In ancient times, Ino, the wife of the local king Athamas, lived in the Greek region of Aetolia. She had two babies - sons Learchus and Melicert. Semele, Ino's sister, lived in the Greek city of Thebes and was the lover of Jupiter. From him she gave birth to Liber, who was otherwise called Bacchus. Juno, hating all her husband’s lovers, destroyed Semele, but did not rest on this. She transferred her anger to Ino, Semele's sister. The goddess clouded Atamant's mind, and he attacked his children. He killed Learchus and tried to destroy Melikert. But Ino managed to snatch the baby from the cradle and began to run. She was relentlessly pursued by the distraught Atamant. So Ino, with Melikert in her arms, ran to the seashore. Seeing that there was no salvation for her and her son, she threw herself from a high cliff into the raging sea, preferring death in the abyss to death at the hands of her insane husband.
However, one of the sea goddesses, Panope, took pity on Ino and little Melicert. She caught them and prevented them from drowning. Soon Panope was joined by her sisters - other sea goddesses - and calmly carried mother and son along the stormy waves. So slowly Ino and his son swam to the mouth of the Tiber and there, at the first morning light, they swam ashore. Near the river there was a grove in which the Bacchantes, the priestesses of Bacchus, lived. Ino headed towards them with Melikert in her arms. But Juno, still pursuing her rival’s sister, whispered to the local bacchantes that she wanted to insidiously penetrate their sacred secrets. The bacchantes sadly let down their hair and attacked Ino in anger, trying to snatch the baby from her hands. Ino screamed desperately, calling for help from the local gods, still unknown to her. At this time, Hercules passed by, driving the bulls of the giant Geryon from Spain to Greece. He heard Ino's screams and rushed to her aid. Seeing the mighty hero, the Bacchantes immediately fled. Ino told Hercules about her misadventures, and rumors about them spread throughout the surrounding area.
The wise Evander, who lived in the place where Rome would be founded in the future, also heard about them. He invited Ino and his son to his place, and his mother, the prophetess Carmenta, having nothing else to treat her, quickly baked a pie and gave the sufferer something to eat. Suddenly Carmenta's soul was filled with divine will. And she uttered a prophecy announcing that Ino’s suffering was over, she would forever remain here, where the sea goddesses carried her and her son. Both she and her son will also become sea deities. At the same time, they will change their names. The locals will call Ino Mother Matuta, and her son - Portun. Happiness overwhelmed Ino, who was already called by a new name. Having become a goddess, she did not limit herself to the sea, but in memory of the first moment of her appearance on Italian soil she also became the goddess of morning light. Portunus remained the sea god and later actively helped Aeneas in his wanderings.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru