(As I devote myself to Iris as my patroness, She's encouraged me to reach out to Her family. I figured Her mother is a wonderful place to start. I wasnt entirely sure how to do the citing, so if anyone has any better-formatted ideas let me know haha.)
Elektra (lit. "amber," from êlektron) was an Okeanid-nymph, the daughter of Okeanos and Tethys. [1] Okeanos was the great river that encircled the entire world, and the father of the many river gods and naiades. As he became associated with saltwater as well as freshwater, his daughters were as well. Tethys was a sea titaness, said to be the nurse of Hera. [2]
The Theoi Project suggests her name denotes her role as one of the nephelai, cloud nymphs, specifically over amber-trimmed clouds. [3] Her name could hypothetically be connected to the epithet Elektor, often translated as beaming/radiant, used of Helios. [4]
Elektra is also listed as one of the many Okeanids which accompanied Kore-Persephone before her abduction. [1]
She was the mother of the Harpyiai and Iris by Thaumas, first mentioned in Hesiod's Theogony. [1, 5] There are various names for the Harpyiai. Both Apollodorus and Hesiod name them Okypete and Aello, though Apollodorus also names a third named Nikothoe or Aellopos. Hyginus names for them varies in his work, as he names an Aellopos, Ocypete, Calaeno, and Podarke (though not all at once; they are typically listed as three). [5]
Hyginus calls her another name, Ozomene (lit. strong branches/branching), perhaps connected to the rainbow. [6]
In the Dionysiaca, she is the mother (with Thaumas) of only Iris and a river god, Hydaspes (a personification of the modern Jhelum river). [7]
However the most interesting child listed, to me, is the goddess Arke, attested only by Ptolemy Hephaestion. [8] During the Titanomachy, Arke was the sister of Iris, daughter of Thaumas (and assumedly Elektra), who sided with the titans and became their messenger. Zeus punished her by stripping her wings and throwing her into Tartaros. He gives this as an explanation of Achilles' epithet podarkes (swift-footed).
Okeanids are primordial nymphs which rarely feature in cult, and are often portrayed as kourotrophoi (protectors of the young) in both myth and cult. [9] With Okeanos gaining a saltwater association, the Okeanids were prayed to by sailors wishing safe travel, just like the Nereids. [10]
I thought I would list out some UPG and ways to worship her, in case anyone else was interested in her as well.
Domain:
Freshwater (rivers, streams, ponds, creeks, etc)
Saltwater (though I personally associate her more with freshwater)
