Thalassa (; ;

Attic Greek Attic Greek is the Greek language, Greek dialect of the regions of ancient Greece, ancient region of Attica, including the ''polis'' of classical Athens, Athens. Often called Classical Greek, it was the prestige (sociolinguistics), prestige diale ...

: , ''thálatta'') was the general word for 'sea' and for its divine female personification in

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 ...

. The word may have been of

Pre-Greek The pre-Greek substrate (or substratum) consists of the unknown pre-Greek language or languages (either Pre-Indo-European or other Indo-European languages) spoken in prehistoric Greece prior to the emergence of the Proto-Greek language in the r ...

origin and connected to the name of the Mesopotamian primordial sea goddess

Tiamat In Mesopotamian religion, Tiamat ( or , ) is the primordial sea, mating with Abzû (Apsu), the groundwater, to produce the gods in the Babylonian epic '' Enûma Elish'', which translates as "when on high". She is referred to as a woman, an ...

Mythology

According to a scholion on

Apollonius of Rhodes Apollonius of Rhodes ( ''Apollṓnios Rhódios''; ; fl. first half of 3rd century BC) was an ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek author, best known for the ''Argonautica'', an epic poem about Jason and the Argonauts and their quest for the Go ...

, the fifth-century BC poet

Ion of Chios Ion of Chios (; ; c. 490/480 – c. 420 BC) was a Greek writer, dramatist, lyric poet and philosopher. He was a contemporary of Aeschylus, Euripides and Sophocles. Of his many plays and poems only a few titles and fragments have survived. He also ...

had Thalassa as the mother of Aegaeon (Briareus, one of the

Hecatoncheires In Greek mythology, the Hecatoncheires (), also called Hundred-Handers or Centimanes (; ), were three monstrous giants, of enormous size and strength, each with fifty heads and one hundred arms. They were individually named Cottus (the furious), ...

Diodorus Siculus Diodorus Siculus or Diodorus of Sicily (; 1st century BC) was an ancient Greece, ancient Greek historian from Sicily. He is known for writing the monumental Universal history (genre), universal history ''Bibliotheca historica'', in forty ...

( 1st century BC), in his ''

Bibliotheca historica ''Bibliotheca historica'' (, ) is a work of Universal history (genre), universal history by Diodorus Siculus. It consisted of forty books, which were divided into three sections. The first six books are geographical in theme, and describe the h ...

'', states that "Thalatta" is the mother of the

Telchines In Greek mythology, the Telchines () were the original inhabitants of the island of Rhodes and were known in Crete and Cyprus. Family Their parents were either Pontus (mythology), Pontus and Gaia (mythology), Gaia or Tartarus and Nemesis (mytholog ...

and the sea-nymph

Halia Halia or Halie (Ancient Greek: Ἁλίη or Ἁλία ''Haliê'' means 'the dweller in the sea' or 'the briney'Banep. 172/ref>) is the name of the following characters in Greek mythology: * Halie, the "ox-eyed" Nereid, sea-nymph daughter of the ...

, while in the ''

Orphic Hymn The ''Orphic Hymns'' are a collection of eighty-seven ancient Greek hymns addressed to various deities, which were attributed in antiquity to the mythical poet Orpheus. They were composed in Asia Minor (located in modern-day Turkey), most likel ...

to the Sea'', Tethys, who is here equated with Thalassa, is called the mother of Kypris (

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 ...

). The Roman mythographer

Hyginus Hyginus may refer to: People *Hyginus, the author of the '' Fabulae'', an important ancient Latin source for Greek mythology. *Hyginus, the author of the ''Astronomia'', a popular ancient Latin guide on astronomy, probably the same as the author ...

(c. 64 BC – AD 17), in the preface to his ''

Fabulae The ''Fabulae'' is a Latin handbook of mythology, attributed to an author named Hyginus, who is generally believed to have been separate from Gaius Julius Hyginus. The work consists of some three hundred very brief and plainly, even crudely, told ...

'', calls Mare (Sea, another name for Thalassa) the daughter of

Aether Aether, æther or ether may refer to: Historical science and mythology * Aether (mythology), the personification of the bright upper sky * Aether (classical element), the material believed to fill the universe above the terrestrial sphere ** A ...

and Dies (Day), and thus the sister of

Terra Terra may often refer to: * Terra (mythology), primeval Roman goddess * An alternate name for planet Earth, as well as the Latin name for the planet Terra may also refer to: Geography Astronomy * Terra (satellite), a multi-national NASA scient ...

(Earth) and

Caelus Caelus or Coelus (; ) was a primordial List of Roman deities, god of the sky in Roman mythology and Religion in ancient Rome, theology, Roman art, iconography, and Latin literature, literature (compare 'sky', 'heaven', whence English ''celestia ...

(Sky). With her male counterpart

Pontus Pontus or Pontos may refer to: * Short Latin name for the Pontus Euxinus, the Greek name for the Black Sea (aka the Euxine sea) * Pontus (mythology), a sea god in Greek mythology * Pontus (region), on the southern coast of the Black Sea, in modern ...

, she spawns the species of fish.

Literature

Two rather similar fables are recorded by

Babrius Babrius (, ''Bábrios''; ), "Babrius" in '' Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 21. also known as Babrias () or Gabrias (), was the author of a collection of Greek fables, many of which are known today as Aesop's F ...

. In one, numbered 168 in the

Perry Index The Perry Index is a widely used index of "Aesop's Fables" or "Aesopica", the fables credited to Aesop, the storyteller who lived in ancient Greece between 620 and 560 BC. The index was created by Ben Edwin Perry, a professor of classics at the U ...

, a farmer witnesses a shipwreck and reproaches the sea for being "an enemy of mankind". Assuming the form of a woman, she answers by blaming the winds for her turbulence. Otherwise, "I am gentler than that dry land of yours." In the other, a survivor from a shipwreck accuses the sea of treachery and receives the same excuse. But for the winds, "by nature I am as calm and safe as the land." In yet another fable, Perry's number 412 and only recorded by

Syntipas Syntipas is the purported author of the ''Seven Wise Masters'', a cycle of stories of Indian and Persian origin popular in medieval literature. He first appears in Arabic renditions as an Indian philosopher who lived around 100 BC. Due to the po ...

, the rivers complain to the sea that their sweet water is turned undrinkably salty by contact with her. The sea replies that if they know as much, they should avoid such contact. The commentary suggests that the tale may be applied to people who criticize someone inappropriately even though they may actually be helping them. In the 2nd century CE, Lucian represented Thalassa in a comic dialogue with Xanthus, the god of the River

Scamander Scamander (), also Skamandros () or Xanthos (), was a river god in Greek mythology. Etymology The meaning of this name is uncertain. The second element looks as though it is derived from Greek (), meaning "of a man", but there are sources w ...

, who had been attacked by a rival Greek deity for complaining that his course was being choked with dead bodies during the

Trojan War The Trojan War was a legendary conflict in Greek mythology that took place around the twelfth or thirteenth century BC. The war was waged by the Achaeans (Homer), Achaeans (Ancient Greece, Greeks) against the city of Troy after Paris (mytho ...

. In this case he had been badly scorched and asks her to soothe his wounds.

Art

While the sea-divinities Tethys and Oceanus were formerly represented in Roman-era mosaics, they were replaced at a later period by the figure of Thalassa, especially in

Western Asia West Asia (also called Western Asia or Southwest Asia) is the westernmost region of Asia. As defined by most academics, UN bodies and other institutions, the subregion consists of Anatolia, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Mesopotamia, the Armenian ...

. There she was depicted as a woman clothed in bands of seaweed and half submerged in the sea, with the crab-claw horns that were formerly an attribute of Oceanus now transferred to her head. In one hand she holds a ship's oar, and in the other a dolphin.Eraslan
pp. 5–7
In 2011, Swoon created a site-specific installation depicting the goddess in the atrium of the

New Orleans Museum of Art The New Orleans Museum of Art (or NOMA) is the oldest art museum, fine arts museum in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, New Orleans. It is situated within City Park (New Orleans), City Park, a short distance from the intersection of Carrollton ...

. In fall 2016, the installation was erected once more in the atrium of the

Detroit Institute of Arts The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) is a museum institution located in Midtown Detroit, Michigan. It has list of largest art museums, one of the largest and most significant art collections in the United States. With over 100 galleries, it cove ...

Notes

References

* Athanassakis, Apostolos N., and Benjamin M. Wolkow, ''The Orphic Hymns'', Johns Hopkins University Press, 2013. . *

, Phaedrus, ''Fables''. Translated by Ben Edwin Perry.

Loeb Classical Library The Loeb Classical Library (LCL; named after James Loeb; , ) is a monographic series of books originally published by Heinemann and since 1934 by Harvard University Press. It has bilingual editions of ancient Greek and Latin literature, ...

No. 436. Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 1965
Online version at Harvard University Press
* Beekes, Robert S. P., ''Etymological Dictionary of Greek'', 2 vols, Leiden,

Brill Brill may refer to: Places * Brielle (sometimes "Den Briel"), a town in the western Netherlands * Brill, Buckinghamshire, a village in England * Brill, Cornwall, a small village to the west of Constantine, Cornwall, UK * Brill, Wisconsin, an un ...

, 2009.
Online version at Brill
* Campbell, David A., ''Greek Lyric, Volume IV: Bacchylides, Corinna'',

No. 461. Cambridge, Massachusetts,

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is an academic publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University. It is a member of the Association of University Presses. Its director since 2017 is George Andreou. The pres ...

, 1992.
Online version at Harvard University Press
*

, '' Library of History, Volume III: Books 4.59-8'', translated by C. H. Oldfather,

No. 340, Cambridge, Massachusetts,

, 1939.
Online version at Harvard University Press
* Eraslan, Şehnaz, "Tethys and Thalassa in mosaic art", in ''Art Sanat'', Vol. 4, pp. 1–13
PDF
* Hyginus, Gaius Julius, ''

'' in ''Apollodorus' ''Library'' and Hyginus' ''Fabulae'': Two Handbooks of Greek Mythology, translated, with Introductions by R. Scott Smith and Stephen M. Trzaskoma'', Hackett Publishing, 2007.
Google Books
* Hyginus, Gaius Julius, ''Hygini Fabulae'', edited by Herbert Jennings Rose, Leiden, Sijthoff, 1934
Online version at Packhum
*

Lucian Lucian of Samosata (Λουκιανὸς ὁ Σαμοσατεύς, 125 – after 180) was a Hellenized Syrian satirist, rhetorician and pamphleteer who is best known for his characteristic tongue-in-cheek style, with which he frequently ridi ...

, ''Lucian of Samosata, from the Greek, with the Comments and Illustrations of Wieland and others'', Volume I, translated by

William Tooke William Tooke (1744 – 17 November 1820) was a British clergyman and historian of Russia. Life Tooke was the second son of Thomas Tooke (1705–1773) of St. John's, Clerkenwell, by his wife Hannah, only daughter of Thomas Mann of St. James's, ...

, London, 1820
Google Books
* Morand, Anne-France, ''Études sur les Hymnes Orphiques'',

, 2001.
Online version at Brill
* ''

Oxford Classical Dictionary The ''Oxford Classical Dictionary'' (''OCD'') is generally considered "the best one-volume dictionary on antiquity," an encyclopædic work in English consisting of articles relating to classical antiquity and its civilizations. It was first pub ...

'', revised 3rd ed., Simon Hornblower and Antony Spawforth (editors),

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 2003.
Internet Archive
* Silva, Moises, ''God, Language and Scripture: Reading the Bible in the light of general linguistics'', Zondervan, 1990. . * Wages, Sara M., "A Note on the Dumbarton Oaks 'Tethys Mosaic'", in ''Dumbarton Oaks Papers'', Vol. 40, pp. 119–128. . * Wendel, Carl, ''Scholia in Apollonium Rhodium vetera'', Hildesheim, Weidmann, 1999. .

External links

* {{Authority control Aesop's Fables Greek primordial deities Greek sea goddesses Personifications in Greek mythology