Bibliotheke'' i.2.2 and i.4.6.</ref> Others called her the [[personification]] of the sea itself ([[Seawater|saltwater]]). |
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⚫ | [[Eustathius of Thessalonica|Eustathius]] said that Poseidon first saw her dancing at [[Naxos, Greece|Naxos]] among the other Nereids,<ref>[[Eustathius of Thessalonica]], ''Commentary on Odyssey'' 3.91.1458, line 40.</ref> and carried her off.<ref>The ''Wedding of Neptune and Ampitrite'' provided a subject to [[Poussin]]; the painting is at Philadelphia.</ref> But in another version of the myth, she fled from his advances to [[Atlas (mythology)|Atlas]],<ref>''ad Atlante'', in Hyginus' words.</ref> 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<ref>"''…qui pervagatus insulas, aliquando ad virginem pervenit, eique persuasit ut nuberet Neptuno…''" [[Oppian]]'s ''Halieutica'' I.383–92 is a parallel passage.</ref> and was rewarded by being placed among the stars as the constellation [[Delphinus]].<ref>''[[Catasterismi]]'', [https://books.google.com/books?id=0EoZAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA158 31]; [[Hyginus]], ''Poetical Astronomy'', ii.17, .132.</ref> |
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===Marriage to Poseidon=== |
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⚫ | When Poseidon desired to marry her, Amphitrite, wanting to protect |
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⚫ | Amphitrite's offspring included seals<ref>"''…A throng of seals, the brood of lovely Halosydne.''" (Homer, ''[[Odyssey]]'' iv.404).</ref> and dolphins.<ref>[[Claudius Aelianus|Aelian]], ''On Animals'' (12.45) ascribed to [[Arion]] a line "Music-loving dolphins, sea-nurslings of the Nereis maids divine, whom Amphitrite bore."</ref> She also bred sea monsters and her great waves crashed against the rocks, putting sailors at risk.<ref name=":0" /> Poseidon and Amphitrite had a son, [[Triton (mythology)|Triton]] who was a merman, and a daughter, [[Rhodos]] (if this Rhodos was not actually fathered by Poseidon on [[Halia of Rhodes|Halia]] or was not the daughter of [[Asopus]] as others claim). |
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Amphitrite is not fully personified in the [[Odyssey|Homeric epics]]: "out on the open sea, in Amphitrite's breakers" (''[[Odyssey]]'' iii.101), "moaning Amphitrite" nourishes fishes "in numbers past all counting" (''Odyssey'' xii.119<!--is this the exact line number? pls check and delete this notice-->). She shares her [[Homer]]ic epithet ''Halosydne'' ({{lang-grc-gre|Ἁλοσύδνη|Halosúdnē|sea-nourished}})<ref>[http://www.vollmer-mythologie.de/halosydne/ Wilhelm Vollmer, ''Wörterbuch der Mythologie'', 3rd ed. 1874]</ref> with [[Thetis]].<ref>''[[Odyssey]]'' iv.404 (Amphitrite), and ''[[Iliad]]'', xx.207.</ref> In some sense, the sea-nymphs are doublets. |
Amphitrite is not fully personified in the [[Odyssey|Homeric epics]]: "out on the open sea, in Amphitrite's breakers" (''[[Odyssey]]'' iii.101), "moaning Amphitrite" nourishes fishes "in numbers past all counting" (''Odyssey'' xii.119<!--is this the exact line number? pls check and delete this notice-->). She shares her [[Homer]]ic epithet ''Halosydne'' ({{lang-grc-gre|Ἁλοσύδνη|Halosúdnē|sea-nourished}})<ref>[http://www.vollmer-mythologie.de/halosydne/ Wilhelm Vollmer, ''Wörterbuch der Mythologie'', 3rd ed. 1874]</ref> with [[Thetis]].<ref>''[[Odyssey]]'' iv.404 (Amphitrite), and ''[[Iliad]]'', xx.207.</ref> In some sense, the sea-nymphs are doublets. |
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⚫ | [[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 (poem)|Metamorphoses]]'', (i.14). |
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==Representation and cult== |
==Representation and cult== |
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Amphitrite, "the third one who encircles [the sea]",<ref>[[Robert Graves]]. ''[[The Greek Myths]] (1960)''</ref> 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]] of Amphitrite that [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] saw in the temple of Poseidon at the [[Isthmus of Corinth]] (ii.1.7). |
Amphitrite, "the third one who encircles [the sea]",<ref>[[Robert Graves]]. ''[[The Greek Myths]] (1960)''</ref> 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]] of Amphitrite that [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] saw in the temple of Poseidon at the [[Isthmus of Corinth]] (ii.1.7). |
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⚫ | In the arts of vase-painting and mosaic, Amphitrite was distinguishable from the other [[Nereid]]s 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 (''[[hippocamp]]s'') or other fabulous creatures of the deep, and attended by [[Triton (god)|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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=AMPHITRITE - Greek Goddess & Nereid Queen of the Sea |url=https://www.theoi.com/Pontios/Amphitrite.html |access-date=2023-03-15 |website=www.theoi.com}}</ref> |
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⚫ | [[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 (poem)|Metamorphoses]]'', (i.14). |
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⚫ | [[Eustathius of Thessalonica|Eustathius]] said that Poseidon first saw her dancing at [[Naxos, Greece|Naxos]] among the other Nereids,<ref>[[Eustathius of Thessalonica]], ''Commentary on Odyssey'' 3.91.1458, line 40.</ref> and carried her off.<ref>The ''Wedding of Neptune and Ampitrite'' provided a subject to [[Poussin]]; the painting is at Philadelphia.</ref> But in another version of the myth, she fled from his advances to [[Atlas (mythology)|Atlas]],<ref>''ad Atlante'', in Hyginus' words.</ref> 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<ref>"''…qui pervagatus insulas, aliquando ad virginem pervenit, eique persuasit ut nuberet Neptuno…''" [[Oppian]]'s ''Halieutica'' I.383–92 is a parallel passage.</ref> and was rewarded by being placed among the stars as the constellation [[Delphinus]].<ref>''[[Catasterismi]]'', [https://books.google.com/books?id=0EoZAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA158 31]; [[Hyginus]], ''Poetical Astronomy'', ii.17, .132.</ref> |
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⚫ | In the arts of vase-painting and mosaic, Amphitrite was distinguishable from the other [[Nereid]]s 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 (''[[hippocamp]]s'') or other fabulous creatures of the deep, and attended by [[Triton (god)|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.{{ |
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<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px"> |
<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px"> |
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==Legacy== |
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==Amphitrite legacy== |
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<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:Shrine of Amphitrite at USMM Kings Point Academy.gif|right|thumb|Cadets paying a traditional visit to Amphitrite at [[United States Merchant Marine Academy|U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Kings Point]]]] --> |
<!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:Shrine of Amphitrite at USMM Kings Point Academy.gif|right|thumb|Cadets paying a traditional visit to Amphitrite at [[United States Merchant Marine Academy|U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Kings Point]]]] --> |
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[[Image:Amphitrite Australiastamp.jpg|thumb|246px|Amphitrite on 1936 [[Australia]]n stamp commemorating completion of submarine telephone cable to [[Tasmania]]]] |
[[Image:Amphitrite Australiastamp.jpg|thumb|246px|Amphitrite on 1936 [[Australia]]n stamp commemorating completion of submarine telephone cable to [[Tasmania]]]] |
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* Seven ships of the [[Royal Navy]] were named [[HMS Amphitrite|HMS ''Amphitrite'']] |
* Seven ships of the [[Royal Navy]] were named [[HMS Amphitrite|HMS ''Amphitrite'']] |
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* {{ship||Amphitrite|1802 ship}}, which wrecked in 1833 with heavy loss of life while transporting convicts to New South Wales |
* {{ship||Amphitrite|1802 ship}}, which wrecked in 1833 with heavy loss of life while transporting convicts to New South Wales |
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* At least one ship of the [[Royal Netherlands Navy]] was named HM ''Amphitrite'' (corvette, in service 1830s). |
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* Three ships of the [[United States Navy]] were named [[USS Amphitrite|USS ''Amphitrite'']]. |
* Three ships of the [[United States Navy]] were named [[USS Amphitrite|USS ''Amphitrite'']]. |
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* An asteroid, [[29 Amphitrite]], is named for her. |
* An asteroid, [[29 Amphitrite]], is named for her. |
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* The figure of Amphitrite plays a role in the 1918 Spanish novel ''Mare Nostrum'' by [[Vicente Blasco Ibáñez]] and its [[Mare Nostrum (1926 film)|1926 film adaptation]]. |
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* In 1936, Australia used an image of Amphitrite on a [[postage stamp]] as a [[classical antiquity|classical]] [[allusion]] for the [[submarine communications cable]] across [[Bass Strait]] from [[Apollo Bay, Victoria]] to [[Stanley, Tasmania]]. |
* In 1936, Australia used an image of Amphitrite on a [[postage stamp]] as a [[classical antiquity|classical]] [[allusion]] for the [[submarine communications cable]] across [[Bass Strait]] from [[Apollo Bay, Victoria]] to [[Stanley, Tasmania]]. |
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*A statue of Amphitrite stands at the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, NY |
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* The name of the former Greek Royal Yacht. |
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* 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. |
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== Notes == |
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{{Reflist|30em}} |
{{Reflist|30em}} |
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== References == |
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* [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], ''Apollodorus, The Library, with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes'', Cambridge, Massachusetts, [[Harvard University Press]]; London, William Heinemann Ltd., 1921. {{ISBN|0-674-99135-4}}. [http://data.perseus.org/texts/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library]. |
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* Hard, Robin, ''The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology: Based on H.J. Rose's "Handbook of Greek Mythology"'', Psychology Press, 2004. {{ISBN|978-0-415-18636-0}}. [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC Google Books]. |
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* [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'', 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. [http://data.perseus.org/texts/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0020.tlg001.perseus-eng1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library]. [https://archive.org/details/hesiodhomerichym00hesiuoft/page/78/mode/2up?view=theater Internet Archive]. |
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*{{cite book|last=Smith|first=William|author-link=William Smith (lexicographer)|date=1873|title=[[Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology]]|url=|location=London|publisher=|page=|isbn=}} {{cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DA%3Aentry+group%3D20%3Aentry%3Damphitrite-bio-1|publisher=|title=Amphitri'te}} and {{cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DH%3Aentry+group%3D1%3Aentry%3Dhalosydne-bio-1|publisher=|title=Halosydne}} |
*{{cite book|last=Smith|first=William|author-link=William Smith (lexicographer)|date=1873|title=[[Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology]]|url=|location=London|publisher=|page=|isbn=}} {{cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DA%3Aentry+group%3D20%3Aentry%3Damphitrite-bio-1|publisher=|title=Amphitri'te}} and {{cite web|url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DH%3Aentry+group%3D1%3Aentry%3Dhalosydne-bio-1|publisher=|title=Halosydne}} |
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{{Commons category|Amphitrite}} |
{{Commons category|Amphitrite}} |
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{{wiktionary|Amphitrite}} |
{{wiktionary|Amphitrite}} |
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* [ |
* [https://iconographic.warburg.sas.ac.uk/category/vpc-taxonomy-000278 Warburg Institute Iconographic Database (images of Amphitrite)] |
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{{Greek religion}} |
{{Greek religion}} |
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{{Authority control}} |
{{Authority control}} |
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[[Category:Characters in Greek mythology]] |
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[[Category:Greek sea goddesses]] |
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[[Category:Nereids]] |
[[Category:Nereids]] |
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[[Category:Oceanids]] |
[[Category:Oceanids]] |
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[[Category:Queens in Greek mythology]] |
[[Category:Queens in Greek mythology]] |
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[[Category:Women in Greek mythology]] |
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[[Category:Greek goddesses]] |
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[[Category:Sea and river goddesses]] |
[[Category:Sea and river goddesses]] |
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[[Category:Women of Poseidon]] |
[[Category:Women of Poseidon]] |
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[[Category:Nymphs]] |
Revision as of 02:11, 16 July 2024
Amphitrite | |
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Member of the Nereids | |
Abode | Mount Olympus, or the sea |
Symbol | Trident, dolphin, seal |
Genealogy | |
Parents | Nereus and Doris, or Oceanus and Tethys |
Siblings | Nerites and the Nereids or the Potamoi and the Oceanids |
Consort | Poseidon |
Children | Triton, Rhodos, Benthesikyme |
Equivalents | |
Roman | Salacia |
Part of a series on |
Ancient Greek religion |
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In ancient Greek mythology, Amphitrite (/æmfɪˈtraɪtiː/; Ancient Greek: Ἀμφιτρίτη, romanized: Amphitrítē) was the goddess of the sea, the queen of the sea, and her consort is Poseidon.[1] She was a daughter of Nereus and Doris (or Oceanus and Tethys).[2] Under the influence of the Olympian pantheon, she became the consort of Poseidon and was later used as a symbolic representation of the sea. Her Roman counterpart is Salacia, a comparatively minor figure, and the goddess of saltwater.[non-primary source needed][3]
Family
According to Hesiod's Theogony, Amphitrite was one of the Nereid daughters of Nereus and Doris. The mythographer Apollodorus, however, lists her among both the Nereids, as well as the Oceanids, the daughters of Oceanus and Tethys.[4]
Amphitrite's offspring included seals[5] and dolphins.[6] She also bred sea monsters and her great waves crashed against the rocks, putting sailors at risk.[2] Poseidon and Amphitrite had a son, Triton, who was a merman, and a daughter, Rhodos (if this Rhodos was not actually fathered by Poseidon on Halia or was not the daughter of Asopus as others claim). According to the mythographer Apollodorus, Benthesikyme was the daughter of Poseidon and Amphitrite.[7]
Mythology
Greek deities series |
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Water deities |
Water nymphs |
Greek deities series |
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Water deities |
Water nymphs |
When Poseidon desired to marry her, Amphitrite, wanting to protect her virginity, fled to the Atlas Mountains. Poseidon sent many creatures to find her. A dolphin came across Amphitrite and convinced her to marry Poseidon. As a reward for the dolphin's help, Poseidon created the Delphinus constellation.[9]
Eustathius said that Poseidon first saw her dancing at Naxos among the other Nereids,[10] and carried her off.[11] But in another version of the myth, she fled from his advances to Atlas,[12] 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[13] and was rewarded by being placed among the stars as the constellation Delphinus.[14]
Amphitrite is not fully personified in the Homeric epics: "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 (Greek: Ἁλοσύδνη, translit. Halosúdnē, lit. "sea-nourished")[15] with Thetis.[16] In some sense, the sea-nymphs are doublets.
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).
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 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 and Rhea and Ichnaea and Themis and loud-moaning Amphitrite"; more recent translators[17] 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 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' [Neptune's wife]."[18]
Amphitrite, "the third one who encircles [the sea]",[19] 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 of Amphitrite that Pausanias saw in the temple of Poseidon at the Isthmus of Corinth (ii.1.7).
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.[20]
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Theseus and Amphitrite clasp hands, with Athena looking on (red-figure cup by Euphronios and Onesimos, 500–490 BC)
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Sea thiasos depicting the wedding of Poseidon and Amphitrite, from the Altar of Domitius Ahenobarbus in the Field of Mars, bas-relief, Roman Republic, 2nd century BC
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A Roman mosaic on a wall in the House of Neptune and Amphitrite, Herculaneum, Italy
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Neptune and Amphitrite by Jacob de Gheyn II (latter 16th-century)
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The Triumph of Neptune by Nicolas Poussin, showing Amphitrite velificans (1634)
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Triumph of Poseidon and Amphitrite showing the couple in procession, detail of a vast mosaic from Cirta, Roman Africa (c. 315–325 AD, now at the Louvre)
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Drawing of Amphitrite sitting in a sea shell surrounded by her subjects. The Triumph of Amphitrite by Giovanni Battista Crosato (1745–1750). Held at the National Gallery of Art.
Legacy
- Amphitrite is the name of a genus of the worm family Terebellidae.
- In poetry, Amphitrite's name is often used for the sea, as a synonym of Thalassa.
- Seven ships of the Royal Navy were named HMS Amphitrite
- Amphitrite (1802 ship), which wrecked in 1833 with heavy loss of life while transporting convicts to New South Wales
- Three ships of the United States Navy were named USS Amphitrite.
- An asteroid, 29 Amphitrite, is named for her.
- In 1936, Australia used an image of Amphitrite on a postage stamp as a classical allusion for the submarine communications cable across Bass Strait from Apollo Bay, Victoria to Stanley, Tasmania.
- A statue of Amphitrite stands at the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, NY
Notes
- ^ Compare the North Syrian Atargatis.
- ^ a b Roman, L., & Roman, M. (2010). Encyclopedia of Greek and Roman mythology., p. 58, at Google Books
- ^ Sel, "salt"; "…Salacia, the folds of her garment sagging with fish" (Apuleius, The Golden Ass 4.31).
- ^ Apollodorus, 1.2.2, 1.2.7, 1.4.5.
- ^ "…A throng of seals, the brood of lovely Halosydne." (Homer, Odyssey iv.404).
- ^ Aelian, On Animals (12.45) ascribed to Arion a line "Music-loving dolphins, sea-nurslings of the Nereis maids divine, whom Amphitrite bore."
- ^ Hard, p. 105; Apollodorus, 3.15.4.
- ^ Ogden, Daniel (2017). The Legend of Seleucus. Translated by Raffan, John. Cambridge University Press. p. 41, note 64. ISBN 978-1-107-16478-9.
- ^ Gaius Julius Hyginus, De Astronomica 2.17.1
- ^ Eustathius of Thessalonica, Commentary on Odyssey 3.91.1458, line 40.
- ^ The Wedding of Neptune and Ampitrite provided a subject to Poussin; the painting is at Philadelphia.
- ^ ad Atlante, in Hyginus' words.
- ^ "…qui pervagatus insulas, aliquando ad virginem pervenit, eique persuasit ut nuberet Neptuno…" Oppian's Halieutica I.383–92 is a parallel passage.
- ^ Catasterismi, 31; Hyginus, Poetical Astronomy, ii.17, .132.
- ^ Wilhelm Vollmer, Wörterbuch der Mythologie, 3rd ed. 1874
- ^ Odyssey iv.404 (Amphitrite), and Iliad, xx.207.
- ^ E.g. Jules Cashford, Susan C. Shelmerdine, Apostolos N. Athanassakis.
- ^ Harrison, "Notes Archaeological and Mythological on Bacchylides" The Classical Review 12.1 (February 1898, pp. 85–86), p. 86.
- ^ Robert Graves. The Greek Myths (1960)
- ^ "AMPHITRITE - Greek Goddess & Nereid Queen of the Sea". www.theoi.com. Retrieved 2023-03-15.
References
- Apollodorus, Apollodorus, The Library, with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd., 1921. ISBN 0-674-99135-4. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
- Hard, Robin, The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology: Based on H.J. Rose's "Handbook of Greek Mythology", Psychology Press, 2004. ISBN 978-0-415-18636-0. Google Books.
- Hesiod, Theogony, 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. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Internet Archive.
- Smith, William (1873). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. London.
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