River gods (Greek mythology)

In ancient Greek religion and mythology, rivers ()LSJ, s.v. ποταμός. were often personified as deities, and in a number of ancient Greek cities river gods were the subject of local worship. In Hesiod's Theogony, the river gods are the offspring of the Titans Oceanus and Tethys, and the brothers of the Oceanids. In Greek mythology, river deities – such as Inachus, Scamander, and Peneus – are often progenitors of local genealogical lines.Graf, paras. 1–3.

In the Iliad, there are references to sacrifices being made to river deities, including the sacrifice of ephebes' hair. During military campaigns into foreign territory, there is evidence of sacrifices having been made to rivers upon their crossing. River deities could also be invoked as witnesses to an oath.Graf, paras. 4–6.

Depictions of river deities in ancient Greek art often combine anthropomorphic features with bull-like elements such as horns.Graf, para. 7.

Mythology The river gods were the 3000 sons of the great earth-encircling river Oceanus and his wife Tethys and the brothers of the Oceanids.Hesiod, Theogony 337–345, 366–370. They were also the fathers of the Naiads. The river gods were depicted in one of three forms: a man-headed bull, a bull-headed man with the body of a serpent-like fish from the waist down, or as a reclining man with an arm resting upon an amphora jug pouring water.

Notable river gods include: Achelous, the god of the Achelous River, the largest river in Greece, who gave his daughter in marriage to Alcmaeon,Apollodorus, 3.7.5. and was defeated by Heracles in a wrestling contest for the right to marry Deianira.Apollodorus, 1.8.1, 2.7.5. Alpheus, who fell in love with the nymph Arethusa, pursuing her to Syracuse, where she was transformed into a spring by Artemis.Smith, "Alpheius". Asopus, father of many naiads. His daughter Aegina was carried off to the island Aegina by Zeus. Another daughter, Sinope, tricked three amorous gods into leaving her virginity intact. Inachus, the first king of Argos and progenitor of the Argive line through his son Argus. Nilus, Egyptian river god and the father of numerous daughters who mingled with the descendants of Inachus, forming a dynasty of kings in Egypt, Libya, Arabia and Ethiopia. Peneus, river god of Thessaly flowing from the foot of Pindus. He was the father of Daphne and Stilbe, love interests of the god Apollo. Scamander, who fought on the side of the Trojans during the Trojan War, and was offended when Achilles polluted his waters with a large number of Trojan corpses. In response, he overflowed his banks, nearly drowning Achilles.Homer, Iliad 20.74, 21.211 ff.. Ancient Greek poet Hesiod mentioned several river gods by name, along with their origin story, in Theogoniaθεογονία. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project ("the birth of the gods"):And Tethys bare to Ocean eddying rivers, Nilus, and Alpheus, and deep-swirling Eridanus, Strymon, and Meander, and the fair stream of Ister, and Phasis, and Rhesus, and the silver eddies of Achelous, Nessus, and Rhodius, Haliacmon, and Heptaporus, Granicus, and Aesepus, and holy Simois, and Peneus, and Hermus, and Caicus fair stream, and great Sangarius, Ladon, Parthenius, Euenus, Ardescus, and divine Scamander. — Theogony, Hesiod. Translated by Hugh G. Evelyn-White (1914)

List of river gods The following are the sons of Oceanus and Tethys:Hesiod, Theogony 334; Pseudo-Plutarch, De fluviis; Hyginus, Fabulae Preface

+Name of riverRiver godSourcesLocationSon of Oceanus and TethysHes.OvidApol.Plut.Hyg.Pau.OthersAchelous or Akheloios✓✓✓✓✓✓✓Homer, Sophocles, Euripides, Callimachus, Apollonius Rhodius, Diodorus Siculus, Statius, Hyginus, Plato, AristotleAetolia✓Acheron✓✓✓Underworld and Thesprotia*presumablyAcisChanged into a river✓Sicilyson of Pan and nymph SymaethisAcragas?SicilyAeas✓✓Epirus*Aegaeus✓ApolloniusScheria (Corcyra)*Aesar✓StraboTyrrhenia or Etruria*Aesepus✓✓Troad✓Almo✓✓Latium*Alpheus✓✓✓✓✓✓Arcadia✓Amnisos✓Apollonius, CallimachusCrete*Amphrysos✓✓Thessaly*Anapus✓✓NonnusSicily*Anauros?ThessalyAnigros✓StraboElis*Apidanus✓✓Thessaly*ArarRiver named after✓Gallia Celtica (Celtic Gaul)AraxesRiver named after✓Armeniason of PylusArdescus✓✓Thrace✓Arnos✓StraboEtruria*Ascanius✓✓AntoninusMysia*Asopus✓✓✓Boeotia and Argos✓; some accounts, son of Zeus and Eurynome or Poseidon and either Pero or CelusaAsterion✓✓Argos*Axenus or Axius✓✓Paeonia and Macedonia✓Baphyras?PieriaBorysthenes✓AntoninusScythia*Brychon✓LycophronChersonnese*Caanthus✓✓✓Caicinus✓✓Bruttium*Caicus✓✓✓Teuthrania, Mysia✓Cayster✓✓Lydia*Cebren✓✓✓PartheniusTroad*Cephissus✓✓✓✓✓Phocis, Attica, Argos✓Chremetes✓NonnusLibya*Cladeus?✓Elis*Clitumnus?Umbria*Cocytus✓OppianUnderworld and Thesprotia*Cratais✓✓*Crinisus✓✓Virgil, Lycophron, Servius, AelianSicily*Cydnos✓NonnusCilicia*Cytheros?✓Elis*Elisson?StatiusAchaea*Enipeus✓✓✓Thessaly*Erasinus✓✓Argos*Eridanus✓✓✓Attica✓Eridanus✓✓Virgil, NonnusHyperborea,✓Erymanthus✓✓AelianAttica*Euphrates✓✓✓Assyria✓Eurotas✓ River named after✓✓✓Laconiason of Lelex and Cleocharia or of MylesEvenus✓✓✓✓Aetolia✓ ; some accounts, a mortal son of Ares and either Demodice or Stratonice who flung himself to the river LycormasLycormasGanges✓✓✓India*Granicus✓✓✓Troad✓Haliacmon✓✓Macedonia✓Halys✓Apollonius, Valerius FlaccusPaphlygonia and Pontos*Hebrus✓✓LucianCiconia, Thrace*Heptaporus✓✓Troad✓Hermus✓✓Lydia*Hydaspes✓✓NonnusIndia✓; son of Thaumas and ElectraIlissos✓PlatoAttica*Imbrasos✓AthenaeusSamos*Inachus✓✓✓✓✓Argos✓Indus✓✓✓India or Caria✓Inopos✓CallimachusDelos*Ismenus✓✓✓Boeotia✓Istrus or Ister✓✓Scythia✓Ladon✓✓✓✓Arcadia✓Lamos✓NonnusCilicia or Boeotia✓MarsyasRiver named after✓Phrygiaa satyr; son of Hyagnis and either Olympus or OeagrusMaeander✓✓✓✓✓✓Caria✓Meles✓Hellanicus, EugaeonLydia*Mincius✓VirgilGallia, Italy*Nestos or Nessus✓✓Bistonia, Thrace✓Nilus✓✓✓✓✓Egypt✓Numicius✓✓Latium, Italy*Nymphaeus?Quintus SmyrnaeusBithynia and PaphlagoniaOrontes✓✓Syria✓Pactolus✓✓NonnusLydia*Parthenius✓✓Paphlagonia✓Phasis✓✓✓Colchis✓ Phlegethon or Pyriphlegethon✓Virgil, StatiusUnderworldson of CocytusPhyllis✓ApolloniusThynia, Anatolia*Peneus✓✓✓✓Thessaly✓Pleistos✓ApolloniusPhocis*Porpax✓AelianSicily*Rhesus✓✓Rhesus (Ancient Greek: Ῥῆσος / Rhẽsos, Latin; Rhesus) was a river in Bithynia, Troad, Anatolia (modern-day Hisarlik, Çanakkale, Turkey). Per the Barrington Atlas, the Rhesus is likely Karaath Çay, a tributary of the Biga Çayı (known to antiquity as the Granicus). The Rhesus is alternately called the Rhedas, and was said to flow into the "Thracian Bosphorus at Chalcedon."✓Rhine✓NonnusSwitzerland/Germany/France/Netherlands*Rhodius✓✓Troad✓Rhyndacus✓NonnusPhrygia and Bithynia*Sangarius or Sagaris✓✓✓✓Phrygia✓Satnioeis?HomerTroadScamander✓✓✓✓✓Troad✓Selemnus✓✓Achaea Originally a mortal manSimoeis✓✓✓✓✓Troad✓Spercheus✓✓MalisStrymon✓✓✓✓✓Edonia, Thrace✓Symaethus✓✓Sicily*Tanais✓✓✓Scythia✓Telmessus✓AelianSicily*Termessus✓✓Boeotia*Thermodon✓✓✓Pontos and Assyria✓Tiberinus✓VirgilLatium, Italy*Tigris✓✓✓Assyria✓TyrasPick В. Die antiken Münzen Nord-Griechenlands. Berlin,1898. Bd. 1. S. 152✓Scythia*TitaressusHomer,Iliad?Homer, Strabo, SenecaThessalyTOTAL8926181726221840 (+50*)

See also List of Oceanids Kawa-no-Kami, Suijin - the god of River in Japanese mythology. Hebo - the god of the Yellow River.

Notes

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. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Graf, Fritz, "River gods", in Brill's New Pauly: Encyclopaedia of the Ancient World. Antiquity, Volume 12, Prol – Sar, edited by Hubert Cancik and Helmuth Schneider, Brill, 2008. . 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. Homer, The Iliad with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, Ph.D. in two volumes. Cambridge, Massachusetts., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Hyginus, Gaius Julius, Astronomica, in The Myths of Hyginus, edited and translated by Mary A. Grant, Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 1960. Liddell, Henry George, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, revised and augmented throughout by Sir Henry Stuart Jones with the assistance of Roderick McKenzie, Clarendon Press Oxford, 1940. Perseus Digital Library. Smith, William; Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, London (1873).

Further reading Bremmer, Jan N., "Rivers and River Gods in Ancient Greek Religion and Culture", in Natur, Mythos, Religion im antiken Griechenland, pp. 89–112, edited by Tanja Scheer, Stuttgart, Franz Steiner Verlag, 2019. . Brewster, Harry, The River Gods of Greece: Myths and Mountain Waters in the Hellenic World, Bloosbury Academic, 1997. . Internet Archive. Ostrowski, Janusz A., Personifications of Rivers in Greek and Roman Art, Universitas Iagellonica, 1991. . Weiss, Carina, "Fluvii", in Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae (LIMC). IV.1: Eros – Herakles, Zürich and Munich, Artemis Verlag, 1988. . Internet Archive.

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