Doris (Oceanid)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Doris riding a hippocampus and carrying two torches to light the wedding cortege of Poseidon and Amphitrite, base of a sculpted group, end 2nd century BC, Munich Glyptothek museum (Inv. 239).
Detail of Floor Mosaic from a Roman Villa named the House of Aion, ca. mid 4th Century CE at Paphos Archaeological Park, Paphos, Cyprus, depicting Doris, Thetis, and Galatea

Doris (/ˈdrɪs/; Ancient Greek: Δωρίς/Δωρίδος means 'bounty'[1]), in Greek mythology, was a sea goddess. She was one of the 3,000 Oceanids, daughters of the Titans Oceanus[2] and Tethys.[3]

Etymology[edit]

The name Doris is derived from the noun for a gift, δῶρον, from proto-Indo-European *déh₃rom of the same meaning.[citation needed]

Function[edit]

When not associated with a god, Doris represented the fertility of the ocean, goddess of the rich fishing-grounds found at the mouths of rivers where fresh water mingled with the brine.[citation needed]

Family[edit]

Being an Oceanid meant she was a sister of the river gods. By her husband Nereus, Doris was the mother of Nerites[2] and mother to the fifty Nereids,[4] including Thetis, Amphitrite and Galatea.[5]

Namesake[edit]

Doris Cove in Antarctica is named after the goddess.[6]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Kerényi, Carl (1951). The Gods of the Greeks. London: Thames and Hudson. p. 41.
  2. ^ a b Aelian, De Natura Animalium 14.28
  3. ^ Hesiod, Theogony 350; Apollodorus, 1.8
  4. ^ Hesiod, Theogony 240; Apollodorus, 1.2.7; Hyginus, Fabulae Preface
  5. ^ Ovid, Metamorphoses 13.742 ff.
  6. ^ Doris Cove. SCAR Composite Gazetteer of Antarctica

References[edit]

External links[edit]