Achelous

In Greek mythology, Achelous (/ækᵻˈloʊ.əs/; Ancient Greek: Ἀχελῷος Achelōios) was the patron deity of the "silver-swirling"Achelous River, which is the largest river of Greece, and thus the chief of all river deities, every river having its own river spirit. His name is pre-Greek, its meaning unknown. The Greeks invented etymologies to associate it with Greek word roots (one such popular etymology translates the name as "he who washes away care"). However, these are etymologically unsound and of much later origin than the name itself.

Origin

Some Greek sources say that he was the son of Gaia and Oceanus; however, ancient Greeks generally believed with Hesiod that Tethys and Oceanus were the parents of all three thousand river gods. In the Renaissance, the improvisatory mythographer Natalis Comes made for his parents Gaia and Helios,Homer placed Achelous above all, the origin of all the world's fresh water. By Roman times, Homer's reference was interpreted as making Achelous "prince of rivers".

Achelous (crater)

Achelous is a relatively fresh crater on Ganymede adjacent to the similarly sized Gula. It has an outer lobate ejecta deposit extending about a crater radius from the rim.

A characteristic feature of both craters, almost identical in size, is the "pedestal" - an outward-facing, relatively gently sloped scarp that terminates the continuous ejecta blanket. Similar features may be seen in ejecta blankets of Martian craters, suggesting impacts into a volatile (ice)-rich target material. Furthermore, both craters appear crisp and feature terraces. Gula has a prominent central peak; Achelous instead may show the remnant of a collapsed central peak or a central pit that is not fully formed. On lower-resolution images taken under higher sun illumination angle, both craters are shown to have extended bright rays, especially Achelous, which demonstrates that these two craters are younger than the respective surrounding landscape.

Achelous (disambiguation)

Achelous is a river god in Greek mythology.

Achelous may also refer to:

See also