Thalassa

Thalassa is an interesting case of a goddess that may have a hidden history we do not know of. Many goddesses, such as Athena, Rhea, and even Hecate have a history that predates classical Greece. There is even a theory that says that many of the Titans are just remnants of older religions before the prime Olympian-centric religion took hold when Greece was at its height. Each of the Titans and other gods predates their own structure and form and may possibly come from older tribes and nomads even more ancient than the Greeks themselves.

Thalassa is such a case. While in the explanation of Greek myth, she simply appears much like Chronos and the Aether who are simply there, beyond the scope of time in the Greek family tree, she does however have a parentage. Thalassa is the great elder sea, very much connected with the Mediterranean, and often shown as a woman emerging from the waves. She is the primordial being of the ancient Mediterranean, the lady of the sea, and consort of Pontus the primal ocean at the edge of the map. In some stories, she has been called the daughter of the Aether and of the day, Hemera. If we were to fit her somewhere in with our reconstruction of the Greek myths then she would have been born a primordial goddess akin to the five born of chaos. 

As you may recall, the Aether is a being outside of the scope of time and space for the Theogony. Thalassa fits comfortably as the daughter of the Aether, and Hemera who is the daughter of Nyx and Erebus. 

In the Orphic Hymns, Thalassa is considered to be the mother of Aphrodite, the goddess of love and beauty. In this way Aphrodite is the daughter of the castrated Uranus and of Thalassa the elder sea. It really is a curious combination. Personally, I like the idea that Aphrodite was born from the remains of the sky and of the sea waves. It gives an extra layer of the beauty of Aphrodite’s birth. However, it does take away from the list of gods that had uniquely odd births, such as Athena, and Dionysus.

To paraphrase Sebastian the Crab from the little mermaid, “the Greek mythology world is a mess”

In History

The ancient sea surrounding the supercontinent, Pangea, has been named Thalassa

In Literature

She has been named in Homer’s Iliad, invoked by the Trojans, and in Shakespeare’s The Tempest

In Pop Culture – Thalassa appears in:

• Aesops fables
• Studio Ghibli’s Ponyo – ok, I do not know if this is a fan theory of mine or not, it may be the titan Tethys, but ever since I saw Ponyo my mind screamed Thalassa. Though she is not named this in the movie, he personality, maternal nature, and true power have always made me feel that she is Thalassa. 
• In the Percy Jackson Universe, written by Rick Riordan, Thalassa has been mentioned a few times, though not directly appearing in, The Sea of Monsters, and The Last Olympian.
• Thalassa is referenced as a powerful sea goddess in Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane.