Αμφιτριτη
The Queen of the Sea, she who encircles the Earth. She was a member of the circle of the daughters of Nereus and Doris known as the Nereids, and it was she who led their chorus. One day when they were all dancing near the island of Naxos Poseidon saw her and carried her off. There is also a story that Poseidon had been in love with her for a long time but that she would have nothing to do with him and hid herself in the depths of the Ocean beyond the Pillars of Hercules. She was discovered by the Dolphins and brought back by them in a great procession to Poseidon, who married her. She played the same part in the company of the gods as Hera with Zeus and Persephone with the god of the dead. She was frequently depicted surrounded by a large retinue of divinities of the sea.
{E2 DICTIONARY OF CLASSICAL MYTHOLOGY}
Table of Sources:
- Hom. Od. 3, 91; 12, 60
- Hesiod, Theog. 243
- Apollod. Bibl. 1, 2, 7; 1, 2, 2; 1, 4, 5
- schol. on Hom. Od. 3, 91
- Hyg. Astron. 2, 17