Greek sea gods the Enuma Elish, and where the Spirit of God is said to have "hovered over the waters" in Genesis. Pontus is the primordial deity of the sea. Poseidon, as god of the sea, was an important Olympian power; he was the chief patron of Corinth, many cities of Magna Graecia, and also of Plato's legendary Atlantis. He controls the oceans and the seas, and he also created horses. As such, he was intimately connected with the pre-historic office of king - whose chief emblem of power and primary sacrificial animal was the horse. Thus, on the Mycenean Linear B tablets
The Sea Monster bring motifs together in a single image. The abduction of a woman by a water-god is one of the oldest Greek mythological conceptions and a subject that fascinated men through to the Renaissance. Dürer adds a layer of complexity to the scene in that the woman does not seem too upset at her fate. Vasari gave an early description of the work, through a vague description of a picture of a nymph set in the ancient world. Recent interpretations mention the abduction of Scylla by the sea demon Glaucus, or the abduction of Hesione by a monster. Further speculation centres