Aegeon

In Greek mythology, Aegeon (in Greek Αιγαιων Aigaiôn or Αιγαιος Aigaios, "of the Aegean", "goat" or "stormy »; in Latin Aegaeon or Aegean) was an ancient god of the sea, belonging to the generation of the Titans. He is often understood as the personification of the Aegean Sea, which he named after the eponymous monster. As is often the case with other minor characters in mythology, the different versions of Aegeon are difficult to reconcile, as no mythographer has revealed whether they are different characters or the same person in different contexts.

Aegeon, another name for Briareo

The first mention of Aegeon already appears in the Iliad, only as the name that mortals use to refer to the hundred-handed Briareo, the strongest of the sons of Uranus and Gaia. Homer also specifies that Briareo is the name used by the gods. Briareo's link with the sea is already explicit in the Theogony, where it can be read that both Briareo and his two brothers live in the depths of the Ocean. Ion also alludes to the same episode described in the Iliad where Thetis asks Aegeon for help to free Zeus from his bonds. However, he imagines him as the son of Thalassa, the female personification of the sea, without specifying the paternal affiliation.To complicate the matter, at least one author claimed that the names of Aegeon, Briareo and Gies all referred to the same character.

Aegeon, a sea titan

Another tradition of Aegeon appears in the lost poem of Titanomachy, where he is described as a son of Gaea and Pontus, the primordial sea, and who, as a sea dweller, was an ally of the Titans in their fight against Zeus and the other Cronids. Aegeon owned the famous columns of Heracles. However, Aegeon does not appear in the Theogony, where the orthodox descent of Pontus and Gaia, namely: Phorcis, Thaumante, Nereo, Ceto and Eurybia, described as a kind of sea titans.

Aegeon, one of the giants

Mythographers tend to confuse Titans with giants, and thus their names oscillate as participants in the great theomachy: the Titanomachy and the Gigantomachy. Aegeon is described this time as one of the giants and that he possessed the ability to produce earthquakes in his wake due to his immeasurable size.

Other homonymous characters

It is important not to confuse the giant Aegeon, previously described, with one of the Lycaonids, that is, one of the fifty sons of Lycaon.