Editing Melicertes (section)

==In literature and art==
Palaemon appears for the first time in [[Euripides]]' ''[[Iphigeneia in Tauris]]'', where he is already the "guardian of ships".<ref>[[Euripides]], ''[[Iphigenia in Tauris|Iphigeneia in Tauris]]'' 270</ref> The paramount identification in the Latin poets of the Augustan age is with [[Portunus (mythology)|Portunus]], the Roman god of safe harbours, memorably in [[Virgil]]'s ''[[Georgics]]''.<ref>[[Virgil]], ''[[Georgics]]'' 1.436–7: sailors, preserved from the hazards of the sea and safely ashore, give thanks to Melicertes.</ref> [[Ovid]] twice told the story of Ino's sea-plunge with Melicertes in her arms.<ref>[[Ovid]], ''[[Fasti (poem)|Fasti]]'' 6.473 ff.; ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' 4.416 ff.</ref>

Ovid's treatment in his ''[[Fasti (poem)|Fasti]]'' is the earliest to identify the [[Isthmus]] as the location, though without literally naming it:{{blockquote|A land there is, shrunk within narrow bounds, which repels twin seas, and single in itself, is lashed by two-fold waters.}}

In later Latin poets there are numerous identifications of Palaemon with the sanctuary at the Isthmus, where no archaeological evidence was found for a pre-Augustan cult.

[[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]] states both that Ino cast herself into the sea with her younger son by Athamas, Melicertes, and was made a goddess,<ref>Hyginus, ''Fabulae'' [https://topostext.org/work/206#224 224]</ref> and that Ino, daughter of Cadmus, killed her son Melicertes by Athamas, son of [[Aeolus (son of Hellen)|Aeolus]], when she was fleeing from Athamas.<ref>Hyginus, ''Fabulae'' [https://topostext.org/work/206#239 239] & [https://topostext.org/work/206#243 243]</ref>

In Greco-Roman views, Palaemon is viewed as a [[dolphin]]-riding boy, or a child with a [[Triton (mythology)|triton]] tail.