Phorcydes

In Greek mythology, the Phorcydes (Greek: Φόρκιδες Phorcides or Φορκυάδες Phorcyades[1]) were the children of Phorcys and Ceto (also called Krataiis or Trienos).

Hesiod's Theogony lists the children of Phorcys and Ceto as Echidna, The Gorgons (Euryale, Stheno, and the famous Medusa), The Graeae (Deino, Enyo, and Pemphredo), and Ladon, also called the Drakon Hesperios ("Hesperian Dragon", or dragon of the Hesperides). These children tend to be consistent across sources, though Ladon is sometimes cited as a child of Echidna (by Typhoeus) and therefore Phorcys and Ceto's grandson.

Apollodorus and Homer refer to Scylla as the daughter of Krataiis, with Apollodorus specifying that she is also Phorcys's daughter. Apollodorus also refers to Scylla as the daughter of Trienos, implying that Krataiis and Trienos are the same entity. Apollonius cites Scylla as the daughter of Phorcys and a conflated Krataiis-Hekate. Stesichorus refers to Scylla as a daughter of Phorcys and Lamia (potentially translated as "the shark" and referring to Ceto rather than to the mythological Libyan Queen).

The Scholiast on Apollonius Rhodius cites Phorcys and Ceto as the parents of The Hesperides, but this assertion is not repeated in other ancient sources.

Homer refers to Thoosa, the mother of Polyphemus, as a daughter of Phorcys, but does not indicate whether Ceto is her mother.

Notes

  1. ^ The form Phorcyds comes from modern dictionaries such as Wilhelm Vollmer's Wörterbuch der Mythologie (1874) (p. 380).

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