Amphitrite

### Aliases

Salacia, Queen of the Seas, Salachia, Queen of the Sea, Leader of the Nereids, Goddess of Saltwater, Goddess of Springs, Lady of the Depths of the Ocean, Queen of Oceanic Beasts

## Physical description

### Gender

Female

> Calm down, husband. Just because its king failed to sacrifice some stupid bulls don't mean you can rain such horrid punishment upon their house. Remember, his wife Pasiphaë is Helios' child, a stepdaughter of our dear Rhodos. I doubt any of our in-law would appreciate her being raped by a bull.
>
> Amphitrite.

> How cute. The young godling truly believes he can win against an immortal like us. I like that.
>
> Amphitrite.

**Amphitrite** is a goddess of salt water, the sea, and springs worshiped by the ancient Greeks who presided over the depths of the ocean.

## Overview

Amphitrite was convinced by the Dodekatheon to become Poseidon’s consort. As her voice can lull her temperamental husband to a deep slumber, she is known as the personification of the calm seas and the goddess of safe passage when traveling through a storm.

Amphitrite had many children, which included seals, dolphins, and sea monsters. Together with Poseidon, they had Triton, a merman, Rhodos, a wife of the sun god Helios, and Benthesikyme, the foster mother of Eumolpus.

## Appearance

Amphitrite is represented as a beautiful nymph, crowned with seaweed, and dressed in queenly robes and has nets in her hair.

She is often depicted as either enthroned beside Poseidon or driving with him in a pearl shell chariot drawn by dolphins, hippocampi, or other sea creatures, and attended by Tritons and the Nereids.

## Personality

She is the only person capable of soothing her husband Poseidon's wrath whenever he's angry.

## History

Poseidon, the roman god of the sea, wanted to marry the goddess, but she was in great awe of her distinguished suitor and managed to glide out of his sight with celerity in order to preserve her virginity, escaping into the Atlantic Ocean.

The grieving god was saddened by this and he sent one of his dolphins to find and persuade the Amphitrite to become his wife.

The goddess eventually agreed and returned to marry Poseidon, becoming the Queen of the sea. Overjoyed, the dolphin was awarded a place in the heavens, where he now forms the constellation Delphinus.

## Myths and Legends

Amphitrite’s heritage has been debated by many as there are several variations of her background. Some say she is the daughter of Nereus and Doris, making her a Nereid. However, in Hesiod's Theogony, she is an Oceanid and a daughter of Oceanus and Tethys. In the Bibliotheca, she is part of both the Nereids and the Oceanids. Still, there are others who consider her to be the personification of the sea itself.

## Trivia

* The name "Salacia" derived from the Latin *sal*, meaning "salt", and the name denotes the wide, open sea.
	+ It is sometimes literally translated to mean "sensational".
* Sometimes, she is also known as the goddess of springs, ruling over the springs of highly mineralized waters.
* Roman priests would invoke specific attributes of various gods, “maia Volcani, Salacia Neptuni, hora Quirini, nerio Martis.”
	+ Salacia Neptuni means “effervescence of Neptune”.
* She and Venilia are often called the *paredrae of Neptune*.
* The trans-Neptunian object 120347 Salacia is named after her.