Glaucus (god of the sea)
Glaucus ( ancient Greek Γλαῦκος , blue-shiny, shining ' ) is a sea god in Greek mythology , who a fisherman transformed into after consuming a miracle herb.
myth
His origins are passed down in various sources: He was considered the son of Anthedon and Alkyons , Polybos and Euboia , Kopeus or Poseidon and the nymph Nais and the father of Deiphobe . He is also said to have sired the Bellerophon with the ruler of the sea Eurynome ; however, Glaucos the Elder and Eurynomial , daughter of Nisus , are usually mentioned as his parents .
In the Argonauts legend he appears as a fisherman in the Boeotian seaside town of Anthedon , as the builder and helmsman of the Argo , who, after the battle of the Argonauts with the Tyrrhenians, miraculously attained the dignity of a god and prophesied Jason . When he once saw the fish that he threw on the bank suddenly become so lively as if they were in the water by touching the herbs growing there, he ate from these herbs too and was so enthusiastic about their consumption that he jumped into the sea, where Oceanus and Tethys transformed him into a sea deity. The plant was also said to be a flower that conferred immortality.
Others report that Glaukos threw himself into the sea out of love for the youthful sea god Melikertes .
Glaukos fell in love with Scylla and asked Kirke for help so that his feelings would be reciprocated. Kirke, who was in love with Glaukos herself, turned Scylla into a monster.
As a sea deity, he has the gift of prophecy. His usual stay is said to be on the island of Delos . His oracle on the island was at times more respected than that of the Delian Apollo . On many islands and coasts of Greece he was worshiped as a kind and mild God who was ready to help against all shipwrecked people. Thassilo von Scheffer characterized him as the god of the blue sea calm (" legends of the stars ").
Glaucos was also the subject of dramatic representations; one of these is Glaucus Pontios by Aeschylus , which is only preserved in fragments.
iconography
In sculptures he appears in a triton- like shape; his exterior is rough and shaggy, his chest overgrown with seaweed and shells, blond hair on the head and beard of abundance.
literature
- Rudolph Gaedechens : Glaukos the sea god . Vandenhœck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1860.
- Rudolph Gaedechens: Glaukos 7 . In: Wilhelm Heinrich Roscher (Hrsg.): Detailed lexicon of Greek and Roman mythology . Volume 1, 2, Leipzig 1890, Col. 1678–1686 ( digitized version ).
- Georg Weicker : Glaukos 8 . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume VII, 1, Stuttgart 1910, Col. 1408-1412.
- Marie-Odile Jentel: Glaucus I . In: Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae (LIMC). Volume IV, Zurich / Munich 1988, pp. 271-273.
Web links
- Glaukos in the Theoi Project (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Johannes Tzetzes , Scholion : Alexandra (Lykophron) 754.
- ↑ Mnaseas at Athenaios : Supper 7,296.
- ↑ Promathidas at Athenaios : Supper 7,297.
- ↑ Theolytos of Methymna.
- ↑ Euanthes in Sidonius Apollinaris : 15,132.
- ^ Karl Kerényi, The Mythology of the Greeks , ISBN 3-423-01346-X , Vol. 2, p. 70.
- ^ Pausanias : Travels in Greece 6,10,1.
- ↑ Ovid : Metamorphoses 13.955.
- ^ Karl Kerényi, The Mythology of the Greeks , ISBN 3-423-01345-1 , Vol. 1, p. 90.
- ↑ Hedyle of Samos at Athenaios : Banquet .
- ^ Maurus Servius Honoratius : Commentary on Virgil's Eclogae 6,74.
- ↑ Scholion : Apollonios of Rhodes 2,767.
- ↑ Aeschylus : fragments 13-19; 203; 230; 231; 273; 278.
- ↑ Karl August Baumeister: Monuments of classical antiquity to explain the life of the Greeks and Romans in religion, art and custom , 3 vol., Munich / Leipzig 1885–1888, article sea gods, page 913.