Greek deities
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Water deities
Nymphs

Galene (Ancient Greek: Γαλήνη Galênê means 'calm weather'[1] or 'calm, tranquility'[2]) in ancient Greek religion was a minor goddess personifying calm seas.[2] Hesiod enumerates her as one of the 50 Nereids, sea-nymph daughters of the 'Old Man of the Sea' Nereus and the Oceanid Doris,[3] perhaps identical with her sister Galatea.

Meanwhile, Euripides mentions "Galaneia" (Galênaiê) as a daughter of Pontus[4] and Callimachus refers to her as "Galenaia".[5] A statue of Galene, next to that of Thalassa, was mentioned by Pausanias as an offering at the temple of Poseidon in Corinth.[6]

The alternative name Galatea, which gained currency in the 18th century refers to same goddess.[7]

Another character, Galene was named as a maenad in a vase painting.[8]

Notes

  1. ^ Kerényi, Carl (1951). The Gods of the Greeks. London: Thames and Hudson. p. 64.
  2. ^ a b Bane, Theresa (2013). Encyclopedia of Fairies in World Folklore and Mythology. McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. p. 155. ISBN 9780786471119.
  3. ^ Hesiod, Theogony 244
  4. ^ Euripides, Helen 1457 (Greek text)
  5. ^ Callimachus, Epigrams 6 (from Athenaeus, 7.318)
  6. ^ Pausanias, 2.1.9
  7. ^ Meyer Reinhold, "The Naming of Pygmalion's Animated Statue" The Classical Journal 66.4 (1971), pp. 316-319
  8. ^ Walters, Henry Beauchamp (1905). History of Ancient Pottery: Greek, Etruscan, and Roman: Based on the Work of Samuel Birch. Vol. 2. pp. 66.

References

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