In the more familiar variant, Ino, the daughter of Cadmus, sister of Semele, and queen of Athamas, became a goddess after Hera drove her insane as a punishment for caring for the newborn Dionysus. She leapt into the sea with her son Melicertes in her arms, and out of pity, the Hellenes asserted, the Olympian gods turned them both into sea-gods, transforming Melicertes into Palaemon, the patron of the Isthmian Games, and Ino into Leucothea.
She has a sanctuary in Laconia, where she answers people's questions about dreams, her form of oracle.
In the version sited at Rhodes, a much earlier mythic level is reflected in the genealogy: There, a nymph or goddess named Halia ("salty")[a] plunged into the sea and became Leucothea. Her parents were the titansThalassa and Pontus (or Uranus). She was a local nymph and one of the aboriginal Telchines of the island. Halia became Poseidon's wife and bore him Rhodos and six sons; their sons were maddened by Aphrodite in retaliation for an inhospitable affront, assaulted their own mother Halia, and were confined in caves beneath the island by their father Poseidon; Halia cast herself into the sea, and became Leucothea. The people of Rhodes traced their mythic descent from the nymph Rhodos and the Sun godHelios.[1][2][3]
In the Odyssey,[4] Leucothea makes a dramatic appearance and tells the shipwrecked Odysseus to discard his cloak and raft, and offers him a veil[b] to wind round himself, to save his life and reach land. Homer makes Leucothea the transfiguration of Ino.
It is possible that Leucothea is the "Leucothoe" that Hyginus makes the mother of Thersanon by Helios, although he could be referring to another woman by the same name.[5]
Cultural allusionsedit
Leucothea is mentioned by John Milton in the Paradise Lost scene where archangel Michael descends to Adam and Eve to declare that they must no longer abide in Paradise (second edition, 1674, book XI, lines 133–135):
Meanwhile, To re-salute the world with sacred light, Leucothea waked;…[6]
In Ezra Pound's Cantos, she is one of the goddess figures who comes to the poet's aid in Section: Rock-Drill (Cantos 85–95). She is introduced in Canto 91 as "Cadmus's daughter":
As the sea-gull Κάδμου θυγάτηρ said to Odysseus KADMOU THUGATER "get rid of parap[h]ernalia"
She returns in Cantos 93 ("Κάδμου θυγάτηρ") and 95 ("Κάδμου θυγάτηρ/ bringing light per diafana/ λευκὁς Λευκόθοε/ white foam, a sea-gull… 'My bikini is worth yr/ raft'. Said Leucothae… Then Leucothea had pity,/'mortal once/ Who now is a sea-god…'"), and reappears at the beginning of Canto 96, the first of the Thrones section ("Κρήδεμνον…/ κρήδεμνον…/ and the wave concealed her,/ dark mass of great water.").
Leucothea appears twice in Dialoghi con Leucò (Dialogues with Leucò) by Cesare Pavese.
Leucothea becomes a metaphor, in Marcel Proust's In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower, for the mist that covers a young man's gaze when looking on the beauty of young women: "…a cloud that had re-formed a few days later, once I had met them, muting the glow of their loveliness, often passing between them and my eyes, which saw them now dimmed, as through a gentle haze, reminiscent of Virgil's Leucothea."[7]
Russo, Sergio (2017). Quando il mare profuma di ambrosia. Leucotea e Palemone nel Mediterraneo.
May 04, 2024
leucothea, genus, ctenophores, ctenophore, ancient, cypriot, city, sometimes, known, nicosia, greek, mythology, greek, Λευκοθέα, translit, leukothéa, white, goddess, sometimes, also, called, leucothoe, greek, Λευκοθόη, translit, leukothóē, aspects, under, whic. For the genus of ctenophores see Leucothea ctenophore For the ancient Cypriot city sometimes known as Leucothea see Nicosia In Greek mythology Leucothea lj uː ˈ k oʊ 8 i e Greek Leyko8ea translit Leukothea lit white goddess sometimes also called Leucothoe Greek Leyko8oh translit Leukothoe was one of the aspects under which an ancient sea goddess was recognized in this case as a transformed nymph Leukothea Goddess of Sailors Contents 1 Mythology 2 Cultural allusions 3 Namesake 4 Notes 5 References 6 General referencesMythology editIn the more familiar variant Ino the daughter of Cadmus sister of Semele and queen of Athamas became a goddess after Hera drove her insane as a punishment for caring for the newborn Dionysus She leapt into the sea with her son Melicertes in her arms and out of pity the Hellenes asserted the Olympian gods turned them both into sea gods transforming Melicertes into Palaemon the patron of the Isthmian Games and Ino into Leucothea She has a sanctuary in Laconia where she answers people s questions about dreams her form of oracle In the version sited at Rhodes a much earlier mythic level is reflected in the genealogy There a nymph or goddess named Halia salty a plunged into the sea and became Leucothea Her parents were the titans Thalassa and Pontus or Uranus She was a local nymph and one of the aboriginal Telchines of the island Halia became Poseidon s wife and bore him Rhodos and six sons their sons were maddened by Aphrodite in retaliation for an inhospitable affront assaulted their own mother Halia and were confined in caves beneath the island by their father Poseidon Halia cast herself into the sea and became Leucothea The people of Rhodes traced their mythic descent from the nymph Rhodos and the Sun god Helios 1 2 3 In the Odyssey 4 Leucothea makes a dramatic appearance and tells the shipwrecked Odysseus to discard his cloak and raft and offers him a veil b to wind round himself to save his life and reach land Homer makes Leucothea the transfiguration of Ino It is possible that Leucothea is the Leucothoe that Hyginus makes the mother of Thersanon by Helios although he could be referring to another woman by the same name 5 Cultural allusions editLeucothea is mentioned by John Milton in the Paradise Lost scene where archangel Michael descends to Adam and Eve to declare that they must no longer abide in Paradise second edition 1674 book XI lines 133 135 Meanwhile To re salute the world with sacred light Leucothea waked 6 Leucothea is mentioned by Robert Graves in The White Goddess In Ezra Pound s Cantos she is one of the goddess figures who comes to the poet s aid in Section Rock Drill Cantos 85 95 She is introduced in Canto 91 as Cadmus s daughter As the sea gull Kadmoy 8ygathr said to OdysseusKADMOU THUGATER get rid of parap h ernalia She returns in Cantos 93 Kadmoy 8ygathr and 95 Kadmoy 8ygathr bringing light per diafana leykὁs Leyko8oe white foam a sea gull My bikini is worth yr raft Said Leucothae Then Leucothea had pity mortal once Who now is a sea god and reappears at the beginning of Canto 96 the first of the Thrones section Krhdemnon krhdemnon and the wave concealed her dark mass of great water Leucothea appears twice in Dialoghi con Leuco Dialogues with Leuco by Cesare Pavese Leucothoe was the first work by the Irish playwright Isaac Bickerstaffe published in 1756 Leucothea becomes a metaphor in Marcel Proust s In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower for the mist that covers a young man s gaze when looking on the beauty of young women a cloud that had re formed a few days later once I had met them muting the glow of their loveliness often passing between them and my eyes which saw them now dimmed as through a gentle haze reminiscent of Virgil s Leucothea 7 Leukothea is a poem by Keith Douglas 8 Namesake edit35 LeukotheaNotes edit Halia means salty or of the sea perhaps a personification of the saltiness of the sea veil is a translation of Greek krhdemnon translit krḗdemnonReferences edit Graves Robert 1955 The Greek Myths Diodorus Siculus Bibliotheca historica 5 55 4 7 According to other traditions Rhodos was the daughter not of Halia Leucothea but rather Aphrodite Pindar O 7 14 or Amphitrite Apollodorus 1 4 5 Homer Odyssey 5 333 ff Hyginus Fabulae 125 Smith s v Leucothoe John Milton The English Poems Wordsworth Poetry Library 2004 Marcel Proust In the Shadow of Young Girls in Flower trans James Grieve New York Penguin Books 2002 526 Keith Douglas The Complete Poems with introduction by Ted Hughes Oxford University Press 2011 General references edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Leucothea Burkert Walter 1985 Greek Religion Cooper J C ed 1997 Brewer s Book of Myth and Legend Oxford Helicon Publishing Ltd Kerenyi Karl 1951 The Gods of the Greeks Russo Sergio 2017 Quando il mare profuma di ambrosia Leucotea e Palemone nel Mediterraneo Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Leucothea amp oldid 1204633692, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
