Perseis
Oceanid nymph and mother of the sorceress Circe and King Aeetes of Colchis
The Myth of Perseis
Perseis was a daughter of Oceanus and Tethys who caught the eye of the sun god Helios. Their union produced some of the most formidable figures in Greek mythology: Aeetes, the king of Colchis who guarded the Golden Fleece; Circe, the powerful sorceress who turned Odysseus's men into swine; and Pasiphae, who became queen of Crete and mother of the Minotaur. Through her children, Perseis's bloodline touched nearly every major mythological cycle from the Argonauts to the Odyssey to the tales of Theseus.
Parents
Oceanus and Tethys
Symbols
Fun Fact
Perseis's descendants include both the guardian of the Golden Fleece and the mother of the Minotaur
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Perse
🌿 nymphthe sea, sorcery
An Oceanid nymph who married the sun god Helios and bore him Circe, Pasiphae, and Aeetes — a family of legendary sorcerers.
Clymene
🌿 nymphfame, ocean
Oceanid nymph and mother of Phaethon and the Heliades.
Thetis
🌿 nymphSea nymph mother of Achilles
Thetis was a sea nymph so powerful that both Zeus and Poseidon desired her — until a prophecy warned her son would surpass his father.
Asia
🌿 nymphLand, territory
Oceanid nymph whose name was given to the continent of Asia
Idyia
🌿 nymphKnowledge, Colchis
Oceanid nymph known as the knowing one and queen of Colchis beside King Aeetes
Aegle
🌿 nymphlight, healing
A nymph whose name means "radiance" — identified variously as a Hesperid, a daughter of Asclepius, or the most beautiful of the Naiads.
Thetis
🌿 nymphSea nymph whose son's fate drove the Iliad
Thetis was the Nereid whose son was destined to surpass his father — a prophecy so threatening that Zeus and Poseidon married her off to a mortal.
Clytia
🌿 nymphFame, sunlight
Oceanid nymph who pined for Helios and was transformed into the heliotrope flower
Stilbe
🌿 nymphrivers, light
A nymph of Thessaly, daughter of the river Peneus, who bore Centaurus and Lapithes to Apollo — thus originating both the Centaurs and the Lapiths.
Creusa
🌿 nymphsprings, motherhood
A Naiad nymph of Thessaly who bore Hypseus and Stilbe to the river god Peneus.
Penelope
🌿 nymphnature, pastoral
A mountain nymph of Arcadia who, in one tradition, was the mother of Pan by Hermes — distinct from Odysseus's famous wife.
Rhode
🌿 nymphthe sea, islands
A sea nymph, daughter of Poseidon and Amphitrite (or Aphrodite), who gave her name to the island of Rhodes.