Perse (mythology)

Oceanid nymph and wife of Helios in Greek mythology

Perse

Member of the Oceanids
Abode| Ocean
Genealogy
Parents| Oceanus and Tethys
Siblings| Oceanids, Potamoi
Consort| Helios
Children| Circe, Aeëtes, Pasiphaë, Perses, Aloeus

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Greek deities
series

* Primordial deities
* Titans and Olympians
* Chthonic deities
* Personified concepts

Water deities

* Amphitrite
* Ceto
* Glaucus
* Nereus
* Oceanus
* Phorcys
* Pontus
* Poseidon
* Potamoi
* Proteus
* Tethys
* Thetis
* Triton

Nymphs

* Alseid
* Anthousai
* Auloniad
* Aurae
* Crinaeae
* Daphnaie
* Dryads
* Eleionomae
* Epimeliads
* Hamadryads
* Hesperides
* Hyades
* Lampads
* Leimakids
* Limnades
* Meliae
* Melinoë
* Naiads
* Napaeae
* Nephele
* Nereids
* Oceanids
* Oreads
* Pegaeae
* Pegasides
* Pleiades
* Potamides

* v
* t
* e

In Greek mythology, Perse (Ancient Greek: Πέρση, romanized: Pérsē, lit. 'destroyer') is one of the 3,000 Oceanids, water-nymph daughters of the Titans Oceanus and Tethys.[1][2][3] Her name was also spelled as Persa, Perseide, Persea[4] or Perseis (Περσηίς, Persēís).[5] Perse married Helios, the god of the sun, and bore him several children, most notably the sorceress-goddess Circe.

## Mythology

[edit]

Perse was one of the wives of the sun god, Helios.[6][7] According to Homer and Hesiod, with Helios she had Circe and Aeëtes,[8] with later authors also mentioning their children Pasiphaë,[9] Perses,[10] Aloeus,[11] and even Calypso,[11] who is however more commonly the daughter of Atlas. It is not clear why Perse bore Helios, the source of all light, such dark and mysterious children.[12]

When Aphrodite cursed Helios to fall in love with the mortal princess Leucothoe, he is said to have forgotten about Perse.[13] She seems to have been linked to witchcraft and knowledge of herbs and potions, much like her daughters Circe and Pasiphaë.[14] She might have also been associated with the witchcraft goddess Hecate, who was also called Perseis (as in "daughter of Perses")[15][16] and who is said to be Circe's mother in one version.[17][18]

## Possible connections

[edit]

Perseis' name has been linked to Περσίς (Persís), "female Persian", and πέρθω (pérthō), "destroy" or "slay" or "plunder".[citation needed]

Kerenyi also noted the connection between her and Hecate due to their names, denoting a chthonic aspect of the nymph, as well as that of Persephone, whose name "can be taken to be a longer, perhaps simply a more ceremonious, form of Perse",[19] as did Fowler, who noted that the pairing made sense given Hecate's association with the Moon.[20] It has been suggested that Hecate's "Perseis" epithet denotes lunar connections.[21] However, as Mooney notes, there is no evidence that Perse was ever a moon goddess on her own right.[22]

An inscription of Mycenaean Greek (written in Linear B) was found on a tablet from Pylos, dating back to 1400–1200 BC. John Chadwick reconstructed[n 1] the name of a goddess, *Preswa who could be identified with Perse. Chadwick found speculative the further identification with the first element of Persephone.[24][25]

## Genealogy

[edit]

Perse's family tree

| | | | | | | | | | Gaia| | | | |

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | | Uranus| | | | | | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Hyperion| | Theia| | Oceanus| | Tethys
| | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | |
| | | | | Helios| | PERSE| | | |

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Circe| | Aeëtes| | Pasiphaë| | Perses| | Aloeus|

## See also

[edit]

* Ancient Greece portal
* Mythology portal

* Medea
* Perimede
* Neaera
* List of Oceanids
* List of Mycenaean deities

## Footnotes

[edit]

1. ^ The actual word in Linear B is 𐀟𐀩𐁚, pe-re-*82 or pe-re-swa; it is found on the PY Tn 316 tablet.[23]

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ Hesiod, Theogony 356
2. ^ Kerényi, Carl (1951). The Gods of the Greeks. London: Thames and Hudson. p. 40.
3. ^ Bane, Theresa (2013). Encyclopedia of Fairies in World Folklore and Mythology. McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers. p. 270. ISBN 978-0-7864-7111-9.
4. ^ Virgil, Ciris 66
5. ^ Tzetzes on Lycophron, 798
6. ^ Hecataeus of Miletus, fr. 35A Fowler
7. ^ Hard, p. 44
8. ^ Homer, Odyssey 10.135; Hesiod, Theogony 956
9. ^ Apollonius of Rhodes, 4.591; Apollodorus, 1.9.1; Cicero, De Natura Deorum 48.4
10. ^ Hyginus, Fabulae Preface
11. ^ a b Tzetzes ad Lycophron, 174 (Gk text)
12. ^ Bell, s. v. Perse
13. ^ Ovid, Metamorphoses 4.205[permanent dead link]
14. ^ Ovid, The Cure for Love Part IV
15. ^ Apollonius of Rhodes, 3.478
16. ^ Johannsen, Nina (2006). "Perse(is)". In Cancik, Hubert; Schneider, Helmuth (eds.). Brill's New Pauly. Translated by Christine F. Salazar. Kiel: Brill Reference Online. doi:10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e914920. Retrieved June 25, 2023.
17. ^ Diodorus Siculus, 4.45.1
18. ^ The Classical Review vol. 9, p. 391
19. ^ Karl Kerenyi, The Gods of the Greeks, 1951, pp 192-193
20. ^ Fowler, p. 16, vol. II
21. ^ The Classical Review vol. 9, pp 391–392
22. ^ Mooney, p. 58
23. ^ Raymoure, K.A. "pe-re-*82". Minoan Linear A & Mycenaean Linear B. Deaditerranean. "PY 316 Tn (44)". DĀMOS: Database of Mycenaean at Oslo. University of Oslo.
24. ^ Chadwick, John (1976). The Mycenaean World. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. p. 95\. ISBN 0-521-29037-6. At Google Books.
25. ^ Comments about the goddess pe-re-*82 of Pylos tablet Tn 316, tentatively reconstructed as *Preswa

"It is tempting to see ... the classical Perse ... daughter of Oceanus ...; whether it may be further identified with the first element of Persephone is only speculative." John Chadwick. Documents in Mycenean Greek. Second Edition

## References

[edit]

* Apollodorus, The Library with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. ISBN 0-674-99135-4. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.
* Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica translated by Robert Cooper Seaton (1853–1915), R. C. Loeb Classical Library Volume 001. London, William Heinemann Ltd, 1912. Online version at the Topos Text Project.
* Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica. George W. Mooney. London. Longmans, Green. 1912. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
* Bell, Robert E., Women of Classical Mythology: A Biographical Dictionary, ABC-CLIO 1991, ISBN 0-87436-581-3. Internet Archive.
* Hesiod, Theogony from The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.
* Homer, The Odyssey with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, Ph.D. in two volumes. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1919. ISBN 978-0674995611. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library. Greek text available from the same website.
* Diodorus Siculus, The Library of History translated by Charles Henry Oldfather. Twelve volumes. Loeb Classical Library. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1989. Vol. 3. Books 4.59–8. Online version at Bill Thayer's Web Site
* Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica. Vol 1-2. Immanel Bekker. Ludwig Dindorf. Friedrich Vogel. in aedibus B. G. Teubneri. Leipzig. 1888–1890. Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
* Hyginus, Gaius Julius, The Myths of Hyginus. Edited and translated by Mary A. Grant, Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 1960.
* Hard, Robin, The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology: Based on H.J. Rose's "Handbook of Greek Mythology", Psychology Press, 2004, ISBN 9780415186360. Google Books.
* Kerényi, Karl (1951). The Gods of the Greeks. London: Thames and Hudson. ISBN 0-500-27048-1.
* Marcus Tullius Cicero, Nature of the Gods from the Treatises of M.T. Cicero translated by Charles Duke Yonge (1812–1891), Bohn edition of 1878. Online version at the Topos Text Project.
* Marcus Tullius Cicero, De Natura Deorum. O. Plasberg. Leipzig. Teubner. 1917. Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
* Mooney, Carol M., Hekate: Her Role and Character in Greek Literature from before the Fifth Century B.C., a thesis submitted to the faculty of graduate studies, McMaster University, 1971.
* Ovid. Metamorphoses, Volume I: Books 1-8. Translated by Frank Justus Miller. Revised by G. P. Goold. Loeb Classical Library No. 42. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1977, first published 1916. ISBN 978-0-674-99046-3. Online version at Harvard University Press.
* Publius Ovidius Naso, Metamorphoses translated by Brookes More (1859–1942). Boston, Cornhill Publishing Co. 1922. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
* Publius Ovidius Naso, Metamorphoses. Hugo Magnus. Gotha (Germany). Friedr. Andr. Perthes. 1892. Latin text available at the Perseus Digital Library.
* Publius Ovidius Naso, Remedia Amoris in The Love Poems: The Amores, Ars Amatoria and Remedia Amoris, with an English translation by A. S. Kline. 2001. Full text available at poetryintranslation.com.
* The Classical Review, volume IX, 1985, Library of Illinois.

## External links

[edit]

Look up Perse in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

* PERSE on the Theoi Project

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Ancient Greek deities

Primordial
deities|

* Aether
* Ananke
* Chaos
* Chronos
* Erebus
* Eros
* Gaia
* Hemera
* Nyx
* The Ourea
* Phanes
* Pontus
* Tartarus
* Uranus

Titans|

| Titans (male)|

* Coeus
* Crius
* Cronus
* Hyperion
* Iapetus
* Oceanus

|

Titanides (female)|

* Dione
* Mnemosyne
* Phoebe
* Rhea
* Tethys
* Theia
* Themis

Children of Hyperion|

* Eos
* Helios
* Selene

Children of Coeus|

* Asteria
* Leto

Children of Crius|

* Astraeus
* Pallas
* Perses

Children of Iapetus|

* Atlas
* Epimetheus
* Menoetius
* Prometheus

Olympian
deities|

| Twelve Olympians|

* Aphrodite
* Apollo
* Ares
* Artemis
* Athena
* Demeter
* Dionysus
* Hephaestus
* Hera
* Hermes
* Hestia
* Poseidon
* Zeus

|

Olympian Gods|

* Asclepius
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* Enyo
* Eris
* Iris
* Harmonia
* Hebe
* Heracles
* Paean
* Pan

Muses|

* Daughters of Zeus
* Calliope
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* Thalia
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* Apollonis
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* Aoide
* Melete
* Mneme
* Muses of the Lyre
* Hypate
* Mese
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* Polymatheia

Charites (Graces)|

* Aglaea
* Antheia
* Euphrosyne
* Hegemone
* Pasithea
* Thalia

Horae (Hours)|

* Dike
* Eirene
* Eunomia

Children of Styx|

* Bia
* Kratos
* Nike
* Zelus

Water
deities|

| Sea deities|

* Amphitrite
* Benthesikyme
* Brizo
* Calliste
* Calypso
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* Eurybia
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* The Ichthyocentaurs
* Leucothea
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* Oceanus
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* Pontus
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* Proteus
* Rhodos
* Tethys
* Thalassa
* Thaumas
* Thetis
* Triton

|

Oceanids|

* Acaste
* Admete
* Amalthea
* Asia
* Callirhoe
* Ceto
* Clymene (consort of Helios)
* Clymene (wife of Iapetus)
* Clytie
* Dione
* Dodone
* Doris
* Electra
* Eurynome
* Idyia
* Melia (consort of Apollo)
* Melia (consort of Inachus)
* Metis
* Perse
* Philyra
* Pleione
* Plouto
* Styx
* Telesto
* Theia
* Zeuxo

Nereids|

* Amatheia
* Amphithoe
* Amphitrite
* Arethusa
* Cymatolege
* Cymo
* Dynamene
* Galatea
* Galene
* Protomedeia
* Psamathe
* Sao
* Spio
* Thalia
* Thetis

Potamoi|

* Achelous
* Alpheus
* Anapus
* Asopus
* Asterion
* Axius
* Caanthus
* Cebren
* Cephissus
* Clitumnus
* Enipeus
* Kladeos
* Meander
* Nilus
* Numicus
* Phyllis
* Peneus
* Sangarius
* Scamander
* Simoeis
* Strymon

Naiads|

* Aegina
* Achiroe
* Aganippe
* The Anigrides
* Argyra
* Bistonis
* Bolbe
* Caliadne
* Cassotis
* Castalia
* Cleocharia
* Creusa
* Daphne
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* Orseis
* Pallas
* Pirene
* Salmacis
* Stilbe
* The Thriae
* Corycia
* Cleodora
* Melaina
* Tiasa

Chthonic
deities|

| Theoi Chthonioi|

* Angelos
* Gaia
* Hades
* Hecate
* The Lampads
* Melinoë
* Persephone
* Zagreus

|

Erinyes (Furies)|

* Alecto
* Megaera
* Tisiphone

Earthborn|

* Cyclopes
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* Hecatonchires
* Kouretes
* Meliae
* Telchines
* Typhon

Personifications|

| Children of Eris|

* Algos
* Amphillogiai
* The Androktasiai
* Atë
* Dysnomia
* Horkos
* Hysminai
* Lethe
* Logoi
* Limos
* Machai
* Neikea
* Phonoi
* Ponos
* Pseudea

|

Children of Nyx|

* Apate
* Eris
* Geras
* Hesperides
* Hypnos
* The Keres
* The Moirai
* Atropos
* Clotho
* Lachesis
* Momus
* Moros
* Nemesis
* Oizys
* The Oneiroi
* Philotes
* Thanatos

Children of Phorcys|

* Echidna
* The Graeae
* Deino
* Enyo
* Pemphredo
* The Gorgons
* Medusa
* Stheno and Euryale
* The Sirens

Children of Thaumas|

* Arke
* The Harpies
* Aello
* Celaeno
* Ocypete
* Podarge
* Iris

Children of
other gods|

* Aergia
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* Alala
* Aletheia
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* Caerus
* The Younger Charites
* Eucleia
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* Euthenia
* Philophrosyne
* Corus
* Deimos
* The Erotes
* Anteros
* Eros
* Hedylogos
* Hermaphroditus
* Hymen
* Pothos
* Ersa
* Eupraxia
* Hedone
* Homonoia
* Iacchus
* The Litae
* Peitho
* Phobos
* Tyche

Others|

* Achlys
* Adephagia
* Aion
* Alala
* Alke
* Amechania
* Anaideia
* Alastor
* Apheleia
* The Arae
* Dikaiosyne
* Dyssebeia
* Chrysus
* Eiresione
* Ekecheiria
* Eulabeia
* Eusebeia
* Gelos
* Heimarmene
* Homados
* Horme
* Ioke
* Kakia
* Koalemos
* Kydoimos
* Lyssa
* The Maniae
* Methe
* Nomos
* Palioxis
* Peitharchia
* Penia
* Penthus
* Pepromene
* Pheme
* Phrike
* Phthonus
* Poine
* Polemos
* Poros
* Praxidice
* Proioxis
* Prophasis
* Soter
* Soteria
* Thrasos

Other deities|

| Sky|

* The Anemoi
* Boreas
* Eurus
* Notus
* Zephyrus
* Hesperus
* Phosphorus
* Phaethon
* Astrape and Bronte
* Aura
* Chione
* The Hesperides
* The Hyades
* Nephele
* The Pleiades
* Alcyone
* Sterope
* Celaeno
* Electra
* Maia
* Merope
* Taygete
* Sirius
* Tritopatores

|

Agriculture|

* Aphaea
* Demeter
* Despoina
* Eunostus
* Opora
* Philomelus
* Plutus

Health|

* Asclepius
* Aceso
* Darrhon
* Epione
* Iaso
* Hygieia
* Paean
* Panacea
* Telesphorus

Rustic
deities|

* Aetna
* Agdistis
* The Alseids
* Amphictyonis
* The Anthousai
* Aristaeus
* Attis
* The Auloniads
* Britomartis
* The Cabeiri
* Comus
* The Dryades
* Erato
* The Hamadryades
* Chrysopeleia
* The Epimeliades
* Hecaterus
* Leuce
* The Maenades
* The Meliae
* The Nymphai Hyperboreioi
* The Oreads
* Adrasteia
* Cyllene
* Echo
* Helice
* Iynx
* Nomia
* Oenone
* Pitys
* The Pegasides
* Priapus
* Rhapso
* Silenus
* Telete

Deified people|

* Aeacus
* Heracles
* Minos
* Rhadamanthus
* Triptolemus
* Trophonius

Others|

* Alexiares and Anicetus
* Aphroditus
* Enodia
* Circe
* Enyalius
* Palaestra
* Pasiphaë
* Sosipolis

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