Ichthyocentaurs

In Greek mythology ichthyocentaurs (or ikhthyokentauroi) were a pair of centaurine sea-gods with the upper body of a man, the lower front of a horse, and the tail of a fish. Also, they wore lobster-claw horns. The two sea-gods were named Bythos ("Sea-Depths" or "Depth of Profundity") and Aphros ("Sea-Foam"). They were half-brothers of the wise centaur Cheiron and the sons of Poseidon and the sea goddess Amphitrite.

These two sea-gods, though little remembered, were set in the sky as the astronomical constellation Pisces.

The twin ichthyocentaurs appear together in several works of art. A mosaic from Zeugma (Z10.1), depicting the birth of Aphrodite, is inscribed with the names of the two, who are lifting the goddess' cockle-shell out of the sea. Aphros was perhaps regarded as her foster-father, given their similarity in names. The two sea-gods also appear in a pair of matching sculptures (belonging to the Louvre and Vatican Museums) depicting them carrying Seilen companions of the god Dionysus, after his company was driven into the sea by King Lycurgus of Thrace.

The sea-centaurs were probably derived from the divine fish of Syrian mythology (possibly identified with Dagon ) that carried Astarte ashore following her watery birth.