Tethys.
Mother of the world’s waters
Tethys: Greek Titan Goddess, Oceanus and the Oceanidsis the who, with , gives rise to the river gods and . Her family makes the waters of the inhabited world part of the divine .
More than a myth.
The Titan mother of rivers
names among the twelve children of and . With she bears a vast family of rivers and daughters, including and . The poem does not claim that a human reader can name every river on earth; people know the waters near their own homes, and local knowledge completes what the can only begin.
Tethys and Hera
In 14, speaks of and as the pair who cared for her. She presents a plan to reconcile them as part of her deception of . The speech belongs to that dramatic situation, yet it also shows an older divine household imagined as a place of nurture for a future queen.
Tethys and Thetis are different
The similar English spellings conceal separate positions in myth. is an original married to . is a , daughter of Nereus and Doris, and the mother of . Confusing them changes both the cosmic water and the family behind the .
Questions about Tethys
Who are the children of Tethys?
gives and the river gods and , a very large family of named and unnamed water powers.
Is Tethys Achilles’s mother?
No. ’s mother is , a different sea goddess. belongs to the first generation.
It’s a family affair.
The stories of Tethys.
Continue with the ancient accounts.
This story collection does not yet include a full retelling centered on Tethys. Explore the cited sources below and the connected profiles for more of the surviving accounts.
Ancient voices.
Enduring stories.
Myths have many tellings. These are the ancient works behind this profile, linked to freely available English translations.
Theogony
Lines 133–138, 337–370
Iliad
Book 14.200–210, 300–306