Phorcys
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| 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 Man [or 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 subsequently turned into monsters.
In Hellenistic-Roman mosaics, Phorcys was depicted as a fish-tailed merman with crab-claw fore-legs and red-spiked skin.
[edit] Consorts/Children
In Greek mythology, Phorcys was also the name of a Phrygian leader in the Trojan War, a son of Aretaon and brother of Ascanius. Ajax killed him.
[edit] References
- Kerenyi, Karl 1951 (1980). The Gods of the Greeks
[edit] External links
- Theoi Project, Phorcys the sea-god in classical literature and art
