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Classical Mythology Greek and Roman myths, gods, heroes, and epic tales Norse Mythology Vikings, Asgard, Ragnarok, and the nine realms Celtic Mythology Irish, Welsh, and Gaelic legends and folklore Arthurian Legends King Arthur, Camelot, the Round Table, and the Holy Grail Egyptian Mythology Pharaohs, pyramids, and ancient Nile deities Japanese Mythology Shinto gods, spirits, and legendary creatures Chinese Mythology Dragons, immortals, and celestial beings Aztec Mythology Mesoamerican gods, rituals, and creation myths Ancient Literature Classical texts, translations, and literary analysis
Greek Gods The Olympians, Titans, and primordial deities Roman Gods Jupiter, Mars, Venus, and the Roman pantheon Norse Gods Odin, Thor, Loki, and the Aesir and Vanir Egyptian Gods Ra, Osiris, Isis, Anubis, and more Celtic Gods The Tuatha Dé Danann and Celtic deities Aztec Gods Quetzalcoatl, Tezcatlipoca, and Aztec deities Japanese Gods Amaterasu, Susanoo, and Shinto kami Chinese Gods Jade Emperor, Dragon Kings, and celestial beings View All 150+ Deities Browse the complete collection of mythological deities View all gods & deities
All Stories Browse 800+ mythology and history stories Characters Profiles of 67 mythological heroes, gods, and villains Mythology Stories Ancient myths and legends retold History Stories Historical tales from ancient civilizations Religion & Culture Religious traditions and cultural beliefs View all stories
Name Generators Generate fantasy and mythology-inspired names All Articles Browse 1,800+ articles on mythology and history About Timeless Myths Learn about this mythology resource Bibliography Sources and references used on this site FAQ Frequently asked questions Contact Get in touch with us
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  1. Classical Mythology
    Pantheon Heroic Age Royal Houses Geographia Facts & Figures Genealogy Bibliography About Classical Myths
  2. Pantheon
    Creation Primeval Deities Titans Olympians Mother Goddesses House of Hades Thracian Deities Anatolian Deities Nymphs Minor Greek Deities Etruscan Deities Roman Deities The Wrath of Heaven Mysteries
  3. Primeval Deities
    Chaos Nyx (Night) Erebus (Darkness) Tartarus Aether Hemera Eros (Cupid) Gaea (Earth) Uranus (Sky) Pontus (Sea) Nereus Phorcys Eurybia Demiurge Oceanus Eurynome Ophion Chronus (Time) Adrasteia Protogonus (Phanes)
  4. Oceanus
    Oceanus

Oceanus

According to Homer and Apollonius of Rhodes, Oceanus wasn't a Titan like in Hesiod's Theogony. Rather, he was primeval Ocean. See also the Titans, Oceanus.

According to Homer, the gods arose from Oceanus and Tethys. Like Hesiod, the river Ocean (or Oceanus) surrounded the flat disk of the Earth (Gaea). The river Oceanus was the outer limit of the universe where the sun didn't shine. See Homeric Creation.

According to Apollonius, Oceanus was possibly the father of the Creator Goddess Eurynome. Either Eurynome self-created herself by springing out of the Ocean, or he actually fathered her. See also Eurynome and Ophion in the Creation page.

The historian, Diodorus Siculus, wrote:

For I go to see the ends of the bountiful earth,
Oceanus source of the gods and Tethys divine
Their mother.

Though there are no actual myths about Oceanus being a Creator god other than brief references scattered throughout the ancient sources, so we can only guess of his importance in the Creation myths.

Related Information

Name

Oceanus, Okeanos, Ocean, Ὠκανωός.

Related Articles

See also the Titan Oceanus.

Tethys, Eurynome.

Jimmy Joe Timeless Myths

By Jimmy Joe

Primeval Deities:

  • • Chaos
  • • Nyx (Night)
  • • Erebus (Darkness)
  • • Tartarus
  • • Aether
  • • Hemera
  • • Eros (Cupid)
  • • Gaea (Earth)
  • • Uranus (Sky)
  • • Pontus (Sea)
  • • Nereus
  • • Phorcys
  • • Eurybia
  • • Demiurge
  • • Oceanus
  • • Eurynome
  • • Ophion
  • • Chronus (Time)
  • • Adrasteia
  • • Protogonus (Phanes)
Oceanus

Oceanus

Titan and god of the river Oceanus (Ocean). Oceanus was the eldest son of Uranus and Gaea. The river Oceanus was said to flow in a circular stream around the earth, which was conceived of as a flat disk. Oceanus married his sister Tethys. All of h...

April 19th, 1999 • Jimmy Joe
Oceanus

Oceanus

Oceanus: The Procreating Pacifist Titan God of Water Oceanus ,Titan god of the sea, existed long before Poseidon. During the great war between the new Olympian gods and the Titans, he remained neutral, so he wasn’t punished with imprisonment. Stil...

April 2nd, 2002 • Timeless Myths
Eurynome

Eurynome

The Goddess of All Things. Eurynome was the mother goddess and ultimate Creator goddess. Eurynome was possibly also a sun and moon goddess. According to Apollonius of Rhodes, he wrote in the Argonautica that the first being was the goddess Eurynom...

April 19th, 1999 • Jimmy Joe
Tethys

Tethys

Titaness of the sea. Tethys was the daughter of Uranus and Gaea. She married her brother Oceanus. She became the mother of all the river gods. She is said to have borne three thousand daughters, known as the Oceanids. The eldest daughter was Styx,...

April 19th, 1999 • Jimmy Joe
Eurynome

Eurynome

Eurynome (Εὐρυνόμη) was the daughter of Oceanus and Tethys; she was one of the 3000 Oceanids. By Zeus, Eurynome was the mother of the Graces, and possibly of Asopus, the river god in Sicyon. However, Asopus was usually referred to as her brother, ...

August 31st, 2002 • Jimmy Joe
Eurynome and Ophion

Eurynome and Ophion

Apollonius Rhodius described a creation myth that was very different from that of Hesiod's Theogony. Apollonius' account is very short and rather sketchy. Apollonius began the myth as one of the songs sang by Orpheus (Ὀρφεύς) after the departure o...

April 9th, 1999 • Jimmy Joe
Homeric Creation

Homeric Creation

In the Iliad, Homer only briefly alluded to the creation. Hera seduced Zeus at Mount Ida in the hope of turning the tide against the Trojans by lulling her husband to sleep. To seduce Zeus, Hera required aid from other gods. First, she sought aid ...

April 9th, 1999 • Jimmy Joe
Cosmogony of Diodorus Siculus

Cosmogony of Diodorus Siculus

According to the 1st century BC historian Diodorus Siculus, Oceanus and Tethys were the source of all gods. To Diodorus, Uranus was the first king, and not really a god at all. Uranus was the first to gather people together into the first walled c...

April 9th, 1999 • Jimmy Joe
Tethys

Tethys

Tethys: Spirit of Water and Mother of Thousands Tethys, Titan of flowing water, was one of the more obscure first-generation Titans in Greek mythology. She didn’t play much of an active role in many myths, but she is remembered for her impressive ...

April 2nd, 2002 • Timeless Myths
Oceanids

Oceanids

The Oceanids were daughters of Oceanus and Tethys. There were three thousand daughters of the Titans. Oceanus also had an equal number of sons who were all river gods. Being an Oceanid didn't necessarily mean that the nymph was a water deity. The ...

August 31st, 2002 • Jimmy Joe
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