GALENE
Greek Name
Γαληνη Γαληναιη
Transliteration
Galênê, Galênaiê
Latin Spelling
Galene, Galenaea
Translation
Calm Seas
GALENE was one of the fifty Nereides and the goddess of calm seas.
PARENTS
NEREUS & DORIS (Hesiod Theogony 260)
ENCYCLOPEDIA
GALE′NE (Galênê), a personification of the calm sea, and perhaps identical with Galateia, one of the Nereides, is called by Hesiod (Theog. 244) a daughter of Nereus and Doris.
Source: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.
CLASSICAL LITERATURE QUOTES
Hesiod, Theogony 240 ff (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C8th or C7th B.C.) :
"To Nereus and to Doris . . . there were born in the barren sea daughters greatly beautiful even among goddesses : . . . and Galene and Glauke [amongst a list of fifty Nereides]."
Aeschylus, Agamemnon 737 ff (trans. Weir Smyth) (Greek tragedy C5th B.C.) :
"At first, I would say, there came to Ilion [Troy] the spirit of unruffled calm (galênê)." [N.B. Helene of Troy is first likened at to Galene (Calm) but with the onset of war is compared to an Erinys (Fury).]
Callimachus, Epigrams 6 (from Athenaeus 7. 318) (trans. Mair) (Greek poet C3rd B.C.) :
"I the nautilus that used to sail upon the sea, if there were wind, stretching my sail on my own forestays, if Galenaie (Calm) that bright goddess, prevailed, rowing strongly with my feet."
Pausanias, Description of Greece 2. 1. 9 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
"[In the temple of Poseidon at Korinthos (Corinth) :] The other offerings are images of Galene (Calm) and of Thalassa (Sea)."
SOURCES
GREEK
- Hesiod, Theogony - Greek Epic C8th - 7th B.C.
- Aeschylus, Agamemnon - Greek Tragedy C5th B.C.
- Callimachus, Fragments - Greek Poetry C3rd B.C.
- Pausanias, Description of Greece - Greek Travelogue C2nd A.D.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
A complete bibliography of the translations quoted on this page.