Oceanus (Ancient Greek Ὠκεανός Ōkeanós, Latin Oceanus) is in Greek mythology the divine personification of a vast, flowing stream that surrounds the inhabited world. Together with the sea goddess Tethys, he is considered the father of all rivers and the Oceanides, and occasionally even the father of the gods and the origin of the world.
Etymology
Adalbert Kuhn, in his journal for comparative linguistic research in the fields of German, Greek, and Latin, pointed out the exact phonetic correspondence between the Vedic āśáyāna- (“lying [on the water]”), an attribute of the stone dragon Vṛtra, and the Greek Ὠκεανός Ōkeanós.Anaximander’s Michael Janda agreed with this equation in 2005 and reconstructed a common Indo-European root *ō-kei-ṃ[h]no- for both words, which is related to Greek κεῖται keítai, meaning ‘lie’. Janda refers to black-figure vase depictions where Oceanus has a serpent body, suggesting a mythological parallel between the Greek sea or river god and the Vedic dragon Vṛtra.
In addition, Janda pointed out another etymological parallel between the Greek ποταμός potamós, meaning ‘broad water,’ and the Old English fæðm, meaning ’embrace, fathom’ (compare the wood unit Faden), documented in particular in the Old English Helena poem (Verse 765) as dracan fæðme ‘the dragon’s embrace.’ It is also related (via Proto-Germanic *faþma) to Old Norse Faðmir or Fáfnir, the name of a dragon in the 13th-century Völsunga saga. All three words come from the Indo-European word *poth2mos, which means “spread.” This means that the Greek word for a “broad stream” is closely related to the two Germanic phrases that mean a dragon “embrace” in different situations.
In contrast, Robert S. P. Beekes has connected the god’s name with a pre-Greek form *-kay-an-.
Mythology
In Homer, Oceanus is both the origin of the world and the stream that flows around the world, distinct from the sea. He is the source of the gods and all rivers, seas, springs, and wells, though only Eurynome (Eurynomos) and Perse are named. His wife is the sea goddess Tethys, with whom he is in conflict according to Hera’s account, and therefore, she does not produce any more offspring:
For I am going to see the abundant fruits of the earth,
And Oceanus, the origin of the gods, and the mother Thetis […]
I am going to see them, and I will resolve their unresolved conflicts;
For already, for a long time, they have been avoiding each other’s
Bed and affection, since anger has entered their hearts.
This otherwise elusive narrative of the separation of the primal couple, not found in Greek literature, is partly attributed to the influence of cosmogonic myths from the Ancient Near East, particularly due to its close parallel to the myth of Apsu and Tiamat in the Babylonian creation myth Enûma elîsh.
More powerful than Oceanus alone seems to be Zeus, as Hypnos, according to his own statement, cannot put Zeus to sleep, only the “flowing streams of Oceanus.” He does not participate in the assembly of the gods on Olympus, to which even rivers and streams are invited. He flows around the Elysium and marks the boundary of the underworld. On his journey to the underworld, Odysseus first sails through the currents of the River Oceanus, then reaches the island of Aiaia at the eastern end of the Oikumene, “where the dawn’s abode and dances are, and the radiant rising of Helios.” Helios rises daily from Oceanus and sets in it again in the evening; even the stars bathe in it. Oceanus is described as a “flowing back into itself,” a circular stream (ἀψόῤῥοος apsórrhoos), corresponding to its depiction on the shield of Achilles, crafted by Hephaestus as an image of the world: it is the outermost border that surrounds the inhabited disc of the Earth. In its immediate vicinity, mythical border peoples like the Ethiopians and Pygmies in the south, the Cimmerians in the north, and monsters like the Harpies in the west reside.
According to Hesiod, in the west of Oceanus, the Gorgons, the Hesperides, and Geryon dwell. He also places the sources of Oceanus in the west. Nine parts of its waters encircle the world, while the Styx, as the tenth part, flows within the Earth to spring forth from the rock.
Here dwells a detestable deity among the immortals,
Dreadful Styx, the daughter of swift-flowing Oceanus,
The eldest; apart from the glorious abodes of the gods,
She resides, her dwelling nestled among tall rocks;
All around her, she is firmly supported by silver columns. […]
Zeus sent Iris to bring a great oath of the gods,
From afar, in a golden bowl, the many-named water,
Cold, which flows from the precipice of the inaccessible
High rock; much from the broad-bosomed earth
Flows through the sacred river in the dark of night;
It is the horn of Oceanus, and it is assigned to the tenth part;
Nine parts, encircling the land and the broad backs of the sea,
Gleaming with silver whirl, pour into the salt sea,
But the one flows from the rock, a great bane to the gods.
In Hesiod’s account, Oceanus and Tethys are integrated into the genealogy of the Titans, appearing as descendants of Gaia and Uranus. According to this, their offspring includes 3000 rivers and 3000 Oceanides, among whom 25 rivers and 41 Oceanides are named, including significant rivers such as the Nile, Eridanos, or Phasis, and the eldest among the Oceanides, Styx. Unlike the other Titans, Oceanus stands out in that he did not participate in the overthrow of Uranus and fought on the side of Zeus against his siblings in the Titanomachy.
The Orphic theogonies, similar to Hesiod’s Theogony, describe a succession of rulers, but they place Oceanus higher in their genealogies. There, he appears as the father of the Titans and even Uranus. In Alexander of Aphrodisias, he is placed as the successor of Chaos in the second position, even before Nyx. This reflects the idea that Oceanus, as nurturing water, must be the father of all things. This notion had already been hinted at by Homer when Hera refers to Oceanus as the “origin of the gods” (Ὠκεανόν τε θεῶν γένεσιν Ōkeanón te theṓn génesin) or even as the one who “granted birth to all” (γένεσις πάντεσσι génesis pántessi).
In Pindar’s works, Oceanus appears both as a river and a sea. The area beyond the Pillars of Heracles is considered unnavigable due to the prevailing darkness. According to Pindar, the Argonauts sailed through the Red Sea and the southern Oceanus beyond.
Aeschylus, in his tragedy “Prometheus Bound,” depicts Oceanus flying in on a four-legged bird to aid Prometheus, the son of his brother Iapetus and his daughter Asia. Together, they had fought against the Olympian gods in the Titanomachy until Oceanus switched sides. However, Oceanus fails to persuade Prometheus to compromise with Zeus, leading him to float away towards the birdcage at the end of the scene, allowing the bird to rest its knees. Since this portrayal of Oceanus does not align with any established visual tradition, it is regarded as a dramatic invention by Aeschylus.
Cult
A cult dedicated to Oceanus is elusive, as only occasional literary references suggest its existence. He is celebrated in an Orphic hymn, and Vergil mentions a sacrifice by Kyrene. Arrian reports on Alexander the Great’s cult activities during the Indian campaign. Before the campaign, Alexander offered sacrifices to Oceanus and Tethys and subsequently erected temples for them: one at the Indus Delta, the eastern edge of Oceanus, and another upon his return at the Nile Delta, where the origin of the Nile flood was associated with Oceanus. Diodorus mentions Alexander sinking large golden bowls as offerings in the Indian Ocean (325 BC). Despite the widespread depiction of Oceanus on sarcophagi and other art monuments from the Roman period, only a few dedicatory inscriptions from Eboracum hint at a cult of Oceanus. It is speculated that these inscriptions may be imitations of Alexander’s Oceanus worship after journeys to the northern edge of the Oikumene.
Representation
As Oceanus lacks a fixed mythological form, and attributing a representation is usually based on inscriptions, he is rarely attested on Greek monuments. From the archaic period, three Attic black-figure vases have survived, depicting Oceanus at the wedding of Peleus and Thetis with the dragon tail of the sea gods Nereus and Triton, as well as the bull horns of the river gods, indicating his dual nature as a sea and river god. In the classical period, he is anthropomorphized on two red-figure vases in the Garden of the Hesperides. In one scene, he sits as the central figure with a chiton, cloak, and scepter next to Strymon, surrounded by river gods and Oceanids. Marked by gray hair, he is depicted as an old man, otherwise without further attributes. In the other scene, he is clothed in a himation and chiton, with a bull horn above his forehead. Another inscription of his name is found on a cup crater, curiously positioned above a female figure. As a sculpture, he is preserved in human form on the Pergamon Altar, where he fights against the Giants alongside Nereus, Doris, and Tethys.
On Roman monuments, Oceanus is a frequently encountered motif. Depictions of his head on gems and bronze reliefs from the Republic and early Imperial period follow the Hellenistic tradition. On them, he is seen with straight or wild curly hair and a beard, often with the face covered by sea plants or the mustache ending in marine creatures. He wears crab claws on his head instead of horns. This depiction became stylistically influential for all subsequent representations of the Oceanus head. The oldest representations of the full body of Oceanus, like the relief from Aphrodisias from the early 1st century AD or some mosaics, are also strongly influenced by the expressive tradition of Hellenistic art. Oceanus is portrayed standing in a wind-blown himation or casually reclining, with highly artistic executions.
Overall, it can be observed that his iconography increasingly moves away from that of a deity and approaches that of a natural being, clearly distinguished from Neptune. While Neptune is often portrayed in action with his trident, Oceanus plays a more passive role. His attributes include oars and anchors as symbols of safe navigation, as well as the attributes of river gods, reed stalks, and a spring urn, signifying his role as the father of rivers. The use of the Oceanus head as a fountain spout is attributed to his fatherhood of watercourses, while its frequent appearance as a corner ornament in mosaics in private homes symbolizes the joys of the sea, which has been considered a metaphor for tranquility since Epicurus.
On sarcophagi, he appears together with Tellus at the lower edge, representing symbols for water and earth, on which the mythological events unfold. Stemming from sarcophagi, Oceanus and Tellus, as reclining figures, have found their way into official iconography on triumphal arches, coins, and medallions, continuing as embodiments of water and earth into the art of the Middle Ages.