Thalassa

Thalassa is a name with two principal senses. In Greek mythology, Thalassa is the personification of the sea. She is depicted as a sea goddess or as a primordial force associated with the ocean. The name itself comes from the Greek word thalassa, meaning sea. In various myths, her exact parentage and status vary; she is commonly linked to the marine realm and maritime phenomena, and in some traditions is described as a daughter of Pontus and Gaia or of Oceanus and Tethys. She is also invoked as a symbol of the sea’s ever-changing nature in poetry and cult practice.

Thalassa is also the name of a small moon of Neptune. It was discovered by the Voyager 2 spacecraft during its 1989 flyby and named after the sea goddess. It is one of Neptune’s inner, irregular moons and, like its sister moons, bears a name drawn from Greek mythology. The designation Thalassa confirms its status as a natural satellite of Neptune and a subject of ongoing astronomical observation.