Ceto or Keto (: Κητώ, Kētō, ""), is a in , the daughter of and . Ceto was also variously called Crataeis[] (Κράταιις, Krataiis, from "mighty") and Trienus (Τρίενος, Trienos, from "within three years"), and was occasionally conflated by scholars with the goddess (for whom Trienus and Crataeis are also ). As a mythological figure, she is most notable for bearing by a host of monstrous children. The was named after her, and its satellite after Phorcys.
This goddess should not be confused with the minor also named Ceto — who appears in 's as a separate character from Ceto the daughter of Pontus and Gaia — or with various mythological beings referred to as (plural ketea); this is a general term for "sea monster" in Ancient Greek.
Ceto in ancient texts; The goddess Ceto aiding her father Pontus in the mythological war known as the — c. 166–156 BC — Gigantomachy Frieze,
's lists the children of Phorcys and Ceto as , (, , and the infamous ), (, , , and sometimes ), and , also called the Drakon Hesperios ("Hesperian Dragon", or dragon of the Hesperides). These children tend to be consistent across sources, though Ladon is sometimes cited as a child of Echidna by and therefore Phorcys and Ceto's grandson.
The Scholiast on cites Phorcys and Ceto as the parents of the , but this assertion is not repeated in other ancient sources.
Homer refers to , the mother of in , as a daughter of Phorcys, but does not indicate whether Ceto is her mother.
mentions worship of "storied Ceto" at Joppa (now ), in a single reference, immediately after his mention of , whom rescued from a sea-monster. S. Safrai and M. Stern suggest the possibility that someone at Joppa established a cult of the monster under the name Ceto. As an alternative explanation, they posit that Pliny or his source misread the name cetus — or that of the Syrian goddess .
Ceto in popular culture
Ceto appears in 's , where she and her brother-husband Phorcys run an aquarium featuring shows by sea monsters and other underwater mythological creatures called "Death in the Deep Seas" (Sponsored by Monster Donut) out of the Georgia Aquarium. and , both descended from , are imprisoned by Phorcys. They are rescued by the , who kicks Ceto in the head and rescues Percy and Frank. This angers Ceto, so she sends a giant to attack their ship, the Argo II, but it is defeated by the , who promise to defeat Ceto and Phorcys.
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Myths and Mortals (Greek Mythology)
FantasyDo you know your Artemis from your Aphrodite? Can you name the god of the Underworld, the sea, the sun? Which god rules them all, holding a thunderbolt in his hand, or claw, when he transforms into an eagle? Or what monsters lurk in the depths of Ta...
