Olympians
AphroditeApolloAresArtemisAthenaHadesHephaestusHeraHermesHestiaPoseidonZeusAll Olympians
Titans
AsteriaAstraeusAtlasClymeneCriusCronusDioneEosEpimetheusEurybiaEurynomeHyperionAll Titans
Greek Gods
AeolusAetherAmphitriteAnemoiApateAsclepiusAuraBiaChaosCirceDeimosDemeterAll Greek Gods
Myths
CreaturesElementsFiguresGigantesGreek MythsHeroesMonstersMortalsMoviesNorsePlacesPlanetsAll Myths
Plays
AeschylusAristophanesEuripidesSophoclesAll Plays
Ancient Sources
ApollodorusHomerHesiodAeschylusSophoclesEuripidesAristophanesApolloniusOvidPausaniasPindarAll Ancient Sources
Olympians
Olympians
AphroditeApolloAresArtemisAthenaHadesHephaestusHeraHermesHestiaPoseidonZeusAll Olympians
Titans
Titans
AsteriaAstraeusAtlasClymeneCriusCronusDioneEosEpimetheusEurybiaEurynomeHyperionAll Titans
Greek Gods
Greek Gods
AeolusAetherAmphitriteAnemoiApateAsclepiusAuraBiaChaosCirceDeimosDemeterAll Greek Gods
Myths
Myths
CreaturesElementsFiguresGigantesGreek MythsHeroesMonstersMortalsMoviesNorsePlacesPlanetsAll Myths
Plays
Plays
AeschylusAristophanesEuripidesSophoclesAll Plays
Ancient Sources
Ancient Sources
ApollodorusHomerHesiodAeschylusSophoclesEuripidesAristophanesApolloniusOvidPausaniasPindarAll Ancient Sources

Figures in the ancient sources

Oceanus in the ancient sources

Ancient Sources / Figures / Oceanus

30 passages from 5 ancient authors that tell of Oceanus, in the original with English translation, author by author in the order the Greeks read them. Oceanus was an ancient Greek god. According to one version, he was born by the union of the primal gods Chaos and Gaea, sanctified by god Eros. Anothe... For the story in one place, read our article on Oceanus.

Hesiod (9)

  1. Hesiod, Theogony 265–304Iris, the Harpies, the Graiai, Gorgons and Echidna (265-304)Thaumas and Electra have Iris and the Harpies, and Phorcys and Ceto have the Graiai and the Gorgons. Poseidon lies with Medusa, and when Perseus cuts off her head Chrysaor and the horse Pegasus spring forth; Chrysaor has the three-headed Geryon, whom Heracles kills. The section ends with Echidna, the monstrous child of Ceto and Phorcys, half nymph and half huge snake, who lives in a cave in Arima.
  2. Hesiod, Theogony 335–369The rivers and the Oceanids (335-369)Tethys bears to Oceanus the swirling rivers, among them the Nile, the Alpheus and the Eridanus, and also a company of daughters who, with Apollo and the rivers, watch over the young. Hesiod names a selection of both, saying there are three thousand Oceanids and as many rivers, but that only people living near each stream can name it.
  3. Hesiod, Theogony 780–819Styx and the oath of the gods (780-819)Iris fetches water from the Styx, the eldest daughter of Oceanus, which the gods swear by. A god who perjures himself lies breathless for a year and is then barred from the feasts of the gods for nine years. Beyond lie the sources and limits of earth, sea and sky, and the Titans live beyond Chaos; Cottus and Gyes live on Ocean's foundations, and Briareos marries Poseidon's daughter.
  4. Hesiod, Theogony 370–404Children of Hyperion and Crius; Styx and her sons (370-404)Theia bears Helios, Selene and Eos to Hyperion, and Eos bears the winds and the morning star; Crius and Eurybia's sons include Astraeus, Pallas and Perses. Styx, daughter of Oceanus, bears to Pallas Zelus, Nike, Cratos and Bia, and Zeus honours her as the great oath of the gods because she was first to support him against the Titans. The section ends as Phoebe comes to the embrace of Coeus.
  5. Hesiod, Theogony 130–174Gaia and Uranus: the Titans, Cyclopes and Hundred-Handers (130-174)Gaia bears Pontus, the sea, and then lies with Uranus and bears the twelve Titans, among them Oceanus and Cronus, followed by the three Cyclopes and the three Hundred-Handers. Uranus hates his children and hides them in Gaia's depths, so she groans, plots against him and makes a sickle of grey flint. Only Cronus has the courage to answer her, and she sets him in ambush with the sickle.
  6. Hesiod, Theogony 210–264Night's children, Strife's children and the Nereids (210-264)Night bears Doom, Fate and Death, Sleep and the tribe of Dreams, and then Blame, Woe, the Hesperides, the Fates and Nemesis; Strife in turn bears Toil, Forgetfulness, Famine and other sorrows. Pontus begets Nereus, the truthful Old Man of the Sea, and then Thaumas, Phorcys, Ceto and Eurybia; Nereus and Doris have fifty daughters, whom the section names.
  7. Hesiod, Theogony 650–699The Titanomachy: Zeus's thunderbolts (650-699)Cottus answers for the Hundred-Handers and the war begins, the sea, earth and heaven shaking at the clash. Then Zeus holds back his might no longer and comes from Olympus hurling lightning and thunderbolts, so that the earth burns, the sea and Ocean seethe, and the Titans are blinded by the glare.
  8. Hesiod, Theogony 900–929tZeus's marriages and children; the birth of Athena (900-929)Zeus marries Themis (the Hours and the Fates), Eurynome (the Graces), Demeter (Persephone), Mnemosyne (the Muses), Leto (Apollo and Artemis) and lastly Hera, whose children are Hebe, Ares and Eileithyia. Zeus bears Athena from his own head, and Hera bears Hephaestus without Zeus. The section recounts again how Zeus swallowed Metis, who conceived Athena, and how she was born by the river Trito.
  9. Hesiod, Theogony 930–959Poseidon, Ares, Hermes, Dionysus and Heracles (930-959)Poseidon and Amphitrite have Triton, and Aphrodite bears Panic and Fear to Ares, and Harmonia, whom Cadmus marries. Maia bears Hermes, Semele bears Dionysus and Alcmene bears Heracles, who is finally wed to Hebe and lives among the gods. Hephaestus marries Aglaea, Dionysus marries Ariadne, and Perseis bears Circe and Aeetes to Helios, with Aeetes' daughter Medea at the end.

Homer (6)

  1. Homer, Iliad 14.224–360Hera and Sleep: the deception of Zeus on IdaHera goes to Lemnos and asks Sleep to lull Zeus once she has lain with him, promising him the young Grace Pasithea as his wife. They go to Ida, where Sleep perches in a fir-tree in the likeness of a bird, and Hera approaches Zeus, who is seized with desire for her. He persuades her to lie with him at once, hiding them in a golden cloud, and Sleep binds him, then goes to tell Poseidon to help the Danaans while Zeus sleeps.
  2. Homer, Iliad 14.153–223Hera adorns herself; the girdle of AphroditeHera sees Zeus watching the battle from Mount Ida and plans to beguile him. She goes to her chamber, bathes and anoints herself with ambrosial oil, and puts on a robe that Athena made. She then borrows Aphrodite's embroidered girdle of love, telling her that she means to reconcile Oceanus and Tethys, and Aphrodite gives it.
  3. Homer, Iliad 18.368–467Thetis at the house of HephaestusThetis comes to the bronze house that Hephaestus built among the stars, and finds him at work on twenty tripods that move by themselves on golden wheels. His wife Charis welcomes her, and Hephaestus remembers how Thetis and Eurynome took him in when Hera cast him from heaven. Thetis begs him to make armour for her son, and he promises to do it.
  4. Homer, Odyssey 10.466–574Circe's instructions; the death of ElpenorAfter a year the men urge Odysseus to think of home, and Circe tells him that before he goes he must visit the house of Hades and consult the ghost of Teiresias. She tells him how to make the offerings and where to land. Odysseus rouses his men, but the youngest, Elpenor, who had gone to sleep on the roof, falls from it and breaks his neck. The men weep at the news of the journey they must make, and Circe passes unseen to leave a ram and a black ewe by the ship.
  5. Homer, Odyssey 11.1–89The voyage to the land of the deadThey launch the ship, put the sheep aboard, and sail from Circe's island to the edge of the world, where the Cimmerians dwell in mist and darkness. Odysseus digs a pit, pours libations to the dead and cuts the throats of the sheep so that their blood flows into it. The ghosts come up, and he draws his sword and keeps them from the blood. Elpenor's ghost, first of all, begs for burial, and Odysseus sees his own mother among the ghosts but will not let her near the blood before he has questioned Teiresias.
  6. Homer, The Homeric Hymns 30.1–33.19Hymns 30 to 33: Earth, Helios, Selene and the DioscuriFour hymns to cosmic and heroic figures. Earth, mother of all, feeds every creature and gives or takes away the means of life, and Helios drives his chariot, the son of Hyperion and Euryphaessa. Selene, the Moon, rides with a radiance that fills the sky, and the Dioscuri, Castor and Polydeuces, are saviours of ships in storms.

Aeschylus (2)

  1. Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound 279–398First episode (cont.): Oceanus offers to intercedeOceanus arrives on a winged creature and offers to plead with Zeus for Prometheus. He advises him to know himself, to change his ways and not to speak so defiantly against the new ruler. Prometheus refuses, tells of the punishment of Atlas and of Typhon, says that Oceanus might suffer himself if he tried, and tells him to go home. Oceanus leaves.
  2. Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound 88–195Parodos: Prometheus' cry and the arrival of the OceanidsLeft alone, Prometheus calls on the sky, the winds, the rivers and the sea, and on Earth, to witness what he suffers from the gods. He says that he knew all that would happen to him. The daughters of Oceanus arrive in a winged car, and the Chorus pity him, while he answers that the day will come when Zeus will need him to reveal the plot by which he is to lose his throne.

Callimachus (2)

  1. Callimachus, Hymns 3.1–268Hymn to Artemis: the goddess's childhood wishesAs a small girl on her father's knees, Artemis asks Zeus to let her stay a maiden for ever and to give her a bow, a short tunic, sixty nymphs of Oceanus for her choir and twenty nymphs of Amnisus to tend her hounds, and Zeus smiles and grants it, adding cities. She visits the Cyclopes on Lipara for her arrows, takes hounds from Pan in Arcadia and captures four golden-horned deer for her chariot. The poet praises her favourite places and companions, among them Britomartis, Cyrene and Atalanta, and her shrines at Miletus and Ephesus. He ends with a warning to those who wronged her, such as Oeneus, Otus and Orion.
  2. Callimachus, Hymns 4.1–86Hymn to Delos: Asteria among the islandsThe poet resolves to sing of Delos, nurse of Apollo, a wave-beaten isle that leads the others when they gather before Oceanus and Tethys. He tells how the island, once the floating Asteria who fled the love of Zeus, was named Delos when it became the birthplace of Apollo. Hera, angry with Leto, posts Ares on Haemus to watch the mainland and Iris on Mimas to watch the islands, and the cities of Greece flee from Leto. Apollo, still in the womb, rebukes Thebe.

Nonnus of Panopolis (11)

  1. Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 38.103–211Book 38: Hermes' tale: the birth and youth of PhaethonHermes begins the story of Phaethon: Helios marries Clymene, daughter of Oceanos, and their son grows up playing at driving his father's chariot with a toy car. As a youth he begs to drive the chariot of the sun, and Helios warns him that even the gods do not wield one another's powers, citing the fate of Zagreus.
  2. Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 6.207–257Book 6: Zeus punishes the Titans and sends the floodZeus learns the trick of the mirror and burns the Titans and the whole earth with his thunderbolts. Oceanos weeps, and Zeus, pitying the scorched land, covers the sky with cloud. The heavenly bodies stand in their houses as the rain begins and the waters rise over the hills.
  3. Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 23.225–320Book 23: Dionysos threatens the river and sets it on fireDionysos warns the river that Zeus may strike it as he struck Eridanos, but Hydaspes only rages the more. The god sets the water on fire with a burning fennel stalk, driving the Naiads out of their homes. Oceanos then threatens to flood the sky, drown the stars and constellations, and calls on Tethys and the sea to join him against Dionysos.
  4. Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 2.241–390Book 2: Typhon's boast and the first assault on ZeusTyphoeus wakes shouting threats: he will overturn the heavens, bring up Cronos and the Titans, and take Hera for his bride. Zeus laughs, and the battle opens with the Giant hurling trees and rocks against the thunderbolt.
  5. Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 8.122–177Book 8: Hera borrows the girdle of DeceitHera flatters Deceit and asks for the girdle with which Rheia once deceived Cronos. She complains that a mortal woman has taken her husband and threatens to leave heaven. Deceit gives her the girdle, saying it will charm Zeus and bring Ares home.
  6. Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 38.212–317Book 38: Phaethon begs for the chariot; Helios' instructionsMoved by Phaethon's tears, Helios gives way and explains the zodiac, the planets' paths and the route the chariot must follow through the year. He crowns the boy with his rays, and Phaethon sets out in the chariot while Clymene watches.
  7. Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 40.493–580Book 40: The first ship and the founding of Tyre; the nymphs and ErosHeracles tells how the earthborn sacrificed the eagle of the olive on the wandering rocks, which then became fixed, and built Tyre on both. He then explains that Eros, by his shafts, made the fountain-nymphs the brides of the earthborn, from whom Dionysos' family descends. Dionysos accepts a starry robe from Heracles, gives him a golden mixing-bowl and moves on to another part of Assyria.
  8. Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 41.119–211Book 41: Eros is born at Beroe; the birth of BeroeMeadows and vines burst up around Aphrodite, and she gives birth to Eros, who leaps at once to her breast. The poet hails Beroe as nurse of cities and says she is also called Amymone. In a younger story Aphrodite bears her to Adonis with Hermes and Themis attending, the beasts rejoice, and Aphrodite foresees that a boar will bring Adonis' death.
  9. Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 42.438–542Book 42: Poseidon woos Beroe; Aphrodite sets the contest and the oathsPoseidon, in turn, comes up from the sea, gazes at Beroe, and offers her the sea, the rivers and the Nereids as her kingdom and servants, but she will not listen. Both suitors bring gifts to her parents in vain, and Aphrodite, fearing them both, decrees that they must fight for the bride and swear an oath to spare her city. As the gods gather on Lebanon, an omen of a pigeon seized by an osprey makes Dionysos despair of victory.
  10. Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 48.182–327Book 48: Dionysos kills Sithon and weds Pallene; the huntress AuraDionysos kills Sithon with his thyrsus and gives the weapon to Pallene as a love-gift. The Nereids and the sea-gods sing at the wedding, and Dionysos consoles the bride. The poet then introduces Aura, daughter of the Titan Lelantos, a manlike huntress who knows nothing of love, and who drives Artemis's car to the river Sangarios on a hot noon.
  11. Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 24.0–61Book 24: Zeus restrains Dionysos; Hydaspes pleadsZeus' thunder checks Dionysos' fire and calms Oceanos, and the burning Hydaspes begs for mercy. The river pleads that he acted to protect his sons, that his reeds and canes serve the god's own vine and pipes, and that he once washed the earlier Dionysos, Zagreus. He asks the god to withdraw his flame.