| Grouping: | Legendary creature |
| Sub Grouping: | Hybrid |
| Folklore: | Greek mythology, Jewish folklore, Sumerian mythology |
| Habitat: | The ocean |
The sea goat or goat fish is a legendary aquatic animal described as a creature that is half-goat and half-fish.[1]
The goat fish symbolized the Babylonian god Ea. According to the Babylonian star catalogues the constellation sux-Latn | <sup> MUL </sup> SUḪUR.MAŠ was 'the goat fish'. This constellation later became the Greek and Roman Capricornus.[2] [3]
The Greek interpretation of the sea goat comes from the introduction of the Babylonian zodiac. In an attempt to codify the constellation Capricornus within the Greek pantheon, two myths were used as an explanation. One being that the constellation is Amalthea, the goat that raised Zeus. As thanks for caring for him as a child, Zeus places her amongst the stars.[4]
The other being that the sea goat is the wilderness god Pan.[5] The myth goes that Pan jumped into the river to escape the monster Typhon. He tries to turn himself into a fish while jumping into the river, but he moves too quickly and only his lower half becomes that of a fish. Zeus then engages in combat with the monster. Zeus defeats him, but not without Typhon pulling the muscles out of Zeus' legs. With the help of Hermes, Pan replaces the damaged muscles. As a reward for healing him, Zeus placed Pan in the sky as Capricorn.[6] The god Aegipan is also depicted in Greek art as a sea goat.
Imagery found at Aphrodisias, including coins dating back to the 3rd century AD, depict the goddess Aphrodite riding a sea goat.[7]
In Jewish oral history, sea goats are mentioned. The story goes that one day all the creatures of the sea must offer themselves to the monster Leviathan. It is reported that a sailor encountered a sea goat while far at sea. On its horns was carved the sentence, translated as "I am a little sea-animal, yet I traversed three hundred parasangs to offer myself as food to the leviathan."[8]