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Phorcys
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- For the asteroidal moon, see (65489) Ceto I Phorcys.
| Greek deities series |
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|---|---|
| Primordial deities | |
| Titans and Olympians | |
| Chthonic deities | |
| Personified concepts | |
| Other deities | |
| Aquatic deities | |
In Greek mythology, Phorcys, or Phorkys was one of the names of the "Old One of the Sea", the primeval sea god, who, according to Hesiod, was the son of Pontus and Gaia. According to the Orphic hymns Phorcys, Cronos and Rhea were the eldest offspring of Oceanus and Tethys (Kerenyi p 42). Other names for the Old Man are Nereus and Proteus (Kerenyi pp 42-43). His wife was Ceto and together they had many children, all hideous monsters (except for the Hesperides) collectively known as the Phorcydes. The Gorgons and Scylla were four of his beautiful children, but they were turned into monsters.
In ancient mosaics he was depicted as a fish-tailed merman with crab-claw fore-legs and red spiked skin.
In Greek mythology, Phorcys was also the name of a Phrygian leader during the Trojan War, a son of Aretaon and brother of Ascanius. Ajax killed him.
- Kerenyi, Karl 1951 (1980). The Gods of the Greeks
- Theoi Project, Phorcys the sea-god in classical literature and art