- This article is about the Greek river god. For the shark-shaped daimon, see Acheilus.
Achelous is a river god from Greek mythology. As the deity of the largest river in Greece, he was considered to be the eldest and chief of the Greek river gods, and was the father of Sirens. He is the son of Oceanus and either Tethys or Gaia. His name, though of a pre-Greek origin, was later thought to mean "He who washes away care."
In Mythology[]
Achelous was a suitor of Deianeira, daughter of King Oeneus of Aetolia. Another suitor, Heracles fought him for her. Achelous turned himself into a serpent, and then later a bull, but Heracles defeated him and broke off one of his horns. Heracles gave the horn to the nymphs, where it later became the Cornucopia. In Ovid's Metamorphoses, Achelous relates this tale to Theseus while hosting him in a cave.
Analysis[]
According to Strabo, the noise of the river's water resembled a bull's voice. It's meandering nature gave rise to the serpent component of the myth. Heracles confined the raging river to a smaller embankment, thus "defeating" it and gaining large tracts of fertile land (hence the cornucopia).
The River Today[]
The river has its origin in the Pindus mountains. It is 220 km long. Its average annual discharge is 7,800,000,000 m3 of water.
Gallery[]
| River deities of Greek mythology | |
|---|---|
| River gods | Achelous • Acheron • Alpheus • Asopus • Axius • Borysthenes • Cebren • Chremetes • Cocytus • Enipeus • Eridanus • Erymanthus • Euphrates • Eurotas • Ganges • Haliacmon • Hydaspes • Inachus • Indus • Istros • Lethe • Maeander • Nilus • Pactolus • Peneus • Pyriphlegethon • Scamander • Simoeis • Strymon • Tanais • Tigris |