Oceanus
titanThe great Titan who personified the vast river believed to encircle the entire world. Father of all the rivers, springs, and ocean nymphs.
The Myth
Oceanus was the eldest of the twelve Titans, representing the great freshwater river that the Greeks believed encircled the flat disc of the earth. Unlike the salt sea ruled by Poseidon, Oceanus was the source of all freshwater — every river, spring, and stream flowed from him.
With his wife Tethys, Oceanus fathered three thousand river gods (the Potamoi) and three thousand ocean nymphs (the Oceanids). Together, they were the source of all the world's waters.
Uniquely among the Titans, Oceanus did not fight against Zeus in the Titanomachy and was therefore spared imprisonment in Tartarus. He continued to flow around the world, a primordial force older than the Olympian order itself.
Parents
Ouranos and Gaia
Children
The Potamoi (river gods), the Oceanids
Symbols
Fun Fact
The word "ocean" comes directly from Oceanus — the ancient Greeks saw all bodies of water as connected to his great encircling river.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth: