View source for Tethys (mythology)

{{Short description|Ancient Greek mythological figure}}
{{Hatnote|Not to be confused with the sea nymph [[Thetis]], or [[Themis]], the personification of law. For other uses, see [[Tethys (disambiguation)]] or [[Thetis (disambiguation)]].}}
{{Infobox deity
| type         = Greek
| name         = Tethys
| deity_of     = 
| member_of    = the [[Titans]]
| image        = Tethys 83d40m AntakyaMuseum Turkey.JPG
| alt          =
| caption      = Mosaic (detail) of Tethys from [[Antioch]], [[Turkey]], Hatay Archaeology Museum 9095.<ref>''[[Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae|LIMC]]'' [http://ark.dasch.swiss/ark:/72163/080e-740fbd7a0e379-f 7630 (Tethys I (S) 16)].</ref>
| symbol       = Winged brow
| consort      = [[Oceanus]]
| parents      = [[Uranus (mythology)|Uranus]] and [[Gaia]] 
| siblings     = {{Collapsible list
 | title =[[Titans]]
 | bullets = on
 | [[Crius]]
 | [[Cronus]]
 | [[Coeus]]
 | [[Hyperion (mythology)|Hyperion]]
 | [[Iapetus (mythology)|Iapetus]]
 | [[Mnemosyne]]
 | [[Oceanus]]
 | [[Phoebe (Titaness)|Phoebe]]
 | [[Rhea (mythology)|Rhea]]
 | [[Theia]]
 | [[Themis]]
}}
{{Collapsible list
 | title=[[Hecatoncheires]]
 | bullets = on
 | Briareos
 | Cottus
 | Gyges
}}
{{Collapsible list
 | title=[[Cyclopes]]
 | bullets = on
 | [[Arges (Cyclops)|Arges]]
 | Brontes
 | Steropes
}}
{{Collapsible list
| title= Other siblings
| bullets = on
| [[Gigantes]]
| [[Erinyes]] (the Furies)
| [[Meliae]]
}}
{{Collapsible list
| title=[[Half-siblings]]
| bullets = on
| [[Aphrodite]]
| [[Eurybia (mythology)|Eurybia]]
| [[Ceto]]
| [[Nereus]]
| [[Phorcys]]
| [[Pontus (mythology)|Pontus]]
| [[Python (mythology)|Python]]
| [[Thaumas]]
| [[Typhon]]
| [[Uranus (mythology)|Uranus]]
}}
| offspring    = Many [[River gods (Greek mythology)|river gods]] including:
:[[Achelous]], [[Alpheus (deity)|Alpheus]], and [[Scamander]]
Many [[Oceanid]]s including:
:[[Callirrhoe (Oceanid)|Callirhoe]], [[Clymene (wife of Iapetus)|Clymene]], [[Eurynome (Oceanid)|Eurynome]], [[Doris (Oceanid)|Doris]], [[Idyia]], [[Metis (mythology)|Metis]], [[Perse (mythology)|Perseis]], and [[Styx]]
}}
{{Greek deities (water)}}

In [[Greek mythology]], '''Tethys''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|t|iː|θ|ɪ|s|,_|ˈ|t|ɛ|-}}; {{langx|grc|Τηθύς|Tēthýs}}) was a [[Titans|Titan]] daughter of [[Uranus (mythology)|Uranus]] and [[Gaia (mythology)|Gaia]], a sister and wife of the Titan [[Oceanus]], and the mother of the [[River gods (Greek mythology)|river gods]] and the [[Oceanids]]. Although Tethys had no active role in Greek mythology and no established cults,<ref>Burkert, [https://books.google.com/books?id=cIiUL7dWqNIC&pg=PA92 p. 92].</ref> she was depicted in mosaics decorating baths, pools, and [[triclinium|triclinia]] in the [[Greek East]], particularly in [[Antioch]] and its suburbs, either alone or with Oceanus.

==Genealogy==
Tethys was one of the Titan offspring of Uranus (Sky) and Gaia (Earth).<ref>[[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/hesiod-theogony/2018/pb_LCL057.13.xml 126 ff.]; Caldwell, p. 35 line 126-128. Compare with [[Diodorus Siculus]], [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/5D*.html#66 5.66.1–3], which says that the Titans (including Tethys) "were born, as certain writers of myths relate, of Uranus and Gê, but according to others, of one of the [[Korybantes|Curetes]] and Titaea, from whom as their mother they derive the name".</ref> [[Hesiod]] lists her Titan siblings as [[Oceanus]], [[Coeus]], [[Crius]], [[Hyperion (mythology)|Hyperion]], [[Iapetus (mythology)|Iapetus]], [[Theia]], [[Rhea (mythology)|Rhea]], [[Themis]], [[Mnemosyne]], [[Phoebe (Titaness)|Phoebe]], and [[Cronus]].<ref>Apollodorus adds [[Dione (Titaness)|Dione]] to this list, while Diodorus Siculus leaves out Theia.</ref> Tethys married her brother Oceanus, an enormous river encircling the world, and was by him the mother of numerous sons (the [[River gods (Greek mythology)|river gods]]) and numerous daughters (the [[Oceanids]]).<ref>[[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+337 337–370]; [[Homer]], ''[[Iliad]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg001.perseus-eng1:14.193-14.241 200–210], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0134%3Abook%3D14%3Acard%3D270 14.300–304], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0134%3Abook%3D21%3Acard%3D161 21.195–197]; [[Aeschylus]], ''[[Prometheus Bound]]'' 137–138 (Sommerstein, [http://www.loebclassics.com/view/aeschylus-prometheus_bound/2009/pb_LCL145.459.xml pp. 458, 459]), ''[[Seven Against Thebes]]'' 310–311 (Sommerstein, [http://www.loebclassics.com/view/aeschylus-seven_thebes/2009/pb_LCL145.185.xml?rskey=PAw97K&result=1&mainRsKey=7AntI7 pp. 184, 185]); [[Hyginus (Fabulae)|Hyginus]], ''[[Fabulae]]'' Preface (Smith and Trzaskoma, [https://books.google.com/books?id=vczTNMWLGdoC&pg=PA95 p. 95]). For Tethys as mother of the river gods, see also: [[Diodorus Siculus]], [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/4D*.html#69 4.69.1], [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/4D*.html#72 72.1]. For Tethys as mother of the Oceanids, see also: [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:1.2.2 1.2.2]; [[Callimachus]], ''Hymn'' 3.40–45 (Mair, [https://archive.org/stream/callimachuslycop00calluoft#page/62/mode/2up pp. 62, 63]); [[Apollonius of Rhodes]], ''[[Argonautica]]'', 242–244 (Seaton, [https://archive.org/stream/argonautica00apoluoft#page/210/mode/2up pp. 210, 211]). For a discussion of these offspring of Oceanus and Tethys, see Hard, [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&pg=PA40 pp. 40&ndash;43].</ref>

According to Hesiod, there were three thousand (i.e. innumerable) river gods.<ref>Hard, [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&pg=PA40 p. 40]; [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0020.tlg001.perseus-eng1:337-370 364&ndash;368], which says there are "as many" rivers as the "three thousand neat-ankled daughters of Ocean", and at [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0020.tlg001.perseus-eng1:337-370 330&ndash;345], names 25 of these river gods: [[Nilus (mythology)|Nilus]], [[Alpheus (deity)|Alpheus]], [[Eridanos (river of Hades)|Eridanos]], [[Strymon (mythology)|Strymon]], [[Meander (mythology)|Maiandros]], [[Danube|Istros]], [[Phasis (mythology)|Phasis]], Rhesus, [[Achelous]], Nessos, Rhodius, [[Haliacmon]], Heptaporus, [[Biga Çayı|Granicus]], [[Aesepus]], [[Simoeis]], [[Peneus]], [[Hermus]], [[Bakırçay|Caicus]], [[Sangarius (mythology)|Sangarius]], [[Ladon (river)|Ladon]], [[Bartın River|Parthenius]], [[Evenus (mythology)|Evenus]], Aldeskos, and [[Scamander]]. Compare with [[Acusilaus]] [https://books.google.com/books?id=j0nRE4C2WBgC&pg=PA4 fr. 1 Fowler] [= ''[[FGrHist]]'' 2 1 = ''[[Vorsokr.]]'' 9 B 21 = [[Macrobius]], ''[[Saturnalia (Macrobius)|Saturnalia]]'' [https://www-loebclassics-com.ezproxy.bu.edu/view/macrobius-saturnalia/2011/pb_LCL511.425.xml 5.18.9&ndash;10]], which says that from Oceanus and Tethys, "spring three thousand rivers".</ref> These included [[Achelous]], the god of the [[Achelous River]], the largest river in Greece, who gave his daughter in marriage to [[Alcmaeon (mythology)|Alcmaeon]]<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:3.7.5 3.7.5].</ref> and was defeated by [[Heracles]] in a wrestling contest for the right to marry [[Deianira]];<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:1.8.1 1.8.1], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:2.7.5 2.7.5].</ref> [[Alpheus (deity)|Alpheus]], who fell in love with the [[nymph]] [[Arethusa (nymph)|Arethusa]] and pursued her to [[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]], where she was transformed into a spring by [[Artemis]];<ref>Smith, ''s.v.'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aentry%3Dalpheius-bio-1 "Alpheius"].</ref> and [[Scamander]] who fought on the side of the [[Troy|Trojans]] during the [[Trojan War]] and, offended when [[Achilles]] polluted his waters with a large number of Trojan corpses, overflowed his banks nearly drowning Achilles.<ref>[[Homer]], ''[[Iliad]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg001.perseus-eng1:20.54-20.85 20.74], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg001.perseus-eng1:21.200-21.232 21.211 ff.].</ref>

According to Hesiod, there were also three thousand Oceanids.<ref>[[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0020.tlg001.perseus-eng1:337-370 346&ndash;366], which names 41 Oceanids: [[Peitho]], [[Admete (Oceanid)|Admete]], Ianthe, Electra, [[Doris (Oceanid)|Doris]], Prymno, Urania, Hippo, [[Clymene (mythology)|Clymene]], Rhodea, [[Callirrhoe (Oceanid)|Callirhoe]], [[Zeuxo (Greek mythology)|Zeuxo]], [[Clytie (Oceanid)|Clytie]], [[Idyia]], Pasithoe, Plexaura, Galaxaura, [[Dione (Titaness)|Dione]], Melobosis, Thoe, [[Polydora]], Cerceis, [[Plouto (Oceanid)|Plouto]], [[Perse (mythology)|Perseis]], [[Ianeira]], [[Acaste (Oceanid)|Acaste]], Xanthe, Petraea, Menestho, Europa, [[Metis (mythology)|Metis]], [[Eurynome (Oceanid)|Eurynome]], [[Telesto (mythology)|Telesto]], Chryseis, [[Asia (Oceanid)|Asia]], Calypso, Eudora, [[Tyche]], Amphirho, [[Ocyrhoe]], and [[Styx]].</ref> These  included [[Metis (mythology)|Metis]], [[Zeus]]'s first wife, whom Zeus impregnated with [[Athena]] and then swallowed;<ref>[[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+886 886–900]; [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:1.3.6 1.3.6]</ref> [[Eurynome (Oceanid)|Eurynome]], Zeus's third wife, and mother of the [[Charites]];<ref>[[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+907 907–909]; [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:1.3.1 1.3.1]. Other sources give the Charites other parents, see Smith, ''s.v.'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0104%3Aalphabetic+letter%3DC%3Aentry+group%3D19%3Aentry%3Dcharis-bio-1 "Charis"].</ref> [[Doris (Oceanid)|Doris]], the wife of [[Nereus]] and mother of the [[Nereids]];<ref>[[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+240 240–264]; [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:1.2.7 1.2.7].</ref> [[Callirrhoe (Oceanid)|Callirhoe]], the wife of [[Chrysaor]] and mother of [[Geryon]];<ref>[[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+286 286–288]; [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:2.5.10 2.5.10].</ref> [[Clymene (wife of Iapetus)|Clymene]], the wife of Iapetus, and mother of [[Atlas (mythology)|Atlas]], [[Menoetius]], [[Prometheus]], and [[Epimetheus (mythology)|Epimetheus]];<ref>[[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+351 351], however according to [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:1.2.3 1.2.3], another Oceanid, [[Asia (Oceanid)|Asia]] was their mother by Iapetus;</ref> [[Perse (mythology)|Perseis]], wife of [[Helios]] and mother of [[Circe]] and [[Aeëtes|Aeetes]];<ref>[[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+956 956–957]; [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:1.9.1 1.9.1].</ref> [[Idyia]], wife of Aeetes and mother of [[Medea]];<ref>[[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+958 958–962]; [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:1.9.23 1.9.23].</ref> and [[Styx]], goddess of the river Styx, and the wife of [[Pallas (Titan)|Pallas]] and mother of [[Zelus]], [[Nike (mythology)|Nike]], [[Kratos (mythology)|Kratos]], and [[Bia (mythology)|Bia]].<ref>[[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+383 383–385]; [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:1.2.4 1.2.4].</ref>

{{chart top|Tethys's immediate family, according to Hesiod's ''Theogony'' <ref>[[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+132 132&ndash;138], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+337 337&ndash;411], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+453 453&ndash;520], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+901 901&ndash;906, 915&ndash;920]; Caldwell, pp. 8&ndash;11, tables 11&ndash;14.</ref>|collapsed=yes}}
{{tree chart/start}}
{{tree chart|}}
{{tree chart| | | | | | | | | | |URA |y|GAI |~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|y|~|PON|URA=[[Uranus (mythology)|Uranus]]|GAI=[[Gaia (mythology)|Gaia]]|PON=[[Pontus (mythology)|Pontus]]}}
{{tree chart|,|-|v|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|-|v|-|^|-|v|-|-|-|-|-|-|.| | | |!}}
{{tree chart|!|OCE |y|TET | | |COE |y|PHO | | | | |CRI |y|EUR|OCE=[[Oceanus]]|TET='''TETHYS'''|COE=[[Coeus]]|PHO=[[Phoebe (Titaness)|Phoebe]]|CRI=[[Crius]]|EUR=[[Eurybia (mythology)|Eurybia]]}}
{{tree chart|!| |,|-|^|-|.| | | | |,|-|^|-|.| | | | |,|-|-|-|+|-|-|-|.}}
{{tree chart|!|RIV | |OCES | | |LET | |ASTE | | |ASTR | |PAL | |PER | RIV=<small>The&nbsp;[[River gods (Greek mythology)|Rivers]]</small>|OCES=<small>The&nbsp;[[Oceanids]]</small>|LET=[[Leto]]|ASTE=[[Asteria]]|ASTR=[[Astraeus]]|PAL=[[Pallas (Titan)|Pallas]]|PER=[[Perses (Titan)|Perses]]}}
{{tree chart|!| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |}}
{{tree chart|)|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|.| | | | }}
{{tree chart|!| | |HYP |y|THE | | | | | | | | | |IAP |y|CLY |HYP=[[Hyperion (mythology)|Hyperion]]|THE=[[Theia]]|IAP=[[Iapetus (mythology)|Iapetus]]|CLY=[[Clymene (wife of Iapetus)|Clymene]]&nbsp;<ref>One of the [[Oceanid]] daughters of Oceanus and Tethys, at [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+351 351]. However, according to [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022%3Atext%3DLibrary%3Abook%3D1%3Achapter%3D2%3Asection%3D3 1.2.3], a different Oceanid, Asia was the mother, by Iapetus, of Atlas, Menoetius, Prometheus, and Epimetheus.</ref>}}
{{tree chart|!| |,|-|-|-|+|-|-|-|.| | | | | |,|-|-|-|v|-|^|-|v|-|-|-|.}}
{{tree chart|!|HEL | |SEL | |EOS | | | |ATL | |MEN | |PRO | |EPI | |HEL=[[Helios]]|SEL=[[Selene]]&nbsp;<ref>Although usually, as here, the daughter of Hyperion and Theia, in the ''[[Homeric Hymns|Homeric Hymn]] to Hermes'' (4), [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=HH+4+99&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0138 99&ndash;100], Selene is instead made the daughter of Pallas the son of Megamedes.</ref>|EOS=[[Eos]]|ATL=[[Atlas (mythology)|Atlas]]&nbsp;<ref>According to [[Plato]], ''[[Critias (dialogue)|Critias]]'', [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0059.tlg032.perseus-eng1:113d 113d&ndash;114a], Atlas was the son of [[Poseidon]] and the mortal [[Cleito]].</ref>|MEN=[[Menoetius (Greek mythology)|Menoetius]]|PRO=[[Prometheus]]&nbsp;<ref>In [[Aeschylus]], ''[[Prometheus Bound]]'' 18, 211, 873 (Sommerstein, pp. [http://www.loebclassics.com/view/aeschylus-prometheus_bound/2009/pb_LCL145.445.xml 444&ndash;445 n. 2], [http://www.loebclassics.com/view/aeschylus-prometheus_bound/2009/pb_LCL145.467.xml 446&ndash;447 n. 24], [http://www.loebclassics.com/view/aeschylus-prometheus_bound/2009/pb_LCL145.539.xml 538&ndash;539 n. 113]) Prometheus is made to be the son of [[Themis]].</ref>|EPI=[[Epimetheus (mythology)|Epimetheus]]}}
{{tree chart|!| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |}}
{{tree chart|)|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|.|}}
{{tree chart|!| | | | | | | | | |CRO |y|RHE | | | | | | | |CRO=[[Cronus]]|RHE=[[Rhea (mythology)|Rhea]]}}
{{tree chart|!| | |,|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|v|-|^|-|v|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|.|}}
{{tree chart|!| |HES | |DEM | |HER | |HAD | |POS | |ZEU | |HES=[[Hestia]]|DEM=[[Demeter]]|HER=[[Hera]]|HAD=[[Hades]]|POS=[[Poseidon]]|ZEU=[[Zeus]]}}
{{tree chart|!| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |}}
{{tree chart|`|-|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|.}}
{{tree chart| | | | |THE |~|~|y|~|~|ZEU |~|~|y|~|~|MNE |THE=[[Themis]]|ZEU=(Zeus)|MNE=[[Mnemosyne]]}}
{{tree chart| | | | | | | |,|-|^|-|.| | | | | |!}}
{{tree chart| | | | | | |HOR | |MOR | | | |MUS |HOR=<small>The&nbsp;[[Horae]]</small>|MOR=<small>The&nbsp;[[Moirai]]</small> <ref>Although, at [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Hes.+Th.+217 217], the Moirai are said to be the daughters of [[Nyx]] (Night).</ref>|MUS=<small>The&nbsp;[[Muse]]s</small>}}
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===Primeval mother===
Passages in book 14 of the  ''[[Iliad]]'', called the [[Deception of Zeus]], suggest the possibility that [[Homer]] knew a tradition in which Oceanus and Tethys (rather than Uranus and Gaia, as in Hesiod) were the primeval parents of the gods.<ref>Fowler 2013, pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=scd8AQAAQBAJ&pg=PA8 8], [https://books.google.com/books?id=scd8AQAAQBAJ&pg=PA11 11]; Hard, [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&pg=PA36 pp. 36–37], [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&pg=PA40 p. 40]; West 1997, p. 147; Gantz, p. 11; Burkert 1995, [https://books.google.com/books?id=cIiUL7dWqNIC&pg=PA91 pp. 91–92]; West 1983, pp. 119&ndash;120.</ref> Twice Homer has [[Hera]] describe the pair as "Oceanus, from whom the gods are sprung, and mother Tethys".<ref>[[Homer]], ''[[Iliad]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg001.perseus-eng1:14.193-14.241 14.201], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0134%3Abook%3D14%3Acard%3D270 302] [= 201].</ref> According to [[Martin Litchfield West|M. L. West]], these lines suggests a myth in which Oceanus and Tethys are the "first parents of the whole race of gods."<ref>West 1997, p. 147.</ref> However, as [[Timothy Gantz]] points out, "mother" could simply refer to the fact that Tethys was Hera's foster mother for a time, as Hera tells us in the lines immediately following, while the reference to Oceanus as the genesis of the gods "might be simply a formulaic epithet indicating the numberless rivers and springs descended from Okeanos" (compare with ''Iliad'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0134%3Abook%3D21%3Acard%3D161 21.195–197]).<ref>Gantz, p. 11.</ref> But, in a later ''Iliad'' passage, [[Hypnos]] also describes Oceanus as "''genesis'' for all", which, according to Gantz, is hard to understand as meaning other than that, for Homer, Oceanus was the father of the Titans.<ref>Gantz, p. 11; [[Homer]], ''[[Iliad]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg001.perseus-eng1:14.242-14.269 14.245].</ref>

[[Plato]], in his ''[[Timaeus (dialogue)|Timaeus]]'', provides a genealogy (probably [[Orphic]]) which perhaps reflected an attempt to reconcile this apparent divergence between Homer and Hesiod, in which Uranus and Gaia are the parents of Oceanus and Tethys, and Oceanus and Tethys are the parents of Cronus and Rhea and the other Titans, as well as [[Phorcys]].<ref>Gantz, pp. 11–12; West 1983, pp. 117&ndash;118;  Fowler 2013, [https://books.google.com/books?id=scd8AQAAQBAJ&pg=PA11 p. 11]; [[Plato]], ''[[Timaeus (dialogue)|Timaeus]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text;jsessionid=4DAC0911EDDE8F410A4FED46380ED2C0?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0180%3Atext%3DTim.%3Asection%3D40d 40d–e].</ref> In his  ''[[Cratylus (dialogue)|Cratylus]]'', Plato quotes Orpheus as saying that Oceanus and Tethys were "the first to marry", possibly also reflecting an Orphic theogony in which Oceanus and Tethys&mdash;rather than Uranus and Gaia&mdash;were the primeval parents.<ref>West 1983, pp. 118&ndash;120; Fowler 2013, [https://books.google.com/books?id=scd8AQAAQBAJ&pg=PA11 p. 11]; [[Plato]], ''[[Cratylus (dialogue)|Cratylus]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0059.tlg005.perseus-eng1:402b 402b] [= Orphic [https://archive.org/stream/orphicorumfragme00orphuoft#page/86/mode/2up fr. 15 Kern]].</ref> Plato's apparent inclusion of Phorkys as a Titan (being the brother of Cronus and Rhea), and the mythographer [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]]'s inclusion of [[Dione (Titaness)|Dione]], the mother of [[Aphrodite]] by Zeus, as a thirteenth Titan,<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:1.1.3 1.1.3], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1:1.3 1.3.1].</ref> suggests an Orphic tradition in which Hesiod's twelve Titans were the offspring of Oceanus and Tethys, with Phorkys and Dione taking the place of Oceanus and Tethys.<ref>Gantz, p. 743.</ref>

According to [[Epimenides]], the first two beings, [[Nyx|Night]] and Aer, produced [[Tartarus]], who in turn produced two Titans (possibly Oceanus and Tethys) from whom came the [[world egg]].<ref>Fowler 2013, [https://books.google.com/books?id=scd8AQAAQBAJ&pg=PA7 pp. 7&ndash;8].</ref>

==Mythology==
[[File:Tethys mosaic 83d40m Phillopolis mid4th century -p2fx.2.jpg|left|thumb|170x170px|Mosaic (detail) of Tethys, from Philipopolis (modern [[Shahba]], [[Syria]]), fourth-century AD, Shahba Museum.<ref>''[[Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae|LIMC]]'' [http://ark.dasch.swiss/ark:/72163/080e-74107f73d1542-a 7683 (Tethys I (S) 10)].</ref>]]Tethys played no active part in Greek mythology. The only early story concerning Tethys is what Homer has [[Hera]] briefly relate in the ''[[Iliad]]''{{'}}s [[Deception of Zeus]] passage.<ref>Gantz, p. 28: "For Tethys, there are no myths at all, save for Hera's comment in the ''Iliad'' that she was given by Rhea to Tethys to raise when Zeus was deposing Kronos"; Burkert, [https://books.google.com/books?id=cIiUL7dWqNIC&pg=PA92 p. 92]: "Tethys is in no way an active figure in Greek mythology"; West 1997, p. 147: "In early poetry she is merely an inactive mythological figure who lives with Oceanus and has borne his children."</ref> There, Hera says that when [[Zeus]] was in the process of deposing [[Cronus]], she was given by her mother [[Rhea (mythology)|Rhea]] to Tethys and Oceanus for safekeeping and that they "lovingly nursed and cherished me in their halls".<ref>[[Homer]], ''[[Iliad]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg001.perseus-eng1:14.193-14.241 14.201–204].</ref> Hera relates this while dissembling that she is on her way to visit Oceanus and Tethys in the hopes of reconciling her foster parents, who are angry with each other and are no longer having sexual relations.

Originally Oceanus's consort, at a later time Tethys came to be identified with the sea, and in Hellenistic and Roman poetry Tethys's name came to be used as a poetic term for the sea.<ref>West 1966, p. 204 '''136. Τῃθύν'''; West 1997, p. 147;  Hard, [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&pg=PA40 p. 40]; Matthews, [https://books.google.com/books?id=KthVwwtvGpsC&pg=PA199 p. 199]. According to Matthews the "[[metonymy]] 'Tethys' = 'sea' seems to occur first in Hellenistic poetry", see for example [[Lycophron]], ''Alexandria'' 1069 1069 ([https://archive.org/stream/callimachuslycop00calluoft#page/582/mode/2up Mair, pp. 582–583])), becoming a frequent occurrence in Latin poetry, for example appearing nine times in [[Lucan]].</ref>

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 (mythology)|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.<ref>Hard, [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&pg=PA40 p. 40]; [[Hyginus (Fabulae)|Hyginus]], ''[[Fabulae]]'' 177; ''[[De astronomica|Astronomica]]'' [http://www.theoi.com/Text/HyginusAstronomica.html 2.1]; [[Ovid]], ''[[Fasti (poem)|Fasti]]'' 2.191–192 (Frazer, [https://archive.org/stream/ovidsfasti00oviduoft#page/70/mode/2up pp. 70, 71]); ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0028%3Abook%3D2%3Acard%3D466 2.508–530].</ref>

[[Claudian]] wrote that Tethys nursed two of her nephlings in her breast, [[Helios]] and [[Selene]], the children of her siblings [[Hyperion (Titan)|Hyperion]] and [[Theia]], during their infancy, when their light was weak and had not yet grown into their older, more luminous selves.<ref>[[Claudian]], ''Rape of Persephone'' [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Claudian/De_Raptu_Proserpinae/2*.html#p323 Book II]</ref>

In [[Ovid]]'s ''[[Metamorphoses]]'', Tethys turns [[Aesacus]] into a [[diving bird]].<ref>[[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.02.0028%3Abook%3D11%3Acard%3D749 11.784–795].</ref>

Tethys was sometimes confused with another sea goddess, the sea-nymph [[Thetis]], wife of [[Peleus]] and mother of [[Achilles]].<ref>This happened "even in antiquity", according to Burkert, [https://books.google.com/books?id=cIiUL7dWqNIC&pg=PA92 p. 92].</ref>

== Tethys as Tiamat ==
[[Martin Litchfield West|M. L. West]] detects in the ''[[Iliad]]'''s [[Deception of Zeus]] passage an allusion to a possible archaic myth "according to which [Tethys] was the mother of the gods, long estranged from her husband," speculating that the estrangement might refer to a separation of "the upper and lower waters ... corresponding to that of heaven and earth," which parallels the story of "[[Abzu|Apsū]] and [[Tiamat]] in the [[Babylonian religion|Babylonian cosmology]], the male and female waters, which were originally united ([[Enûma Eliš|En. El.]] I. 1 ff.)," but that, "By Hesiod's time the myth may have been almost forgotten and Tethys remembered only as the name of Oceanus' wife."<ref>West 1966, p. 204; see also West 1983, pp. 120&ndash;121.</ref> This possible correspondence between Oceanus and Tethys, and Apsū and Tiamat has been noticed by several authors, with Tethys's name possibly having been derived from that of Tiamat.<ref>West 1997, pp. 147–148; Burkert, [https://books.google.com/books?id=cIiUL7dWqNIC&pg=PA91 pp. 91–93]. For a discussion of the possibility of oriental sources for the Illiad's Deception of Zeus passage, see Budelmann and Haubold, [https://books.google.com/books?id=Qwvwoht2HA8C&pg=PA20 pp. 20–22].</ref>

==Iconography==
[[File:Okeanos London 1971.11-1.1.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|right|Detail of Tethys attending the wedding of Peleus and Thetis on an [[Black-figure pottery#Attica|Attic black-figure]] [[dinos]] by [[Sophilos]], c. 600&ndash;550 BC, [[British Museum]] 971.11–1.1.<ref>''[[Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae|LIMC]]'' [http://ark.dasch.swiss/ark:/72163/080e-73ff7fcf74949-a 6487 (Tethys I (S) 1)]; [[Beazley Archive]] [http://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/record/6A8CA1F1-9682-4D63-B3FB-8989AC4BF9DD 350099]; Avi [https://www.avi.unibas.ch/DB/searchform.html?ID=4924 4748].</ref>]]


Representations of Tethys before the Roman period are rare.<ref>For a discussion of Tethy's iconography see Jentel, pp. 1193–1195.</ref>
Tethys appears, identified by inscription (ΘΕΘΥΣ), as part of an illustration of the wedding of [[Peleus]] and [[Thetis]] on the early sixth-century BC [[Black-figure pottery#Attica|Attic black-figure]] "Erskine" [[dinos]] by [[Sophilos]] ([[British Museum]] 1971.111–1.1).<ref>''[[Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae|LIMC]]'' [http://ark.dasch.swiss/ark:/72163/080e-73ff7fcf74949-a 6487 (Tethys I (S) 1)]; [[Beazley Archive]] [http://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/record/6A8CA1F1-9682-4D63-B3FB-8989AC4BF9DD 350099]; Avi [https://www.avi.unibas.ch/DB/searchform.html?ID=4924 4748]; Gantz, pp. 28, 229&ndash;230; Burkert, [https://books.google.com/books?id=cIiUL7dWqNIC&pg=PA202 p. 202]; Williams, pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=exArAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA27 27 fig. 34], [https://books.google.com/books?id=exArAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA29 29], [https://books.google.com/books?id=exArAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA31 31–32]; Perseus: [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/artifact?name=London+1971.11-1.1&object=vase London 1971.11–1.1 (Vase)]; [[British Museum]] [https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?objectId=399358&partId=1&searchText=Tethys&page=1 1971,1101.1].</ref> Accompanied by [[Eileithyia]], the goddess of childbirth, Tethys follows close behind Oceanus at the end of a procession of gods invited to the wedding. Tethys is also conjectured to be represented in a similar illustration of the wedding  of Peleus and Thetis depicted on the  early sixth-century BC Attic black-figure [[François Vase]] (Florence 4209).<ref>''[[Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae|LIMC]]'' [http://ark.dasch.swiss/ark:/72163/080e-73ba21e3def85-9 1602 (Okeanos 3)]; [[Beazley Archive]] [http://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/record/35ACBA5B-7FF1-4572-BA34-6AC260F62A33 300000]; Perseus [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/artifact?name=Florence+4209&object=vase Florence 4209 (Vase)]. The identification as Tethys is accepted by Beazley, [https://books.google.com/books?id=rrhKNJaNBgAC&pg=PA27 p. 27], and Gantz, p. 28, but found "unconvincing" by Carpenter [https://books.google.com/books?id=iH_WAAAAMAAJ&q=François+Vase+Tethys p. 6]. This vase is unremarked upon by Jentel, who says that the Sophilos dinos Tethys (''LIMC'' Tethys I (S) 1) is the "seule representation de [Tethys] à l'époque archaique".</ref> Tethys probably also appeared as one of the gods fighting the [[Giants (Greek mythology)|Giants]] in the [[Gigantomachy]] frieze of the second-century BC [[Pergamon Altar]].<ref>''[[Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae|LIMC]]'' [http://ark.dasch.swiss/ark:/72163/080e-73ac4ebff2462-9 617 (Tethys I (S) 2)]; Jentel, p. 1195; Queyrel, p. 67; Pollitt, [https://books.google.com/books?id=vt9JwsNcKzwC&pg=PA96 p. 96].</ref> Only fragments of the figure remain: a part of a [[Chiton (costume)|chiton]] below Oceanus's left arm and a hand clutching a large tree branch visible behind Oceanus's head.

[[File:Antakya Arkeoloji Muzesi 02366 nevit.jpg|thumb|left|203x203px|Mosaic (detail) of Tethys and Oceanus, excavated from the House of Menander, Daphne (modern [[Harbiye, Antakya|Harbiye]], [[Turkey]]), third century AD, [[Hatay Archaeology Museum]] 1013.<ref>''[[Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae|LIMC]]'' [http://ark.dasch.swiss/ark:/72163/080e-73ace4ce710ef-4 659 (Tethys I (S) 15)].</ref>]]

During the second to fourth centuries AD, Tethys&mdash;sometimes with Oceanus, sometimes alone&mdash;became a relatively frequent feature of mosaics decorating baths, pools, and [[triclinium|triclinia]] in the [[Greek East]], particularly in [[Antioch]] and its suburbs.<ref>For a discussion of this group of mosaics, see Jentel, 1194–1195, which lists 15 Roman period Tethys mosaics (Tethys I (S) 3–17), and Wages, pp. 119–128. [[Doro Levi]] identified the sea goddess in the Antioch mosaics as Thetis, however according to Wages, p. 126, "Neither the inscriptions nor the attributes in this group of mosaics support Doro Levi's identification". See also Kondoleon, p. 152 with p. 153 n. 2, which, in discussing one of these mosaics ([[Baltimore Museum of Art]] 1937.118, see below), says that "although the Baltimore goddess does not have any other attributes or label, she is convincingly identified as Tethys" saying further (in the note) that "Levi identified her as Thetis without much evidence, but Wages makes a good argument for identifying her as Tethys". Jentel identifies these mosaics as Tethys, while noting, p. 1195, that "Dès l'Antiquité et encore actuellement, certains auteurs ont confound [Tethys] avec la Néréeid Thetis."</ref>  Her identifying attributes are wings sprouting from her forehead, a rudder/oar, and  a ''[[Cetus (mythology)|ketos]]'', a creature from Greek mythology with the head of a dragon and the body of a snake.<ref>Jentel, p. 1195; Wages, p. 125.</ref> The earliest of these mosaics, identified as Tethys, decorated a triclinium overlooking a pool, excavated from the House of the Calendar in Antioch, dated to shortly after AD 115 ([[Hatay Archaeology Museum]] 850).<ref>''[[Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae|LIMC]]'' [http://ark.dasch.swiss/ark:/72163/080e-73adf3a3ebbe1-e 735 (Tethys I (S) 5)]; Wages, pp. 120–124, fig. 2, p. 127; [[Hatay Archaeology Museum]] [http://www.hatayarkeolojimuzesi.gov.tr/HatayMuzeWeb/faces/jsp/layouts/inventoryCollectionDetail.jsp?inventoryid=3758&Lang=en 850] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160815073740/http://www.hatayarkeolojimuzesi.gov.tr/HatayMuzeWeb/faces/jsp/layouts/inventoryCollectionDetail.jsp?inventoryid=3758&Lang=en |date=2016-08-15 }}; Campbell 1988, [https://books.google.com/books?id=EFnxuUwINSQC&pg=PA60 pp. 60–61] (identified as Thetis).</ref> Tethys, reclining on the left, with Oceanus reclining on the right, has long hair, a winged forehead, and is nude to the waist with draped legs. A ''ketos'' twines around her raised right arm. Other mosaics of Tethys with Oceanus include [[Hatay Archaeology Museum]] 1013 (from the House of Menander, [[Harbiye, Antakya|Daphne]]),<ref>''[[Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae|LIMC]]'' [http://ark.dasch.swiss/ark:/72163/080e-73ace4ce710ef-4 659 (Tethys I (S) 15)]; Wages, p. 123 n. 24, fig. 8, p. 127; [[Hatay Archaeology Museum]] [http://www.hatayarkeolojimuzesi.gov.tr/HatayMuzeWeb/faces/jsp/layouts/inventoryCollectionDetail.jsp?inventoryid=3789&Lang=en 1013] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160815062815/http://www.hatayarkeolojimuzesi.gov.tr/HatayMuzeWeb/faces/jsp/layouts/inventoryCollectionDetail.jsp?inventoryid=3789&Lang=en |date=2016-08-15 }}.</ref> Hatay Archaeology Museum 9095,<ref>''[[Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae|LIMC]]'' [http://ark.dasch.swiss/ark:/72163/080e-740fbd7a0e379-f 7630 (Tethys I (S) 16)]; [[Hatay Archaeology Museum]] [http://www.hatayarkeolojimuzesi.gov.tr/HatayMuzeWeb/faces/jsp/layouts/inventoryCollectionDetail.jsp?inventoryid=3797&Lang=en 9095] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160815074916/http://www.hatayarkeolojimuzesi.gov.tr/HatayMuzeWeb/faces/jsp/layouts/inventoryCollectionDetail.jsp?inventoryid=3797&Lang=en |date=2016-08-15 }}.</ref> and [[Baltimore Museum of Art]] 1937.126 (from the House of the Boat of Psyches: triclinium).<ref>''[[Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae|LIMC]]'' [http://ark.dasch.swiss/ark:/72163/080e-73acec2051c79-d 661 (Tethys I (S) 17)]; Wages, p. 127; [[Baltimore Museum of Art]] [http://collection.artbma.org/emuseum/view/objects/asitem/items@:24814 1937.126] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817124306/http://collection.artbma.org/emuseum/view/objects/asitem/items@:24814 |date=2016-08-17 }}.</ref>

In other mosaics, Tethys appears without Oceanus. One of these is a fourth-century AD mosaic from a pool (probably a public bath) found at [[Antioch]], now installed in [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]] at the [[Harvard Business School]]'s Morgan Hall and formerly at [[Dumbarton Oaks]], [[Washington, D.C.]] (Dumbarton Oaks 76.43).<ref>''[[Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae|LIMC]]'' Tethys I (S) 7; Wages, 119–128; Jentel, p. 1195; Campbell 1988, [https://books.google.com/books?id=EFnxuUwINSQC&pg=PA49 p. 49].</ref> Besides the Sophilos dinos, this is the only other representation of Tethys identified by inscription. Here Tethys, with a winged forehead, rises from the sea bare-shouldered, with long dark hair parted in the middle. A golden rudder rests against her right shoulder. Others include Hatay Archaeology Museum 9097,<ref>[http://ark.dasch.swiss/ark:/72163/080e-740f98e0aa9c7-5 7916 (Tethys I (S) 3*)]; Wages, pp. 125, 128; Eraslan, p. 458; [[Hatay Archaeology Museum]] [http://www.hatayarkeolojimuzesi.gov.tr/HatayMuzeWeb/faces/jsp/layouts/inventoryCollectionDetail.jsp?inventoryid=3798&Lang=en 9097] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160815061855/http://www.hatayarkeolojimuzesi.gov.tr/HatayMuzeWeb/faces/jsp/layouts/inventoryCollectionDetail.jsp?inventoryid=3798&Lang=en |date=2016-08-15 }}.</ref> Shahba Museum (''in situ''),<ref>''[[Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae|LIMC]]'' [http://ark.dasch.swiss/ark:/72163/080e-74107f73d1542-a 7683 (Tethys I (S) 10)]; Wages, p. 122, fig. 7, p. 125; Dunabin, [https://books.google.com/books?id=U7Uu_Dq8oY4C&pg=PA166 p. 166].</ref> Baltimore Museum of Art 1937.118 (from the House of the Boat of Psyches: Room six),<ref>''[[Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae|LIMC]]'' [http://ark.dasch.swiss/ark:/72163/080e-740fb27f3d22a-5 7627 (Tethys I (S) 11)]; Kondoleon, pp. 38–39; Wages, pp. 120–121, figs. 3, 4, p. 127; [[Baltimore Museum of Art]] [http://collection.artbma.org/emuseum/view/objects/asitem/items@:24806 1937.118] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160817103935/http://collection.artbma.org/emuseum/view/objects/asitem/items@:24806 |date=2016-08-17 }}.</ref> and [[Memorial Art Gallery]] 42.2.<ref>''[[Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae|LIMC]]'' [http://ark.dasch.swiss/ark:/72163/080e-740fb6282d7ef-4 7628 (Tethys I (S) 12*)]; Wages, p. 127; [[Memorial Art Gallery]] [http://magart.rochester.edu/Obj8127 42.2].</ref>

Toward the end of the period represented by these mosaics, Tethys's iconography appears to merge with that of another sea goddess [[Thalassa (mythology)|Thalassa]], the Greek personification of the sea (''thalassa'' being the Greek word for the sea).<ref>Wages, pp. 124–126; Jentel, p. 1195; Cahn, p. 1199; Campbell 1998, [https://books.google.com/books?id=DptYe9BmfykC&pg=PA20 p. 20].</ref> Such a transformation would be consistent with the frequent use of Tethys's name as a poetic reference to the sea in Roman poetry (see above).

==Modern use of the name==
[[Tethys (moon)|Tethys]], a moon of the planet [[Saturn]], and the prehistoric [[Tethys Ocean]] are named after this goddess. <!--In the popular video game [[World of Warcraft]], a low-level, [[Alliance]]-side quest urges players to prove themselves to a sea-monster named Tethys. -->

==Notes==
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{{Reflist|30em}}

==References==
* [[Aeschylus]](?), ''[[Prometheus Bound]]'' in ''Aeschylus, with an English translation by Herbert Weir Smyth, Ph. D. in two volumes.'' Vol 2. Cambridge, Massachusetts, [[Harvard University Press]]. 1926. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text;jsessionid=4995E0C297BD54D0B2C116B6EB6720BF?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0010%3Acard%3D1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
* [[Aeschylus]], ''Persians. Seven against Thebes. Suppliants. Prometheus Bound.'' Edited and translated by Alan H. Sommerstein. [[Loeb Classical Library]] No. 145. Cambridge, Massachusetts: [[Harvard University Press]], 2009. {{ISBN|978-0-674-99627-4}}. [http://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL145/2009/volume.xml Online version at Harvard University Press].
* [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], ''Apollodorus, The Library, with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes.'' Cambridge, Massachusetts, [[Harvard University Press]]; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0548.tlg001.perseus-eng1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
* [[Apollonius of Rhodes]], ''Apollonius Rhodius: the Argonautica'', translated by Robert Cooper Seaton, W. Heinemann, 1912. [https://archive.org/stream/argonautica00apoluoft#page/n5/mode/2up Internet Archive].
* Beazley, John Davidson, ''The Development of Attic Black-figure, Volume 24'', University of California Press, 1951. {{ISBN|9780520055933}}.
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* [[Homeric Hymns|''Homeric Hymn to Hermes (4)'']], in ''The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White'', Cambridge, Massachusetts., [[Harvard University Press]]; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. [http://data.perseus.org/texts/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0013.tlg004.perseus-eng1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
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== External links ==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://www.theoi.com/Titan/TitanisTethys.html TETHYS from The Theoi Project]
* [https://www.greekmythology.com/Titans/Tethys/tethys.html TETHYS from greekmythology.com]
* [https://mythopedia.com/topics/tethys TETHYS from Mythopedia]

{{Greek mythology (deities)}}
{{Greek religion}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Titans (mythology)]]
[[Category:Greek sea goddesses]]
[[Category:Sea and river goddesses]]
[[Category:Children of Gaia]]
[[Category:Deities in the Iliad]]
[[Category:Metamorphoses characters]]
[[Category:Helios in mythology]]
[[Category:Tiamat]]