Amphitrite

AMPHITRITE ('Αμφιτρίτη). - Greek divinity of the sea. The name must be identical with that of other marine beings in which the element trit appears: Greek etymologies (“current,” “mobile”) are not very satisfactory; hence some regard A. as a pre-Hellenic, perhaps Minoan, divinity. She is not mentioned in the Iliad, but in the Odyssey, where she is scarcely characterized. Hesiod makes her a Nereid, wife of Posidone and mother of Triton and Rhodos. Posidone is said to have carried her off at Naxos or, according to another version, A., having fled to the depths of the sea, was brought back to Posidone by a dolphin. She gave Theseus a golden crown, which helped him to escape from the labyrinth. According to other late sources A. was an Oceanid. She was worshipped at Tino, Micono, and the Isthmus of Corinth, but always together with Posidone. She was represented in a chariot drawn by marine animals.

Luisa Banti