Doris

Doris was an Oceanid, a daughter of the Titans Oceanus and Tethys, and the wife of the sea god Nereus. Hesiod names her as the mother of the fifty Nereids, the sea nymphs among whom are Thetis, the mother of Achilles, and Amphitrite, the wife of Poseidon (Hesiod, Theogony 240–264).

Parents and Husband

Hesiod lists Doris among the many daughters of Oceanus and Tethys (Theogony 337–350). The Library of Apollodorus gives the same descent: Ocean and Tethys had the Oceanids, among them Asia, Styx, Electra, Doris, Eurynome, Amphitrite and Metis (Apollodorus, Library 1.2.2). Doris married Nereus, the eldest son of Pontus (the Sea) and Gaia (the Earth), the “old man” of the sea whom Hesiod calls truthful and gentle, one who never forgets what is right (Theogony 233–236).

The Nereids

Hesiod introduces the pair together: Nereus and rich-haired Doris, daughter of Ocean, had children “passing lovely amongst goddesses” in the barren sea, and he counts fifty daughters, skilled in excellent crafts (Theogony 240–264). Apollodorus says the same: “To Nereus and Doris were born the Nereids” (Library 1.2.7). The lists of names differ from author to author. Hesiod’s begins with Ploto, Eucrante, Sao and Amphitrite, and includes Thetis, Galene, Cymothoe and Galatea; the Iliad lists the Nereids who gather around Thetis in the depths when she hears Achilles cry out, among them Glauce, Halie and Galatea (Iliad 18.35–49). A few of the daughters matter far more than the rest:

• Thetis became the wife of the mortal Peleus and the mother of Achilles; she tells Hephaestus in the Iliad that Zeus made her marry him against her will (Iliad 18.429–436; in Apollodorus, Peleus seizes her while she changes shape, Library 3.13.5).
• Amphitrite became the wife of Poseidon, and their son was Triton, who lives in a golden house in the depths of the sea (Hesiod, Theogony 930–933).
• Galatea was loved by the Cyclops Polyphemus; in Ovid she calls herself the daughter of Nereus and of dark-blue Doris (Ovid, Metamorphoses 13.738–744).

Another Doris

The name Doris was also borne by one of her own daughters. Both Hesiod and Homer count a Nereid named Doris among the fifty, beside Panope and Galatea (Hesiod, Theogony 250; Homer, Iliad 18.45). Latin poets also use “Doris” for the sea itself: in Virgil the poet wishes that bitter Doris may not mix her wave with the spring Arethusa as it glides under the Sicilian waves (Eclogue 10.4–5).

Doris in Later Poetry

Ovid describes the palace of the Sun, whose carved doors show the sea with Doris and her daughters: some swim, some sit on a rock drying their green hair, and others ride on fish (Metamorphoses 2.11–14). No ancient source gives her a story of her own. She is known as the mother of the Nereids and as Nereus’ wife.

Doris Sources

Hesiod, Theogony 233–264, 337–350, 930–933; Homer, Iliad 18.35–49, 18.429–436; Apollodorus, Library 1.2.2, 1.2.7, 3.13.5; Ovid, Metamorphoses 2.11–14, 13.738–744; Virgil, Eclogue 10.4–5.

See Also: Oceanus, Tethys, Nereus, Nereids, Thetis, Amphitrite, Galatea, Poseidon