Oceanus

Gaia, the Earth, and Uranus, the Sky, joined to produce the twelve Titans. Among their children was Oceanus, the eldest of the Titans and one of the earliest divine powers of the cosmos. His birth followed Gaia’s emergence after Chaos, Tartarus, and Eros, and after she had brought forth Uranus to surround and protect her. Gaia and Uranus also produced the mountains and Pontus, the sea.

Oceanus was understood in two related forms. He was a divine person with parents, a wife, and children. He was also the river Oceanus, which encircled the flat, disk shaped world and marked its outer boundary. Some accounts treated him as the source of all rivers. Helios, the Sun, and Eos, the Dawn, were said to rise from his eastern banks. He could be shown as a mature, bearded man, sometimes with horns and a fish tail.

Oceanus later joined with his sister Tethys. Together they produced the Oceanid nymphs, said in one account to number as many as 3,000. Doris, Amphitrite, and Metis were among the most notable. Oceanus and Tethys also became the parents of the world’s rivers. The rivers were generally male, with the exception of the river Styx. In this way, the first Titan born to Gaia and Uranus became both a divine ancestor and the encircling water that marked the limits of the world.

Zeus called the gods to aid him in his war against Cronus and the Titans. The struggle lasted ten years. Heaven, earth, and sea shook under the force of the fighting. Oceanus did not join his fellow Titans. He remained neutral while Zeus led the Olympian gods against Cronus and the other Titans.

Oceanus was the eldest child of Gaia and Uranus. He was both a Titan and the river Oceanus, which was believed to circle the earth. With his wife and sister Tethys, he fathered the rivers of the world and the Oceanid nymphs. Styx was named as their eldest or pre-eminent daughter. She was also described as a branch of Oceanus, flowing from the sacred river beneath the earth and through black night.

When Zeus called for help, imperishable Styx came first to Olympus. She supported Zeus in his fight against the Titans. Her arrival marked her movement from darkness into light. The children of Styx, Zelos, Nike, Kratos, and Bia, were also involved at this stage. Oceanus, however, did not take part in the battle. His neutrality set him apart from the Titans who opposed Zeus.

Zeus eventually prevailed. He had secured the aid of the Hecatoncheires, and the defeated Titans were imprisoned in Tartarus. The Hecatoncheires guarded them there. Oceanus was not included among the defeated Titans in this account, since he had stayed outside the war. Styx's support for Zeus linked her to the victory, while Oceanus remained apart from the conflict.