Nereus
Nereus, in
Greek Mythology, was the eldest son of
Pontus and
Gaia, the
Sea and the
Earth, a
Titan who with
Doris fathered the
Nereids, with whom Nereus lived in the
Aegean Sea.
[Hesiod, Theogony 233-36.] He was one of the manifestations of the
Old Man of the Sea, never more so than when he was descibed, like
Proteus, as a
shapeshifter with the power of prophecy, who would aid heroes such as
Heracles[Or, as Proteus, Menelaus.] who managed to catch him even as he changed shapes. Nereus and Proteus ("first") seem to be two manifestations of the god of the sea who was supplanted by
Poseidon when
Zeus overthrew
Cronus.
Nereus was known for his truthfulness and virtue::But Pontos, the great sea, was father of truthful Nereus who tells no lies, eldest of his sons. They call him the Old Gentleman because he is trustworthy, and gentle, and never forgetful of what is right, but the thoughts of his mind are mild and righteous. — Hesiod,
Theogony 233
The Attic vase-painters showed the draped torso of Nereus issuing from a long coiling scaly fishlike tail [
1]. Bearded Nereus generally wields a staff of authority. He was also shown in scenes depicting the flight of the Nereides as Peleus wrestled their sister Thetis.
In
Aelian's natural history, written in the early third century of the Common Era,
[On Animals 14.28] Nereus was also the father of a watery consort of
Aphrodite named Nerites who was transformed into "a shellfish with a spiral shell, small in size but of surpassing beauty."
*
Karl Kerenyi, 1951.
The Gods of the Greeks*
Robert Graves,
The Greek Myths*
http://www.theoi.com/Pontios/Nereus.html/ - Theoi Project, Nereus - the sea-
god in classical
literature and
art
