# Leucothea and Palaemon explained — Bulfinch’s Mythology

> Chapter companion for Bulfinch’s Mythology by Thomas Bulfinch.

## What happens

Ino, daughter of Cadmus and wife of Athamas, flees her maddened husband with her son Melicertes and leaps into the sea. The gods transform them into sea deities: Ino becomes Leucothea and Melicertes becomes Palaemon. They are invoked by sailors for protection from shipwreck, and Palaemon is honored with the Isthmian games. The chapter includes poetic references to these and other sea deities by Milton and Armstrong.

## Themes in this chapter

### Love and Transformation

Ino and her son are transformed into sea deities out of divine compassion, illustrating a metamorphosis from mortal suffering to immortal protection.

### Mortality and Immortality

The leap from mortality to godhood for Ino and Melicertes highlights the boundary between human life and divine existence.

## Character check-ins

### King Cadmus

Father of Ino, mentioned as her lineage.

### Neptune

Invoked in Milton's poem as 'earthshaking Neptune'.

### Triton

Mentioned in Milton's poem as 'scaly Triton' with his winding shell.

### Phoebus Apollo

Referenced as Paeon, a name shared with Aesculapius, in Armstrong's poem.

## Key lines

> Ino, the daughter of Cadmus and wife of Athamas, flying from her frantic husband with her little son Melicertes in her arms, sprang from a cliff into the sea.

Ino, Cadmus's daughter and Athamas's wife, escaped her maddened husband by clutching her young son Melicertes and leaping off a cliff into the ocean.

_Describes the pivotal moment of desperation and transformation._

> The gods, out of compassion, made her a goddess of the sea, under the name of Leucothea, and him a god, under that of Palaemon.

The deities took pity on them, turning Ino into the sea goddess Leucothea and her son into the god Palaemon.

_Explains the divine metamorphosis and new identities._

> Both were held powerful to save from shipwreck and were invoked by sailors.

Sailors called upon Leucothea and Palaemon for protection against shipwrecks, believing them to be powerful saviors.

_Highlights their role as protectors at sea._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bulfinch_s_mythology_se/chapters/leucothea-and-palaemon
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bulfinch_s_mythology_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/bulfinch_s_mythology_se/chapters