Doris (Oceanid)

Doris (/ˈdoʊrɪs/; Ancient Greek: Δωρίς/Δωρίδος means 'bounty'[1]), in Greek mythology, was a sea goddess. She was one of the 3,000 Oceanids, daughters of the Titans Oceanus[2] and Tethys.[3]

Doris riding a hippocamp and carrying two torches to light the wedding cortege of Poseidon and Amphitrite, base of a sculpted group, end 2nd century BC, Munich Glyptothek museum (Inv. 239).

Detail of Floor Mosaic from a Roman Villa named the House of Aion, ca. mid 4th Century CE at Paphos Archaeological Park, Paphos, Cyprus, depicting Doris, Thetis, and Galatea

Etymology

Her name is connected with two words: Dôron meaning "gift" or "abundance," and Zôros, meaning the "pure" and "unmixed." Zôros was often used to describe fresh water or, in terms of the teachings of the day, the pure soul of a woman, and from this derived words such as zôrua "the transference of running water" and zôrux "water conduit."

Function

When not associated with a god, Doris represented the fertility of the ocean, goddess of the rich fishing-grounds found at the mouths of rivers where fresh water mingled with the brine. Being an Oceanid meant she was a sister of the river gods.

Family

By her husband Nereus, Doris was mother to Nerites[2] and the fifty Nereids,[4] including Thetis, Amphitrite and Galatea.[5]

Namesake

Doris Cove in Antarctica is named after the goddess.[6]

Notes

Kerényi, Carl (1951). The Gods of the Greeks. London: Thames and Hudson. p. 41.
Aelian, De Natura Animalium 14.28
Hesiod, Theogony 350; Apollodorus, 1.8
Hesiod, Theogony 240; Apollodorus, 1.2.7; Hyginus, Fabulae Preface
Ovid, Metamorphoses 13.742 ff.
Doris Cove. SCAR Composite Gazetteer of Antarctica

References

Apollodorus, The Library with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. ISBN 0-674-99135-4. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.
Claudius Aelianus, On the Characteristics of Animals, translated by Alwyn Faber Scholfield (1884-1969), from Aelian, Characteristics of Animals, published in three volumes by Harvard/Heinemann, Loeb Classical Library, 1958. Online version at the Topos Text Project.
Claudius Aelianus, De Natura Animalium, Latin translation by Friedrich Jacobs in the Frommann edition, Jena, 1832. Latin translation available at Bill Thayer's Web Site
Claudius Aelianus, De Natura Animalium, Rudolf Hercher. Lipsiae, in aedibus B. G. Teubneri, 1864. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
Gaius Julius Hyginus, Fabulae from The Myths of Hyginus translated and edited by Mary Grant. University of Kansas Publications in Humanistic Studies. Online version at the Topos Text Project.
Hesiod, Theogony from The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Cambridge, MA.,Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.
Kerényi, Carl, The Gods of the Greeks, Thames and Hudson, London, 1951.
Publius Ovidius Naso, Metamorphoses translated by Brookes More (1859-1942). Boston, Cornhill Publishing Co. 1922. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
Publius Ovidius Naso, Metamorphoses. Hugo Magnus. Gotha (Germany). Friedr. Andr. Perthes. 1892. Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library.

External links

Media related to Doris (mythology) at Wikimedia Commons

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] Kerényi, Carl (1951). The Gods of the Greeks. London: Thames and Hudson. p. 41.

[:0-2] Aelian, De Natura Animalium 14.28

[3] Hesiod, Theogony 350; Apollodorus, 1.8

[4] Hesiod, Theogony 240; Apollodorus, 1.2.7; Hyginus, Fabulae Preface

[5] Ovid, Metamorphoses 13.742 ff.

[6] Doris Cove. SCAR Composite Gazetteer of Antarctica