Women, Weird and Wonderful: Amphitrite, Queen of the Oceans

The ocean god Poseidon had many amorous adventures, but when he met Amphitrite, daughter of the ancient deity Nereus, he knew he had found “the one”. The elegance in her movements, the dignity in her words, the grace in her smile… She would make a fitting “queen of the oceans”. Only problem was that Amphitrite wasn’t interested. She was “old money” as they say, daughter of the well respected “old man of the sea”. A marriage with an uncivilised parvenu like Poseidon, who only just got into power, was far beneath her. Protected by her status as she was, Poseidon couldn’t force her. So he had to prove that he wasn’t the illiterate brute she took him for. He offered her jewels of seashells, picked “dolphin flowers” (still called “delphinium”), and even wrote her poems, brought to her by his dolphin-messenger. It took time, but Amphitrite did come around. And as a genuine power couple, they would rule the oceans together. Today, you can still spot Poseidon’s dolphin at the night sky, as a lasting reminder of their alliance.

Amphitrite with a trident, Musée du Louvre, Paris, France

The Triumph of Amphitrite, Hughes Taraval, Mead Art Museum, Massachussets, USA

Did you know?

• About Poseidon/Neptunus: cfr. “The Weight of the World”, “A Crowded Mountain”, “A little Snowman”, “Shiny Seawater”, “A little Lamb”, “The Kingmaker”, “The last Stand”, “High Flyer”, “Pebbles”, “Shooting Stars”, “Victim Blaming”, “Afloat”.

• Some myths state that it was a mortal man, named Delphinos, who persuaded Amphitrite to marry Poseidon. The constellation Delphinus would than be a tribute to him. (The starsign Delphinus could also be a reference to Dionysos’/Bacchus’ abductors, cfr. “Follow the Music”, or to Arion’s dolphin, cfr. “Saved by Song”.)

• About Nereus and his Nereid-daughters: cfr. “Shiny Seawater”, “Hard to Get”, “My Fair Lady”, “The Friend Zone”, “The Old Men of the Sea”, “The Salt of the Earth”.