The sea goat or goat fish is a legendary aquatic animal described as a creature that is half-

goat The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope that is mostly kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the ...

and half-

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

Babylonian goat fish

The goat fish symbolized the Babylonian god Ea. According to the

Babylonian star catalogues Babylonian astronomy collated earlier observations and divinations into sets of Babylonian star catalogues, during and after the Kassite rule over Babylonia. These star catalogues, written in cuneiform script, contained lists of constellations, ...

the constellation was 'the goat fish'. This constellation later became the Greek and Roman

Capricornus Capricornus is one of the constellations of the zodiac. Its name is Latin for "horned goat" or "goat Horn (anatomy), horn" or "having horns like a goat's", and it is commonly represented in the form of a sea goat: a mythical creature that is hal ...

Greek interpretation

The Greek interpretation of the sea goat comes from the introduction of the Babylonian zodiac. In an attempt to codify the constellation

within the

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

, two myths were used as an explanation. One being that the constellation is Amalthea, the goat that raised

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 ...

. As thanks for caring for him as a child, Zeus places her amongst the stars. The other being that the sea goat is the wilderness god Pan. The myth goes that Pan jumped into the river to escape the monster

Typhon Typhon (; , ), also Typhoeus (; ), Typhaon () or Typhos (), was a monstrous serpentine giant and one of the deadliest creatures in Greek mythology. According to Hesiod, Typhon was the son of Gaia and Tartarus. However, one source has Typhon as t ...

. He tries to turn himself into a fish while jumping into the river, but he moves too quickly and only his lower half becomes that of a fish. Zeus then engages in combat with the monster. Zeus defeats him, but not without Typhon pulling the muscles out of Zeus' legs. With the help of

Hermes Hermes (; ) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and mythology considered the herald of the gods. He is also widely considered the protector of human heralds, travelers, thieves, merchants, and orators. He is able to move quic ...

, Pan replaces the damaged muscles. As a reward for healing him, Zeus placed Pan in the sky as Capricorn. The god

Aegipan Aegipan (, Αἰγίπανος, "Goat-Pan") was a mythological being, either distinct from or identical to Pan. His story appears to be of late origin. Mythology According to Hyginus, Aegipan was the son of Zeus (some sources say his son Apol ...

is also depicted in Greek art as a sea goat. Imagery found at

Aphrodisias Aphrodisias (; ) was a Hellenistic Greek city in the historic Caria cultural region of western Asia Minor, today's Anatolia in Turkey. It is located near the modern village of Geyre, about east/inland from the coast of the Aegean Sea, and s ...

, including coins dating back to the 3rd century AD, depict the goddess

Aphrodite Aphrodite (, ) is an Greek mythology, ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, procreation, and as her syncretism, syncretised Roman counterpart , desire, Sexual intercourse, sex, fertility, prosperity, and ...

riding a sea goat.Lisa R. Brody, under the direction of Christopher Ratté
"The Iconography and Cult of the Aphrodite of Aphrodisias"
(dead link- archive versio

, New York University, Institute of Fine Arts, 1999.

Jewish tradition

In Jewish oral history, sea goats are mentioned. The story goes that one day all the creatures of the sea must offer themselves to the monster

Leviathan Leviathan ( ; ; ) is a sea serpent demon noted in theology and mythology. It is referenced in several books of the Hebrew Bible, including Psalms, the Book of Job, the Book of Isaiah, and the pseudepigraphical Book of Enoch. Leviathan is of ...

. It is reported that a sailor encountered a sea goat while far at sea. On its horns was carved the sentence, translated as "I am a little sea-animal, yet I traversed three hundred

parasang The parasang, also known as a farsakh (from Arabic), is a historical Iranian peoples, Iranian unit of Walking distance measure, walking distance, the length of which varied according to terrain and speed of travel. The European equivalent is the ...

s to offer myself as food to the leviathan." Babylonian Talmud, Bava Batra, 74a:7

/ref>

References

{{reflist, 25em Greek legendary creatures Jewish legendary creatures Mythological caprids Mythological aquatic creatures Mythological hybrids Capricorn in astrology

Babylonian goat fish

Greek interpretation

Jewish tradition

See also

References