Psamathe

PSAMATHE was the Nereid goddess of sand and the wife of Proteus, herder of seals.

Psamathe was seduced by the Aiginetan king Aiakos (Aeacus) who ambushed her on the beach. She tried to escape his grasp by transforming herself into a seal but he refused to release his hold and so she conceded, bearing him a son named Phokos (Phocus) "the Seal". The boy was his father's favourite and his half-brothers Peleus and Telamon grew jealous and murdered him. Psamathe sent a giant wolf to avenge Phokos by harrassing the flocks of Peleus but he managed to assuage her wrath with proper sacrifices.

Psamathe's name means "Sand-Goddess" from the Greek words psammos (sand) and theia (goddess).

THE NEREIDES (Nereids) were fifty sea-nymphe daughters of Nereus the old man of the sea. They were goddesses of the sea's rich bounty and protectors of sailors and fishermen, coming to the aid of those in distress. Individually they represented various facets of the sea from the salty brine, to the sea foam, sand, rocks, waves and currents, as well as the various skills possessed by seamen.

The Nereides dwelt with their elderly father in a silvery grotto at the bottom of the Aegean Sea. The Nereid Thetis was their unofficial leader and Amphitrite was Poseidon's queen.

The Nereides were depicted in ancient art as beautiful, young maidens, sometimes running with small dolphins or fish in their hands, or else riding on the backs of dolphins, hippokampoi (hippocamps) and other sea creatures.

The name Nereides means "Daughters of Nereus" but also "the Wet Ones" from nêros the Greek word for "wet".