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Tethys is the Titaness (Titan Goddess) of Freshwater in Greek Mythology.

Genealogy and Family[]

Tethys was born the second child and first daughter of Gaia, the Goddess of the Earth and Uranus, God of the Sky. Tethys and her eleven full siblings: Oceanus, Coeus, Phoebe, Hyperion, Theia, Cronus, Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne, Crius and Iapetus are the original Twelve Titans.

Tethys went on to marry her elder brother, Oceanus, the Titan God of the Ocean and the couple had 3,000 daughters, The Oceanids (Saltwater Nymphs) and 3,000 sons, The Potamoi (River Gods) who are classified as second generation Titans. Tethys has many grandchildren; to name a few are The Nereids, The Charites, The Heliades, The Pleiades and The Hyades, Hyas, Athena, Atlas, Prometheus, Epimetheus, Menoetius, Phaethon, Iris and Arke. Tethys is also an ancestor of Hermes, Rhodos, Benthesikyme, Triton, Oiolyka, King Phocus of Aegina, Eidothea and many more.

Stories[]

When Zeus, Poseidon and Hades went off to fight and depose their father Cronus, their sisters Hera, Demeter and Hestia, stayed with Oceanus and Tethys, who took care of and protected the sisters. Hera also remarked whilst travelling to the couple, that she hoped to reconcile Oceanus and Tethys, who were angry with each other and no longer having sexual relations. The only other story involving Tethys is an apparently late astral myth concerning the polar constellation Ursa Major (the Great Bear), which was thought to represent the catasterism of Callisto who was transformed into a bear and placed by Zeus among the stars. The myth explains why the constellation never sets below the horizon, saying that since Callisto had been Zeus's lover, she was forbidden by Tethys from "touching Ocean's deep" out of concern for her foster-child Hera, Zeus's jealous wife.

Claudian wrote that Tethys nursed two of her nephlings in her breast, Helios and Selene, the children of her siblings Hyperion and Theia, during their infancy, when their light was weak and had not yet grown into their older, more luminous selves.

In Ovid's Metamorphoses, Tethys turns Aesacus into a diving bird.

Significance in Ancient Greece[]

As a Titan Goddess, Tethys had no major role in Greek Mythology. She was also not worshipped by the mainstream and had no established cults, she was however depicted in art, in many mosaics decorating baths, pools, and triclinia in the Greek East, particularly in Antioch and its suburbs, either alone or with Oceanus. In mosaics, Tethys appeared as a fair skinned woman, with a voluptuous figure, sporting wide blue eyes and long wavy brown hair.

Trivia[]

Tethys' name derived from τήθη (tethe) meaning "grandmother". Tethys' official Greek name is Τηθυς.

Gallery[]

Mosaic-of-Tethys-and-Oceanus-380x240

3rd Century Turkish Mosaic of Tethys (left) and Oceanus (right)

Tethys-Collecting-the-Sun-380x240

Modern painting of Tethys, depicting the Goddess "collecting the sun"

Tethys-380x240

Modern fine art landscape depicting Tethys.

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