Oceanus

= = =OCEANUS =

ESPN top seven facts for Oceanus
 * OH-shee-ANN-us
 * The god of Earth's fresh water
 * Married to Tethys
 * Two sons; Potamoi and Okeanides
 * Depicted with bull horns and the tail of a fish
 * Was the ruler of the river Oceanus that encircled Earth
 * One of the twelve Titans

Oceanus (Okeanos) was known to be the Titan god who ruled all of earth's fresh water. He was in control of the rivers, the wells, the springs, and even the rain clouds. He was married to a goddess known as Tethys, the nurse. It was thought that she distributed his water to the earth from caverns. Together they had two sons, Potamoi (the river god), and Okeanides (the nymph of springs and fountains). He was depicted in ancient Greek art as having bull-like horns, and the tail of a fish. During the Hellenistic era, Oceanus was only known as the god of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, and Poseidon covered everything else. The River Oceanus In original Greek mythology, Oceanus was seen as ruler of the river Oceanus. This river was known as surrounding the entire earth, and it was thought that this is where many of the gods have risen from. The river Oceanus was spoken of many times in the poem Iliad, by Homer, //Homer, Iliad 14. 200 ff (trans. Lattimore) (Greek epic C8th B.C.) :// //"[Hera addresses Aphrodite :] Since I go now to the ends of the generous earth on a visit to Okeanos, whence the gods have risen, and Tethys our mother who brought me up kindly in their own house, and cared for me and took me from Rheia, at that time when Zeus of the wide brows drove Kronos underneath the earth and the barren water. I shall go to visit these, and resolve their division of discord, since now for a long time they have stayed apart from each other and from the bed of love, since rancour has entered their feelings. Could I win over with persuasion the dear heart within them and bring them back to their bed to be merged in love with each other I shall be forever called honoured by them, and beloved." (www.theoi.com)// One of the Titans Oceanus was one of the twelve Titans, the others being Tethys,Hyperion, Theia, Coeus, Phoebe, Cronus, Rhea, Mnemosyne, Themis, Crius, and Iapetus. The twelve titans were known as the elder gods, there were six male titans (Titanes), and six female titans (Titanides) Out of the twelve, the ruler was Cronus. They ruled the earth until the Olympians came and overthrew them. Cronus' son Zeus was the one that overthrew them. The Titans were known in Greek mythology as being the gods who ruled during the Golden Age. All of the Titans later gave birth to other Titans, even though they are not the original Titans, they are still known as "Titans." To Read more about Oceanus go to these links... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oceanus http://www.theoi.com/Titan/TitanOkeanos.html [] Cite . 2009. 29 Jan. 2009 . . 2009. 29 Jan. 2009 . . 2009. 29 Jan. 2009 .