Leucothea
Sea goddess who rescued drowning sailors, formerly the mortal princess Ino.
The Myth of Leucothea
Leucothea was originally Ino, a Theban princess and sister of Semele, who nursed the infant Dionysus in secret after Zeus's lover was destroyed by the god's true form. This act earned Hera's implacable hatred. Driven mad by the goddess, Ino threw herself into the sea with her young son Melicertes near Corinth. Rather than perishing, the sea gods transformed Ino into Leucothea, the White Goddess, and Melicertes became Palaemon. In the Odyssey, Leucothea saved Odysseus from drowning during Poseidon's storm by giving him her immortal veil. Sailors worshipped her at harbours across Greece, and Corinth honoured Palaemon with the Isthmian Games.
Parents
Cadmus, Harmonia
Children
Melicertes
Symbols
Fun Fact
Her son Melicertes became the god Palaemon, patron of the Isthmian Games at Corinth — one of the four great Panhellenic festivals.
Explore Further
Ino
🗡 heromadness
Theban princess who raised the infant Dionysus, was driven mad by Hera, and leaped into the sea to become the goddess Leucothea.
Amphitrite
⚡ godGoddess-queen of the seas
Amphitrite co-ruled the oceans with Poseidon.
Andromeda
🗡 herorescue
Ethiopian princess chained to a rock as sacrifice to a sea monster, rescued by Perseus, and placed among the stars.
Doris
goddesssea, bounty of the sea, safe passage
Sea goddess and mother of the fifty Nereids, personifying the richness and abundance of the ocean.
Palaemon
⚡ godharbours, sailors
God of harbours and patron of the Isthmian Games, originally the mortal child Melicertes.
Melicertes
⚡ godsea
Son of Ino who was transformed into the marine god Palaemon after his mother leaped with him into the sea.
Nereus
⚡ godThe Old Man of the Sea
Nereus was the ancient, benevolent sea god known as the Old Man of the Sea — truthful, wise, gentle, and father of the fifty Nereids.
Glaucus the Sea God
⚡ godsea
Mortal fisherman who ate a magical herb, became immortal, and transformed into a blue-green sea deity.
Poseidon
⚡ godGod of the sea, earthquakes, and horses
Poseidon was the god of the sea and earthquakes whose moods determined whether sailors lived or died — and whose grudge against Odysseus drove the Odyssey.
Glaucus
⚡ godsea, prophecy
A mortal fisherman who became an immortal sea god after eating a magical herb.
Poseidon
⚡ godGod of the sea, earthquakes, horses
Lord of the seas and brother of Zeus. Poseidon's moods shaped the oceans — calm seas for those who pleased him, devastating storms for those who did not.
Cassiopeia
🗡 heroNone recorded
Vain queen of Aethiopia whose boast brought a sea monster upon her kingdom