Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

, Ceroessa (

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

: Κερόεσσα ''Keroessa'' means "the horned") was a heroine of the foundational myth of

Byzantium Byzantium () or Byzantion () was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' continued to be used as a n ...

. She was the daughter of Io and

Zeus Zeus (, ) is the chief deity of the List of Greek deities, Greek pantheon. He is a sky father, sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, who rules as king of the gods on Mount Olympus. Zeus is the child ...

; elder sister of

Epaphus In Greek mythology, Epaphus (; ), also called Apis was a son of Zeus and king of Egypt. Family Epaphus was the son of ZeusHesiod, '' Ehoiai'' 40a as cited in ''Oxyrhynchus Papyri 1358'' fr. 2 and Io and thus, Ceroessa's brother. With his wife ...

; and mother of

Byzas Byzas (Ancient Greek: Βύζας, ''Býzas'') was the legendary founder of Byzantium (Ancient Greek: Βυζάντιον, ''Byzántion''), the city later known as Constantinople and then Istanbul. Background The legendary history of the founding ...

, founder of Byzantium, with her uncle,

Poseidon Poseidon (; ) is one of the twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and mythology, presiding over the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses.Burkert 1985pp. 136–139 He was the protector of seafarers and the guardian of many Hellenic cit ...

Mythology

According to the historian

Hesychius of Miletus Hesychius of Miletus (), Greek chronicler and biographer, surnamed Illustrius, son of an advocate, lived in Constantinople in the 6th century AD during the reign of Justinian. His writings contain more references to pagan Greek culture than Christi ...

, as Io, changed into a heifer and being chased by a gadfly on behalf of the jealous

Hera In ancient Greek religion, Hera (; ; in Ionic Greek, Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women, and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she is queen of the twelve Olympians and Mount Oly ...

, was passing through

Thrace Thrace (, ; ; ; ) is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe roughly corresponding to the province of Thrace in the Roman Empire. Bounded by the Balkan Mountains to the north, the Aegean Sea to the south, and the Black Se ...

, she gave birth to a girl, Keroessa, on the banks of the

Golden Horn The Golden Horn ( or ) is a major urban waterway and the primary inlet of the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey. As a natural estuary that connects with the Bosphorus Strait at the point where the strait meets the Sea of Marmara, the waters of the ...

, by the altar of the

nymph A nymph (; ; sometimes spelled nymphe) is a minor female nature deity in ancient Greek folklore. Distinct from other Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature; they are typically tied to a specific place, land ...

Semystra. According to legend, Keroessa's birthplace is called Semystra (today EyüpSultan district), where the rivers Kydaros (today Alibey Stream) and Barbyses (today Kağıthane Stream) flow into the sea at the end of Chrysokeras (Golden Horn or Haliç). Semystra takes its name from the Semystra Altar, where today Eyyub El Ensari's tomb is located, and its water is believed to have healing powers but according to Swiss scholar Ernest Mamboury's notebook he thinks “Altar of Semystra" was Alibeyköy, Silahtaraga neighborhood in EyüpSultan district. Keroessa was reared by Semystra and grew up surpassing other local maidens in beauty. She had intercourse with Poseidon and in due course gave birth to a son, whom she named

. He became the founder of Byzantium (today Sarayburnu, where Topkapı Palace was built) and named the Golden Horn (

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

Χρυσόκερας) after his mother. Ceroessa also had another son named Strombos. Strombos fought with his brother and the Byzantines. According to

Nonnus Nonnus of Panopolis (, ''Nónnos ho Panopolítēs'', 5th century AD) was the most notable Greek epic poet of the Imperial Roman era. He was a native of Panopolis (Akhmim) in the Egyptian Thebaid and probably lived in the 5th century AD. He i ...

, Keroessa's birthplace was the same as that of her brother Epaphus, i. e. Egypt.Nonnus, ''

Dionysiaca The ''Dionysiaca'' (, ''Dionysiaká'') is an ancient Greek epic poem and the principal work of Nonnus. It is an epic in 48 books, the longest surviving poem from Greco-Roman antiquity at 20,426 lines, composed in Homeric dialect and dactylic hex ...

'', 32. 70

References

{{reflist

External links

History of Istanbul and Keroessa
by Prof. Dr. Erendiz Ozbayoglu (in English)

(in Turkish; Keroessa and History of Istanbul explained, together with the Istanbul Mint)

Virtual Istanbul

(in English)

Istanbul Life (in English)
Republic of Turkey
Ministry of Culture and Tourism (in English) Children of Zeus Constantinople Women of Poseidon