HALIA: A SEA NYMPH IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY

Halia means "of the sea" and she is a sea nymph in Greek mythology. She represents the saltiness of the sea. She was the lover of Poseidon, and may also have been his childhood nurse. She had seven children by him, 6 boys and a girl named Rhode. The island of Rhodes was named after her.

When Aphrodite wanted to stop at Rhodes for a brief rest the male offspring of Halia refused to allow her to set foot on the island. They are described as arrogant and insolent men. In retaliation, Aphrodite cursed them with madness and they attacked and raped their mother. For their crime Poseidon imprisoned them beneath the earth. They are now called the daimones preseoous, sea demons who haunt the caves of Rhodes. Halia, meanwhile, was filled with shame and threw herself into the sea. The gods took pity on her, however, and she was changed into the goddess Leucothea (which means "the white goddess"). The people of Rhodes worshipped her in this form.

Leucothea appears briefly in the Odyssey as a sea gull that delivers to Odysseus a magic veil that saves him from drowning.

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