The Sea Royalty
2009
mixed media digital art
by Eric Whollem
Copyright by the artist
Nereus and Doris and the Sea Maids of the Salty Deep
Oceanos and Tethys were the primordial parents of the Oceanids, a broad
category that included most of divinities of the ancient Greeks. The Greeks
conceived the celestial dimension to be aquatic. And the Mysteries of Delphi
were indeed aquatic in symbolism, involving Apollo, the Sun Fish; Eros, the
rider of the Dolphin; Demeter, the Dolphin Mother; and Persephone the
mermaid initiate. (This latter point on Persephone is one that I developed at
length in my book, The Mysteries of the Mermaids; but this view is not
one commonly held.)
The Nereids are the offspring of the sea king Nereus and Doris, his queen.
The Nereids are the ancient salt water mermaids of the Greeks. The Naiads
are the freshwater mermaids. Nereus was the son of Gaia and the sea god
Pontus. The Nereids are thus a subcategory of Oceanid.
THE VIDEO BELOW
TOUCHES ON THE SUBJECT OF
NEREUS AND DORIS
ATLANTEAN FAUX POSTAGE STAMPS
ERIC WHOLLEM
The sea had many divinities to the mind of the Greek. Oceanos, Uranos,
Poseidon and others vie for prominence as chief god of the sea, in many
old cosmologies, each at variance one from the other. Major goddesses
of the sea in Greek lore include Tethys, Ceto, and Thalassa. Triton is the
definitive fish-tailed merman. The Greeks in their idealization of the
human form usually depicted their oceanic divinities without fish tails. But
the Greek colonists of Southern Italy left statuary of Persephone depicted
with a fish tail, (according to Barbara Vivino).
category that included most of divinities of the ancient Greeks. The Greeks
conceived the celestial dimension to be aquatic. And the Mysteries of Delphi
were indeed aquatic in symbolism, involving Apollo, the Sun Fish; Eros, the
rider of the Dolphin; Demeter, the Dolphin Mother; and Persephone the
mermaid initiate. (This latter point on Persephone is one that I developed at
length in my book, The Mysteries of the Mermaids; but this view is not
one commonly held.)
The Nereids are the offspring of the sea king Nereus and Doris, his queen.
The Nereids are the ancient salt water mermaids of the Greeks. The Naiads
are the freshwater mermaids. Nereus was the son of Gaia and the sea god
Pontus. The Nereids are thus a subcategory of Oceanid.
THE VIDEO BELOW
TOUCHES ON THE SUBJECT OF
NEREUS AND DORIS
ATLANTEAN FAUX POSTAGE STAMPS
ERIC WHOLLEM
The sea had many divinities to the mind of the Greek. Oceanos, Uranos,
Poseidon and others vie for prominence as chief god of the sea, in many
old cosmologies, each at variance one from the other. Major goddesses
of the sea in Greek lore include Tethys, Ceto, and Thalassa. Triton is the
definitive fish-tailed merman. The Greeks in their idealization of the
human form usually depicted their oceanic divinities without fish tails. But
the Greek colonists of Southern Italy left statuary of Persephone depicted
with a fish tail, (according to Barbara Vivino).
The Nereids, as the salt water mermaids of old, were honored by sailors
as their protectors. There is absolutely no lore to the effect that they
would seduce or harm sailors in any way.
Seals are said to be the offspring of the Nereids, and as such harken to
the stories of the Selkies from Celtic lore.
THE SIRENS
as their protectors. There is absolutely no lore to the effect that they
would seduce or harm sailors in any way.
Seals are said to be the offspring of the Nereids, and as such harken to
the stories of the Selkies from Celtic lore.
THE SIRENS
The Odysseus legend, a literary product of one famous poet, Homer,
has clouded the minds of many in their view of the mermaid. The story
goes that Odysseus was tormented by the song of the Sirens on the s
hore, luring him to his doom. What is often missed in interpreting this
account is the fact that Odysseus was a pirate and blasphemer and
denier of the gods. The false concept of the Sirens as seducers arose
from Homer misinterpreted.
has clouded the minds of many in their view of the mermaid. The story
goes that Odysseus was tormented by the song of the Sirens on the s
hore, luring him to his doom. What is often missed in interpreting this
account is the fact that Odysseus was a pirate and blasphemer and
denier of the gods. The false concept of the Sirens as seducers arose
from Homer misinterpreted.
THE POOL OF THE NAIADS
by Eric Whollem
digital art
COPYRIGHT BY THE ARTIST
subterranean River Styx. They were the Chorus of the Naiads overseen
by the dolphin goddess Demeter. River dolphins were especially holy in
the mysteries. The river dolphins are said to swim up the river to the
proximity of the oracular center of Delphi.
The Sirens were originally river spirits, the daughters of the River God
Achelous. So the Sirens, commonly conceived as oceanic mermaids,
were in fact Naiads, freshwater spirits.
THE DOLPHIN PEOPLE
The Greeks called themselves the Pelopidae, or people of the porpoise.
King Pelops was a famous king. As such the Greeks are kin of the
Dolphin People, who appear in California as the Chumash Indians.
*
Please post a comment if you have any questions on the subject of mermaids.
____________
See my posts on MERMAIDS on this link:
http://artblogericwhollem.blogspot.com/search/label/mermaids
View my complete GALLERY of DIGITAL MERMAID ART:
https://picasaweb.google.com/earthpaint/DigitalMermaidArt#
View my complete GALLERY of DIGITAL MERMAID ART:
https://picasaweb.google.com/earthpaint/DigitalMermaidArt#
AMONG THE STARFISH
by Eric Whollem
copyright by the artist
MYTHOLOGY
MYTHOGRAPHIC ART
*
