The sea often appears in myths and legends that express universal sentiment and collective unconsciousness. In particular, most creation myths begin with a chaos that refers to the sea.

In the Greek myth, Tethys, the goddess of the sea, is known as the mother of all gods along with Gaia, the goddess of the earth, and Nyx, the goddess of the night. Poseidon is in fact a distant descendant of theirs. The word Ocean was also derived from the name of a god called Oceanos

There are many myths in Asia that also portray the sea as the beginning of life. In India, Prajapati, one of the ancient gods, gave birth to herself in the sea, and created deities, demons and people from her body. In the Japanese mythology, Izanagi and Izanami, the gods of creation, were born from Kuni-Toko-Tachi, the first being to emerge from the sea of chaos. Together, Izanagi and Izanami churned the sea with their spears to create the Japanese archipelago.

It is notable that a common characteristic of deities related to the sea is that they are female. Nammu, the goddess of primeval sea in Sumerian mythology, is the mother of An, the god of sky, and Ki, the god of land. Tethys from the Greek mythology and Mama Cocha from the Inca mythology are also portrayed as female.

Humans admire the sea and long for it because of an intrinsic desire to return to the sea where primitive life began.

The sea is located in the lower domains and serves as an open space and an area of tolerance that accepts not only inflowing water but also waste and waste water for purification. Humanity has continually communicated with the wider world through the sea, as well as explored the unknown. In other words, to humankind the sea presents an opportunity for a new world with infinite possibilities.