section_path: Terminology/Etymology
section_name: Etymology
paragraph_text: Etymology
  
  The word ocean comes from the figure in classical antiquity, Oceanus (/ oʊ ˈ s iː ə n ə s /; Greek: Ὠκεανός Ōkeanós, pronounced), the elder of the Titans in classical Greek mythology. Oceanus was believed by the ancient Greeks and Romans to be the divine personification of an enormous river encircling the world.
  
  The concept of Ōkeanós has an Indo-European connection. Greek Ōkeanós has been compared to the Vedic epithet ā-śáyāna-, predicated of the dragon Vṛtra-, who captured the cows/rivers. Related to this notion, the Okeanos is represented with a dragon-tail on some early Greek vases.