Oceanus, in Greek mythology, was the river that was believed to encircle the world. The ancient Greek poet Homer called Oceanus the origin of all things, including the gods. Oceanus was also the name of the ancient god who was associated with this river. The god Oceanus was a Titan, one of the family of beings born to Uranus (the sky god) and Ge, or Gaea (the earth goddess), soon after the creation of the world. He was portrayed as an old man with a long beard and the horns of a bull. Oceanus was the husband of Tethys, who was also a Titan and a goddess of the sea.
The kindly old Oceanus and Tethys were the parents of the Oceanids, 3,000 daughters, who were sea nymphs, and another 3,000 sons, who were river spirits. The waters of Oceanus marked the limits of all known lands and the boundary between the real world and the realm of imagination, fables, and dreams. According to one myth, the sun, after setting in the west, traveled back to the east over the waters of Oceanus in a golden bowl. When the stars set, poets used to say they bathed in Oceanus.
