Palaemon originally named Melicertes

Melicertes

In Greek mythology, Melicertes is the son of the Boeotian prince Athamas and Ino, daughter of Cadmus....

, was a minor, young sea god, son of Ino

Ino (Greek mythology)

In Greek mythology Ino was a mortal queen of Thebes, who after her death and transfiguration was worshiped as a goddess under her epithet Leucothea, the "white goddess." Alcman called her "Queen of the Sea" , which, if not hyperbole, would make her a doublet of Amphitrite.In her mortal self, Ino,...

 (Leucothea

Leucothea

In Greek mythology, Leucothea , "white goddess") was one of the aspects under which an ancient sea goddess was recognized, in this case as a transformed nymph....

). He was deified by the gods when his mother threw herself from atop a cliff with Palaemon in her arms, arguably to escape insanity

Insanity

Insanity, craziness or madness is a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity may manifest as violations of societal norms, including becoming a danger to themselves and others, though not all such acts are considered insanity...

 or to escape Athanas, King of Thebes at the time, and his father was driven to a murder

Murder

Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...

ous rage after Hera

Hera

Hera was the wife and one of three sisters of Zeus in the Olympian pantheon of Greek mythology and religion. Her chief function was as the goddess of women and marriage. Her counterpart in the religion of ancient Rome was Juno. The cow and the peacock were sacred to her...

 pushed him to it.

Early life

Being a minor god

God

God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....

, not as much was written about Palaemon, but he was a child in need of help. After his father was turned into a murderer by Hera, whose wrath his parents had incurred by fostering Palaemon, Palaemon's mother took with her him and jumped off a cliff

Cliff

In geography and geology, a cliff is a significant vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. Cliffs are formed as erosion landforms due to the processes of erosion and weathering that produce them. Cliffs are common on coasts, in mountainous areas, escarpments and along rivers. Cliffs are usually...

 to escape away from all the madness on Earth. By doing this the duo became a sea god and goddess, receiving their new names of Palaemon and Leukothea; they help distressed sailors on voyages.

Depiction

In Greco-Roman views, Palaemon is viewed as a dolphin

Dolphin

Dolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from and , up to and . They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating...

 riding boy, or a child with a triton

Triton (mythology)

Triton is a mythological Greek god, the messenger of the big sea. He is the son of Poseidon, god of the sea, and Amphitrite, goddess of the sea, whose herald he is...

 tail.

Mystery

Greeks are not sure where exactly Palaemon got his name from. Some believe his original name, Melikertes, was derived from the pre-existing god, Melkart (Melqart) from the Phoenicia

Phoenicia

Phoenicia , was an ancient civilization in Canaan which covered most of the western, coastal part of the Fertile Crescent. Several major Phoenician cities were built on the coastline of the Mediterranean. It was an enterprising maritime trading culture that spread across the Mediterranean from 1550...

n distortion. Then the Romans took the name Palaemon to mean "the honey eater", and then "god of the harbour". The name is also said to mean "the wrestler".

Mystery also surrounds Palaemon's death and deification. The Pseudo-Hyginus

Pseudo-Hyginus

De Munitionibus Castrorum is a work by an unknown author. Due to this work formerly being attributed to Hyginus Gromaticus, its author is conventionally called "Pseudo-Hyginus". This work is the most detailed description that survives about Roman military camps De Munitionibus Castrorum (About the...

, Fabulae 4 states, Ino with the younger [son of her and Athamas], Melicertes, cast herself into the sea and was made a goddess. The Pseudo-Hyginus Fabulae 239 states, Ino, daughter of Cadmus

Cadmus

Cadmus or Kadmos , in Greek mythology was a Phoenician prince, the son of king Agenor and queen Telephassa of Tyre and the brother of Phoenix, Cilix and Europa. He was originally sent by his royal parents to seek out and escort his sister Europa back to Tyre after she was abducted from the shores...

, killed her son Melicertes by Athamas, son of Aeolus, when she was fleeing from Athamas.