The River at the Edge of the World
Oceanus was the eldest of the twelve Titans, children of Uranus and Gaia. To the early Greeks he was not the sea as we picture it but a vast freshwater river that flowed in an endless circle around the rim of the flat earth, the source of every spring, stream, and ocean current. From his waters the sun, moon, and stars were thought to rise and set.
His name, Okeanos, is of uncertain and possibly pre-Greek origin; it gave us the very word "ocean." With his sister-wife the Titaness Tethys he fathered the three thousand river-gods and the Oceanid nymphs who personified the world's waters.
Unlike his brother Cronus, Oceanus took no part in the rebellion against Uranus or the later war against the Olympians. Remaining neutral in the Titanomachy, he was spared imprisonment in Tartarus and continued, in Greek imagination, to circle the world forever.
Common Questions
Is Oceanus the same as Poseidon?
No. Oceanus is an older Titan personifying the world-encircling river, while Poseidon is the Olympian god who later ruled the sea. Oceanus belongs to the primordial generation that preceded Poseidon's rise.
Why was Oceanus not imprisoned in Tartarus?
Oceanus stayed neutral during the Titanomachy rather than siding with Cronus. Because he did not fight the Olympians, he was spared the imprisonment that befell most of the male Titans.
