Neptune

Also known as: bearer of the Trident / king of the sea / the King of the ocean / trident-bearing father of the raging deep · Family: Gods · Role: god of the sea · First appears: Fable 1

In fable 1, Neptune is married to Amphitrite, daughter of Oceanus and Doris. In fable 8, as Jupiter’s azure brother, he joins the deluge by unleashing auxiliary waves and striking the Earth with his trident to open the sources of its waters, until sea and land become one. In fable 9, he commands his son Triton to sound his shell, making the waters retreat within their shores and banks.

By fable 44, Neptune removes mortality from Ino and Melicerta, changes their forms and names, and makes them sea deities. Traditions name him the father of Bœotus, Aon, Rhodos, Triton, Otus, Ephialtes, Arion, Delphus, ephyre, and Taras, while Pegasus is, according to some, his child by Medusa. He seduces Canace in the form of a bull; commits violence upon Iphimedeia in the form of a river, fathering Otus and [[Ephialtes]; courts Theophane as a ram, Ceres, Medusa, and Melantho; and is formerly in love with Metra, whom he transforms into a fisherman so she can escape her pursuing master. At sea, he grants Perimele refuge by changing her floating body into an island after Acheloüs appeals to him.

In fable 77, Theseus is his grandson through Ægeus, and in fable 91 Hippomenes and Onchestius likewise trace their descent to him. At Troy, Neptune and Apollo build Laomedon’s walls, but when the king refuses the promised reward, Neptune drives the waters against Troy and declares, “Thou shalt not escape unpunished,” with the punishment also demanding Hesione for a sea monster.