The Hellenic pantheon literally has hundreds of Gods, Goddesses, Titans, nature spirits, heroes, kings and queens. Although Hellenismos focusses mostly on the Big Twelve, Hades, Hestia and Hekate, Hellenic mythology is a true treasure trove of immortals. Most of these 'lesser' immortals get very little attention, and I'd like to change this. So, ever now and again, I'm going to introduce one of the lesser known immortals and  try and find a place for them in modern Hellenistic worship, based off of their ancient Hellenic worship. Today, I'm introducing to you Amphitrite (Ἀμφιτρίτη), wife of Poseidon.


Amphitrite's parentage is debated. She is described as being a daughter of Oceanos and Tethys, and thus one of the Oceanids, in Apollodorus' Bibliotheca, but Hesiod lists her as a Nereid, the daughter of Nereus and Doris. In the Theogony, Hesiod writes:

"And of Nereus and rich-haired Doris, daughter of Ocean the perfect river, were born children, passing lovely amongst goddesses, Ploto, Eucrante, Sao, and Amphitrite."

From this, we can deduce that Amphitrite's genealogy looks something like this, according to Hesiod:

Or like this, from the Bibliotheca:

Amphitrite is a sea Goddess, as is clear by Her parentage (no matter the author) and Her marriage to Poseidon, Lord of the Mediterranean seas. Amphitrite's offspring are many, seeing and both seals and dolphins were born from Her. She also had a merman son, Triton (Τρίτων), and a sea nymph daughter, Rhode (Ῥόδη), with Poseidon. According to the Bibliotheca, the two had another daughter, Benthesikyme, who went on to rear Her half brother Eumolpus, son of Chione and Poseidon.

Amphitrite didn't have a cult dedicated to Her worship back in ancient Hellas, but She was of great importance in the archaic age. She is mentioned in the Homeric Hymn to Delian Apollon as one of Leto's midwives and before Poseidon's rule of the sea became supreme, Amphitrite ruled it, along with Her Nereids. This remained true at least until the Illiad. Even after that, when Amphitrite was mentioned in texts which proclaimed Her dominance of the sea, Poseidon was rarely mentioned. If anything, He was mentioned as her husband, and not the other way around. There is evidence of Her worship at the temple of Poseidon at Korinthos, at the altar of Apollon at Amyklai in Lakonia and at Olympia.

Another indication that this was one special Lady is the tale of how the two ended up together. Poseidon saw her dancing with Her Nereids at Naxos (Νάξος), one of the larger islands of Greece. He fell for Her instantly and tried to take Her. She rebuffed His advances and fled to Atlas, the farthest end of the sea. Poseidon, sick with love, sent His dolphin after Her to persuade Her to talk to Him, at least. He eventually found Her and spoke on behalf of His master. His words were so sweet and rang so true, that Amphitrite decided to give Poseidon a chance. It was because of the dolphin, Poseidon eventually got to marry Amphitrite, and He was so grateful, He placed the dolphin in the sky as the constellation Delphinus.

Due to her marriage with Poseidon, She is often depicted with a crown on Her head. Most often, She is beside Him, on a throne or in His chariot, like above. She is depicted as a young woman, often with a hand raised like a pincer. Often times, Her hair is covered with a net, and small crab claws adorn Her brow like little horns. 

Amphitrite is the female personification of the sea; she is not merely of the sea, she is it. She is the Queen of the sea and its supreme ruler, although She shares this glory with Poseidon, Oceanos, and other immortals of the sea. When calling to Her, you may use one of Her official titles: the loud-moaning mother of fish, seals and dolphins. For modern Hellenists, it may be wise to praise and offer to Her as well as Her husband when traveling over water, or when celebrating His festivals. This is specially true when worshipping Poseidon in one of His sea-related epithets. Like Poseidon, She may be appeased with fumigations of myrrh incense and the outpour of (sea) water.