Oceanus, son of Uranus and Gaea, was a Titan and for the ancient Greeks the god of water, distinguished from Poseidon, Neptune for the Romans, who was one of the twelve gods of Olympus. A solemn worship of Oceanus was established in ancient Greece and the custom spread of making offerings and sacrifices to him before embarking on long sea voyages.
According to Homer, Oceanus was a perennial river that surrounded the entire Earth and from which the sun and stars rose and set.
His home was located in the Far West, where all things were thought to originate. A recurring theme in ancient depictions, both as a fresco and mosaic, Oceanus was represented as an old man with a long beard, and bull horns like the river gods; sometimes, however, he was crowned by crustacean claws, fish of various species poured from his mouth, and he was always surrounded by monsters of the deep, similar to the sea gods.
