The worship of Amphitrite was entirely unknown to the Romans, who recognised the sea-goddess Salacia as the wife of Neptune.
3. Triton and the Tritons.—Triton was the only son of Poseidon and Amphitrite; he never appears, however, to have enjoyed divine honours. This perhaps explains how it came to pass that he was subsequently degraded to the level of a fabulous sea-monster. The poet Apollonius Rhodius describes him as having a body, the upper parts of which were those of a man, while the lower parts were those of a dolphin. Such too is his appearance in works of art. Poets and artists soon revelled in the conception of a whole race of similar Tritons, who were regarded as a wanton, mischievous tribe, like the Satyrs on land.
The Tritons, as sea-deities of fantastic form, are of little importance in higher art, though they were all the more frequently employed in fountains and water-works. The fore-legs of a horse were sometimes added to the human body and dolphin’s tail, thus giving rise to the figure termed the Ichthyocentaur.
4. Pontus and his Descendants.—We have already spoken of Pontus and his race in our account of the Theogony. Here we can only mention those of his children who either enjoyed divine honours, or are of importance in art. The eldest among them was Nereus.
1. Nereus and his Daughters.—Nereus presents to us the calm and pleasant side of the sea. He appears as a kindly, benevolent old man, the good spirit of the Ægean sea, where he dwells with his fifty lovely daughters, the Nereids, ever ready to assist the storm-beaten sailor in the hour of need. Like all water-spirits, Nereus possessed the gift of prophecy, though he did not always choose to make use of it. Heracles sought him on his way to the garden of the Hesperides, in order to learn how he might get possession of the golden apples. In spite of his urgent entreaties, Nereus endeavoured to elude him by assuming every kind of shape, though he was at length vanquished by the persistence of the hero, who would not let him go until he had obtained the necessary information.
By his wife Doris, the daughter of Oceanus, he became the father of fifty, or, according to some, of a hundred daughters, who were all venerated as kindly, beneficent sea-nymphs. They are a charming, lovely tribe, who win the hearts of the sailors—now by their merry sports and dances, now by their timely assistance in the hour of danger. This joyous band generally forms the train of Poseidon and Amphitrite. Besides Amphitrite, the chosen bride of Poseidon, we find among them Thetis, the beautiful mother of Achilles, so celebrated in ancient poetry, who usually figures as their leader. Her beauty and grace were so great that Zeus himself became her lover. He surrendered her, however, to Peleus, son of Æacus, because an oracle had declared that the son of Thetis should become greater than his father.
In art Nereus generally appears as an old man with thin grey locks. He is commonly distinguished by a sceptre, or even a trident. The Nereids were depicted as graceful maidens, in earlier times slightly clothed, but later entirely nude, riding on dolphins, Tritons, or other fabulous monsters of the deep.
2. Thaumas, Phorcys, Ceto.—Whilst Nereus and his daughters represent the sea in its peaceful aspect, Thaumas, the second son of Pontus, represents it as the world of wonders. By Electra, a daughter of Oceanus, he became the father of Iris, the messenger of the gods, and also of the Harpies. The latter personify the storm-winds. Originally fair maidens, they were afterwards represented as winged creatures, half man and half bird; they had the faces of maidens, but their bodies were covered with vultures’ feathers; they were pale and emaciated in appearance, and were continually tormented with an insatiable hunger. They are best known from the story of the Argonauts, where they appear as the tormentor of the blind king Phineus, whose table they continually robbed of its viands, which they either devoured or spoiled. They were regarded by the ancients as the ministers of sudden death, and were said to be either two or three in number. Phorcys and Ceto, the brother and sister of Thaumas, present to us the sea under its terrible aspect. This pair, from whose union sprang the Gorgons, the Grææ, and the dragon of the Hesperides, typify all the terrors and dangers of the deep. We shall have more to say concerning the Gorgons and Grææ in the story of Perseus.
5. Proteus.—Proteus is a deity of inferior rank. He is represented as an old man (the servant of Poseidon) endowed with the gift of prophecy. He plays the same part in the story of Troy as Nereus does in that of Heracles. His usual abode was the island of Pharos. It was thither that Menelaus turned after he had been driven to the coast of Egypt, on his return from Troy, to seek the advice of the “unerring old man of the sea.” But Proteus, being in no amiable mood, sought to elude the importunity of the hero by converting himself into a lion, a dragon, a panther, a wild boar, and many other forms. At length, however, he was vanquished by the persistence of Menelaus, and vouchsafed an answer. He was supposed to be the keeper of the fish who inhabit the depths of the sea, and of the other marine animals.
In works of art he generally appears like a Triton, i.e., with body ending in a fish’s tail. He is usually distinguished by a crook.