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The RIVER GODS are collectively said
to be the offspring of
Oceanus & Tethys,
but there are exceptions:
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Achelous. This is the river god who
wrestled against Heracles
1 for the hand of Deianira 1 in the shape of a
bull and got one horn broken which he recovered by
giving the horn of Amalthea in its stead. Achelous
is the river dividing Acarnania from Aetolia. He
saved Perimede 1, who was hurled down from a high
cliff by her father Aeolus
1, and consorting with her had children [see
below].
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Mates
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Offspring
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Notes
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["a)", "b)", etc. = different versions]
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a) Melpomene
b) Sterope 2
c) Terpsichore 1
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SIRENS
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Melpomene is one of the
MUSES.
Sterope 2 is daughter of Euryte 2,
daughter of Hippodamas 1, son of the same
Achelous. Her father was Porthaon [see
Calydon].
Terpsichore 1 is one of the
MUSES.
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Perimede 1
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Hippodamas 1
Orestes 1
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Perimede 1 is daughter of
Aeolus 1.
Hippodamas 1 is father of Euryte 2, who
married Porthaon and gave birth to Oeneus
2, King of
Calydon.
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unknown
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Callirrhoe 2
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See Robe &
Necklace of Harmonia 1
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unknown
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Pirene 2
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Pirene 2 became a spring because of her
tears shed in lamentation for her son
Cenchrias' death. This Cenchrias gave his
name to the harbour of Cenchrae in
Corinth.
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unknown
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Castalia
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After Castalia a fountain at
Delphi was
called.
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unknown
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Dirce
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Dirce ill-treated Antiope 3 and was
punished by her sons
Amphion 1 and
Zethus, who tied her to a bull and flung
her dead body into the spring called Dirce
after her.
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unknown
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NYMPHS
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[Apd.1.7.3, 1.7.10, 3.7.5; Apd.Ep.7.18;
Arg.4.893; Eur.Bacc.519; Hes.The.338ff.;
Hyg.Fab.31; Pau.2.2.3, 10.8.9; Pla.Phae.263D].
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Acheron. This is the River of Pain in the
Underworld. Into
Acheron flow Periphlegeton and Cocytus, which is a
branch of the Styx. Acheron is father of Ascalaphus
2, by either Gorgyra or Orphne, an Avernal nymph.
For Ascalaphus 2, who is being punished in the
Underworld, see
Persephone
[Apd.1.5.3; Hom.Od.10.513; Nonn.4.152;
Ov.Met.5.539].
Acis. Acis is son of Faunus 1 & a
Symaethian Nymph. Faunus 1, who is a Half-goat god,
has been sometimes identified with
Pan or with a Satyr, and has
been called King of Latium. Acis was loved by
Galatea 1, but was killed by the Cyclops
Polyphemus 2, who,
out of jealousy, buried him under a rock, and Acis
was then turned into a river [Ov.Met.13.750,
13.879ff.].
Aeas. This river god is known for having
consoled the river god Peneus on account of
Daphne 1 [see Peneus
below] [Ov.Met.1.580].
Aegaeus. Father of the naiad Melite 2,
mother by Heracles 1
of Hyllus 1 [Arg.4.538].
Aesepus 1 [Hes.The.342].
Almo 2 is the god of a river tributary of
the Tiber. He is the father of the naiad Lara, also
called Tacita because she lost her indiscreet
tongue after having reported to
Hera that
Zeus loved Juturna. Lara
consorted with Hermes and
gave birth to the LARES, the (Roman) twin brothers,
who guard the crossroads and ever keep watch in the
city [Ov.Fast.2.601].
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Alpheus. This is the river who
fell in love with Arethusa 3, a huntress
who would not marry, and to avoid further
troubles changed from a woman into a
spring. But the river Alpheus mingled its
own waters with hers. Alpheus married
Telegone, daughter of Pharis, the founder
of Pharae in
Messenia. They
had a son Orsilochus 1, father of Diocles
1, a man living in Pharae, who gave
hospitality to
Odysseus' son
Telemachus.
Phegeus 1, who purified Alcmaeon 1 for
having murdered his mother Eriphyle [see
Robe & Necklace of
Harmonia 1] is also a child of
Alpheus, and so is Melantheia, who
consorted with
Poseidon.
Alpheus is a river of
Elis, which rises
in Arcadia
[Hes.The.338ff.; Hom.Il.5.541ff.;
Hyg.Fab.244; Ov.Met.573ff.; Pau.4.30.2,
6.22.9; Plu.GQ.19].
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Amphrysos. This river god is known for
having consoled the river god Peneus on account of
Daphne 1 [see Peneus
below] [Ov.Met.1.580].
Apidanus. This river god is known for
having consoled the river god Peneus on account of
Daphne 1 [see Peneus
below] [Ov.Met.1.580].
Ardescus [Hes.The.338ff.].
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Asopus. Other parentages have been
attributed to Asopus:
Poseidon & Pero 1,
Zeus & Eurynome 3, and
Poseidon & Celusa.
For Eurynome 3 see
OCEANIDS. Asopus
married Metope 1, daughter of the river god Ladon
1. The children of Asopus are:
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Offspring
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Notes
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Aegina
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In search of his daughter Aegina, who
had been carried off, Asopus came to
Corinth and
learned from
Sisyphus that
the ravisher was
Zeus. Asopus
pursued him, but
Zeus, by hurling
thunderbolts, sent him away to his own
streams.
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Antiope 3
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See Oedipus.
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Asopis 2
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Chalcis
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Cleone
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Corcyra
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Mother by
Poseidon of
Phaeax 1, from whom the
Phaeacians,
living in the island of Corcyra, received
their name.
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Harpina
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Mother of
Oenomaus 1,
the king of Pisa who was tricked by
Myrtilus and Pelops
1.
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Hypseus 3
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Defender of
Thebes against
the SEVEN.
He was killed by Capaneus.
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Ismene 1
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Grandmother of
Io, according to
some.
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Ismenus 1
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Said to be the father of Dirce. Her
story is at
Oedipus.
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Nemea
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After her the land of Nemea in the
Peloponnesus was called.
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Oeroe
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Ornia
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Pelagon 1
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Pirene 3
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Plataea
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After her the Plataeans in Boeotia in
mainland Greece are called.
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Salamis
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Mother of Cychreus by
Poseidon. Her
son named the island after her.
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Sinope
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Mother by
Apollo of Syrus
1, King of the Syrians.
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Tanagra
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After her the city in Boeotia was
named.
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Thebe
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Twin sister of Aegina after whom the
city of Thebes
is named.
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Thespia
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After her Thespiae, the Boeotian city
west of Thebes,
was called.
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[Apd.3.12.6-7; Arg.2.946; Dio.4.72.1; Hdt.5.80,
9.51; Hom.Od.11.260; Pau.2.5.2, 2.12.4, 2.15.1,
2.15.3, 5.22.6, 9.1.1, 9.20.1, 9.26.6;
Stat.Theb.7.310, 7.723].
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Asterion 2. This river, along with
Cephisus and Inachus, decided that
Argolis would belong to
Hera and not to
Poseidon. But then
Asterion 2's daughters, Euboea 2, Prosymna and
Acraea had been nurses of
Hera [Hes.The.366;
Pau.2.15.1, 2.17.1].
Axius. Axius (a Macedonian river) is, by
Periboea 7, father of Pelegon, who in turn is
father of Asteropaeus, who, serving under the
Lycian Sarpedon 1, was one of the best among the
allies of Troy. Asteropaeus
was killed by Achilles
during the Trojan War
[Apd.Ep.4.7; Hom.Il.21.140].
Caicus 1. River in Mysia, Asia Minor
[Hes.The.338ff.]
Cayster. River in Lydia, father of
Ephesus, the founder of the sanctuary of Ephesian
Artemis and the eponym
of the city Ephesus [Pau.7.2.7].
Cebren. A river near
Troy. His daughter Asterope
1 was loved by Aesacus 1, the interpreter of dreams
who declared that Paris
was to become the ruin of the country and advised
that the child should be exposed. When Asterope 1
died, killed by the bite of a serpent, Aesacus 1,
who was son of King Priam
1 of Troy, could not
find consolation and, having mourned for her, he
was turned into a diving bird by Tethys [for Oenone
1, another daughter of Cebren, see
Trojan War] [Apd.
3.12.5-6].
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Cephisus. Among the children of Cephisus
are Narcissus,
Diogenia 1, mother of Praxithea 4, mother of King
Cecrops 2 of Athens;
Eteocles 2, a Boeotian king; Daulis, after whom the
city Daulis in Phocis was named; Melaena, who
consorted with Apollo and
gave birth to Delphus, after whom the city of
Delphi was named; and
Thyia 3, who is said to have been the mother of
Delphus by Apollo.
Cephisus married the nymph Liriope [Apd.3.15.1;
Hdt.7.178; Ov.Met.3.342; Pau.9.34.9, 10.4.7,
10.6.4].
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Chremetes. This is a river of Libya, or
in N.-W. Africa. Chremetes is father of Anchiroe 3,
mother of Crataigonos, Leader of the Libyan peoples
who joined Dionysus 2
in his Indian campaign. Crataigonos' father Psyllus
made war against the WINDS
and was killed by them [Nonn.13.380].
Cladeus. A river in
Elis [Pau.5.10.7].
Cratais 2. Cratais 2 is sometimes called
father of Scylla 1
[Hyg.Fab.199].
Crinisus. River in Sicily. Crinisus is
father of Acestes, the host of
Aeneas when he
commemorated the death of his father in Sicily
[Hyg.Fab.273; Vir.Aen.5.38].
Cydnos. River in Cilicia, Asia Minor.
Cydnos consorted with Comaetho 3, a fountain, who
mingled her water with that of her lover, the river
Cydnos [Nonn.2.144, 40.141].
Enipeus. River in Thessaly or
Elis. It is said that
Poseidon took his form
when he begot the ALOADS [for these see
Zeus] [Apd.1.9.8;
Ov.Met.6.116].
Erasinus. A river in
Argos. His daughters Byze,
Melite 3, Maera 5, and Anchiroe 2 received
Britomartis when she fled from King
Minos 2 of
Crete [Lib.Met.40;
Pau.2.24.6].
Eridanus. This is a fabulous river,
sometimes the Po, other times the Nile or the
Ocean. His daughter Zeuxippe 1 married Teleon and
gave birth to Butes 1 and Eribotes, both
ARGONAUTS [Dio.5.23.3;
Hes.The.338ff.; Hyg.Ast.2.32; Hyg.Fab.14].
Euphrates. One of the two rivers in
Mesopotamia [Nonn.43.409].
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Evenus 1. River in Aetolia
[Hes.The.338ff.].
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Granicus. River in Asia Minor, flowing
from the mountains of Ida. Granicus' daughter
Alexiroe married King Priam
1 of Troy and gave
birth to Aesacus 1 [see also Cebren above in this
list] [Hes.The.338ff.; Ov.Met.11.763].
Haliacmon [Hes.The.341].
Heptaporus. River in Asia Minor flowing
from Mount Ida [Hes.The.338ff.].
Hermus 2. River flowing north of Mount
Tmolus in Asia Minor, emptying in the Aegean Sea
[Hes.The.342].
Hydaspes 1. The river Jhelum in the land
today called Pakistan. Son of Thaumas 1 & the
Oceanid Electra 1. Hydaspes 1 is father of King
Deriades of India [Nonn.17.282, 21.225, 23.236,
26.362].
Inachus. River in
Argos. Inachus is father
of Aegialeus 2,
Phoroneus,
Io, and Mycene. The mother of
these children could have been Melia or Argia 3,
both OCEANIDS
[Apd.2.1.1-3; DH.1.25.4; Hyg.Fab.143,145;
Pau.2.16.4].
Istrus 2 or Ister is the river Danube
[Hes.The.339].
Ladon 1. River of western
Arcadia. Ladon 1 is
father of Metope 1, Carmentis and Thelpusa. Metope
1 married the river god Asopus. After Thelpusa a
city in Arcadia was
named. Carmentis was the first to foretell how
great Aeneas' line would
become. She consorted with Hermes and gave birth to
wise Evander 2 [see
Romulus] [Apd.3.12.6;
Hes.The.338ff.; Pau.8.43.2, 8.25.1; Vir.Aen.8.336].
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Marsyas is
sometimes considered as a Satyr and sometimes as a
river god.
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Meander. River in Caria, southern Asia
Minor. Meander is father of Cyanee, Samia and
Calamos. Cyanee married Miletus, son of
Apollo, as some call him,
and had by him Byblis and Caunus who fell in love
with each other. Samia married Ancaeus 2, the king
of Samos, and had several children by him. Calamos
fell in love with Carpos, a beautiful young man,
and out of grief for the death of Carpos, he threw
himself in the river Meander and sank. Thus he gave
his form to the reeds which took his name
[Hes.The.338ff.; Nonn.11.379; Ov.Met.9.452;
Pau.7.4.1].
Mincius married Manto 1, daughter of
Tiresias, a seeress and
priestess of Apollo, and
had by her a son Ocnus 2, who became an ally of
Aeneas in Italy and
founded the city of Mantua [Vir.Aen.10.191].
Nessus 1 [Hes.The.338ff.].
Nilus. The river in Egypt. Nilus is
father of Anchinoe, Memphis 2 and Heracles 5.
Anchinoe married King Belus 1 of Egypt and had
famous children, among which are Aegyptus 1 and
Danaus 1 [see DANAIDS].
Her child Cepheus 1 became king of Ethiopia and
father of Andromeda,
the wife of Perseus 1.
Agenor 1, another of her sons and father of
Europa, emigrated to
Phoenicia. Anchinoe is also mother of Phineus 1 and
Phoenix 1. Phoenix 1 is cometimes called brother of
Europa and sometimes her
father. Memphis 2, after whom the city in Egypt was
named, married Epaphus 1, the son of
Zeus &
Io. Heracles 5 is the
compiler of the sacred books of
Phrygia [Apd.2.1.4;
Cic.ND.3.42; Hes.The.338ff.; Hyg.Ast.2.32].
Numicius. This is the Italian river who
washed away Aeneas'
mortal remains [Ov.Met.14.599].
Parthenius 1. River in northern Asia
Minor emptying into the Black Sea [Hes.The.344].
Peneus. Thessalian river flowing from the
foot of Pindus. Peneus is father of
Daphne 1, who was turned
into a laurel tree to escape
Apollo who, being in
love, pursued her. After Andreus 1, son of Peneus,
the land Andreis in Boeotia was named. Hypseus 1,
son of Peneus, became king of the
LAPITHS. Peneus'
daughter Stilbe consorted with
Apollo and gave birth to
Lapithus 1 and Centaurus, the father of the
CENTAURS. Peneus
married the naiad Creusa 3 [Dio.4.69.1;
Hes.The.338ff.; Ov.Met.1.504; Pau.9.34.6;
Pin.Pyth.9.14].
Phasis 1. This is the river Rion in
Colchis (Georgia in the Caucasus). Phasis 1, who is
also called son of Zeus,
married Aea [Hes.The.340; Val.5.205, 5.425].
Rhesus 1. River in Asia Minor flowing
from the mountains of Ida [Hes.The.340].
Rhine. Iberian river who came to
Poseidon's and Beroe
5's wedding and brought gold as a gift
[Nonn.43.410].
Rhodius. River in Asia Minor, flowing
from Mount Ida [Hes.The.341].
Sangarius. River in Asia Minor flowing
into the Black Sea. Sangarius is father by Metope 2
of Queen Hecabe 1 of
Troy. He also had a
daughter who took the fruit of an almond tree which
had grown up from the sexual organ of Agdistis,
which the gods had cut off, and found herself
pregnant. He gave birth to
Attis, a Lydian dear to
the goddess Cybele (Rhea
1), who went mad and castrated himself
[Apd.3.12.5; Hes.The.344].
Scamander 1. The river near Troy, who
tried to stop Achilles'
slaughter of Trojans. He is father of Teucer 2,
King of the Teucrians, of Callirrhoe 3, mother of
Ganymedes and other
important Trojans, of Strymo, wife of King Laomedon
1 of Troy, and of Glaucia. This Glaucia was a
Trojan girl who fell in love with Deimachus 4 when
he was fighting against the Trojans. After his
death in battle Glaucia, fearing detection, fled
for refuge and told
Heracles 1 (for this
war is not the Trojan
War, but Heracles
1's expedition against the city) of her
association with Deimachus 4. Later, when she gave
birth to a son, Heracles
1 delivered both the child and the mother to
Eleon in Boeotia. Scamander 1's wife was Idaea 1
[Apd.3.12.1-3; Hes.The.345; Hom.Il.21.233;
Plu.GQ.41].
Selemnus was a young man who was loved by
the naiad Argyra, while he was still young and
handsome; but later in time she would not visit
him. He died of love and was turned into the river
Selemnus by Aphrodite,
who also made him forget Argyra. The river Selemnus
is in Achaea
[Pau.7.23.1-2].
Simois. A Trojan river, who made ambrosia
spring up for the horses of
Hera and
Athena to eat, at the
time of the Trojan
War. Simois' daughter Astyoche 3 is, according
to some, mother of Tros 1, who called the people of
the land Trojans, after his own name. His other
daughter Hieromneme is sometimes said to be the
mother of Anchises 1,
Aeneas' father
[Apd.3.12.2; Hes.The.342; Hom.Il. 5.775ff.].
Sperchius. River in Thessaly, father of
Menesthius 1, who led a company of the Myrmidons
against Troy. Sperchius is
also father of Dryops 1, after whom the Dryopes
(people living between the Sperchius River and
Mount Parnasus) are called. Some say Sperchius is
the father of the NYMPHS,
and that their mother is Dino, the daughter of
Phorcus & Ceto 1 [Apd.3.13.4; Hom.Il.16.173;
Lib.Met.22, 32].
Strymon 1. River in Thrace, father of
Evadne 1 who married Argus 5, King of
Argos.
Rhesus 2, who came from
Thrace to fight at Troy and
died the day after his arrival, is also called son
of Strymon 1. Others have mentioned Brangas and
Olynthus as sons of Strymon 1 as well. He had also
another daughter Tirine, mother by
Ares of Thrassa, mother of
Polyphonte, who despised
Aphrodite and the
goddess made her fall in love with a bear.
Polyphonte's children by this bear, Agrius 6 and
Orius 3, were giants who devoured men, but were
finally turned into birds [Apd.1.3.4, 2.1.2; Con.4;
Hes.The.339; Lib.Met.21].
Termessus. River which flows round
Helicon (a mountain in western Boeotia). A spring
in Boeotia is called after his daughter Aganippe 1
[Pau.9.29.5].
Tiberinus 1. The god of the river Tiber
in Rome [Vir.Aen.8.33].
Triton [see also
Divinities of Waters &
Landscapes] [Apd.3.12.3; Arg.4.1601ff.;
Hes.The.930; Hyg.Ast.2.23; Pau.7.22.8].
Xanthus 5. The River Scamander as men
called it, or Xanthus as the gods named it [see
Scamander 1 above in this list] [Hom.Il.21.2].
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