Asia
Nymphe of the Region of Asia (or rather Anatolian peninsular)
Domains:
Oceanid
Category:
5E Alignment:
5E Domains:
5E Symbol:
Greek Name | Transliteration | Latin Spelling | Translation |
Ασιη Ασια | Asiê, Asia | Asia | Of West Asia (region) |
Ωκεανις Ωκεανιδες | Ôkeanis, Ôkeanides | Oceanid, Oceanids | Daughters of Oceanus |
ASIE (Asia) was an Oceanid-nymph of Lydia in Anatolia (West Asia) and the wife of the Titan Prometheus.
The term Asia was first applied by the ancient Greeks to the region of Anatolia (modern Turkey) rather than the entire continental mass. More specifically Asia was used to describe the ancient empire of the Lydians and its royal family (the Asiad clan)--a region often associated with the Titan Prometheus.
Asia was frequently confounded with Klymene-Asie, wife of Iapetos and mother of Prometheus, and was probably the same as Pronoia, an Okeanis also named as the wife of Prometheus.
THE OKEANIDES (Oceanids) were three thousand goddess-nymphs who presided over the sources of earth's fresh-water--from rain-clouds to subterranean springs and fountains. Their numbers included the Nephelai (Cloud-Nymphs), Aurai (Breeze-Nymphs), Naiades (Spring and Fountain Nymphs), Leimonides (Pasture Nymphs), and Anthousai (Flower Nymphs). They were all daughters of the great, earth-encircling, fresh-water stream Okeanos (Oceanus) and his wife Tethys.
The eldest among them were numbered among the Titanides (female Titans)--Styx, Dione, Neda, Metis, Klymene, Eurynome, Doris, Elektra, and Pleione. These were most likely heavenly goddesses of the clouds.
Some of the Okeanides personified divine blessings such as Metis (Wisdom), Klymene (Fame), Plouto (Wealth), Tykhe (Good Fortune), Telesto (Success), and Peitho (Persuasion). The goddess Nemesis was sometimes also included in their number as one who provided balance by punishing undeserved good fortune as might arise from her sister's gifts. These Good Spirits (Daimones Agathoi) were ephemeral in nature much like the dark children of Nyx (Night), the Spirits of Harm (Daimones Kakoi).
Another group of Okeanides were handmaidens of the Olympian goddesses, the most prominent of these were the sixty Okeanis companions of Artemis, Peitho the handmaiden of Aphrodite, and Klymene the handmaiden of Hera.
The Naias-Okeanides (Naiads) were primarily nymphs of springs, wells and fountains. They were often portrayed as the wives of the Potamoi (River-Gods) and mothers of younger Naiades.
The Okeanides were occasionally described as sea-nymphs. In the late classical era the mythical, earth-encircling, fresh-water river Okeanos was increasingly equated with the briny Atlantic and Indian Oceans, and his nymph-daughters reimagined as marine deities.