Father Thames

Common card · No. 477244

Father Thames or Old Father Thames is a personification of the River Thames in English folklore. There had existed multiple deities associated with the Thames previously, and while his origins are obscure, starting in the 18th century the depiction of Father Thames with his commonly accepted characteristics and appearance began. His likeness has been rendered in artwork and his name used as a poetic or literary description of the Thames. Due to the river's Roman association with the goddess Isis of Egyptian and later Roman mythology, the upper portion of the Thames has sometimes been given a feminine identity, with William Morris describing the calm upper reaches as "this far off, lonely mother of the Thames". At Seven Springs, a traditionally ascribed source of the Thames, his name is invoked with an inscription reading, in Latin, "Here, O Father Thames, is your sevenfold source". His flowing beard and hair are features commonly associated with water in mythology, and he is often depicted...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Jim Linwood from London, CC BY 2.0