Salacia

This article is about a Roman divinity. For the trans-Neptunian object, see 120347 Salacia. For other uses, see Salacia (disambiguation).

In ancient Roman mythology, Salacia (/səˈleɪʃə/ sə-LAY-shə, Latin: [saˈɫaːkia]) was the female divinity of the sea, worshipped as the goddess of salt water who presided over the depths of the ocean.^[1] Neptune was her consort.^[2] That Salacia was the consort of Neptune is implied by Varro,^[3] and is positively affirmed by Seneca, Augustine and Servius. She is identified with the Greek goddess Amphitrite, consort of Poseidon,^[4][5] or Tethys who was also a marine deity.^[6]

Salacia
Goddess of salt water
Centaur, Salacia and Neptune, fresco from Pompeii, AD 50–79
Abode	The Sea
Symbol	dolphin, seaweed
Mount	dolphin
Consort	Neptune
Offspring	Triton
Equivalents
Greek	Amphitrite

Neptune and Salacia in a mosaic, Herculaneum, 1st c. AD

Neptune and Amphitrite by Sebastiano Ricci, c. 1690

The god Neptune wanted to marry Salacia, but she was in great awe of her distinguished suitor, and to preserve her virginity, with grace and celerity she managed to glide out of his sight, and hid from him in the Atlantic Ocean. The grieving Neptune sent a dolphin to look for her and persuade the fair nymph to return and share his throne. Salacia agreed to marry Neptune and the King of the Deep was so overjoyed at these good tidings that the dolphin was awarded a place in the heavens, where he now forms a well known constellation Delphinus.^{[citation needed]}

Salacia is represented as a beautiful nymph, crowned with seaweed, either enthroned beside Neptune or driving with him in a pearl shell chariot drawn by dolphins, sea-horses (hippocamps) or other fabulous creatures of the deep, and attended by Tritons and Nereids.^[7] She is dressed in queenly robes and has nets in her hair.^[8]

Salacia was the personification of the calm and sunlit aspect of the sea.^[9] Derived from Latin sāl, meaning "salt",^[10] the name Salācia denotes the wide, open sea,^[11] and is sometimes literally translated as "the salty one".

As his wife, Salacia bore Neptune three children, the most celebrated being Triton,^[12][13] whose body was half man and half fish.

Aulus Gellius, in 13.23 of his Attic Nights,^[14] notes that Roman priests would invoke specific attributes of various gods, “maia Volcani, Salacia Neptuni, hora Quirini, nerio Martis.” Forsythe notes that Salacia Neptuni means “effervescence of Neptune”.^[15]

Sometimes, as Salachia, she is also known as the goddess of springs,^[16] ruling over the springs of highly mineralized waters.

She and Venilia are also called the paredrae of Neptune.

Planetoid 120347 Salacia is named after the goddess.