Nereus
Nereus was the ancient, benevolent sea god known as the Old Man of the Sea — truthful, wise, gentle, and father of the fifty Nereids.
The Myth of Nereus
Nereus was the Old Man of the Sea, eldest son of Pontus, older even than Poseidon and far more gentle. He dwelt in the depths of the Aegean with his wife Doris, father to the fifty Nereids — sea nymphs who included Thetis (mother of Achilles), Amphitrite (wife of Poseidon), and Galatea. Nereus could change shape like Proteus but was fundamentally honest and kind, representing the calm, benevolent aspects of the sea. Heracles wrestled him to learn the location of the garden of the Hesperides during his eleventh labour, and Nereus, once pinned, yielded the truth. Paris encountered him during his fateful voyage to Sparta to abduct Helen. The Greeks considered Nereus the embodiment of trustworthiness and the sea's ancient wisdom.
Parents
Pontus and Gaia
Symbols
Fun Fact
Nereus represents the pre-Olympian, kindlier relationship the Greeks imagined between humans and the sea.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Doris
goddesssea, bounty of the sea, safe passage
Sea goddess and mother of the fifty Nereids, personifying the richness and abundance of the ocean.
Poseidon
⚡ godGod of the sea, earthquakes, and horses
Poseidon was the god of the sea and earthquakes whose moods determined whether sailors lived or died — and whose grudge against Odysseus drove the Odyssey.
Amphitrite
⚡ godGoddess-queen of the seas
Amphitrite co-ruled the oceans with Poseidon.
Proteus
⚡ godShape-shifting seer of the sea
Proteus knew all things but only spoke if held through shape-shifts.
Poseidon
⚡ godGod of the sea, earthquakes, horses
Lord of the seas and brother of Zeus. Poseidon's moods shaped the oceans — calm seas for those who pleased him, devastating storms for those who did not.
Glaucus
⚡ godsea, prophecy
A mortal fisherman who became an immortal sea god after eating a magical herb.
Leucothea
⚡ godsea, rescue
Sea goddess who rescued drowning sailors, formerly the mortal princess Ino.
Glaucus the Sea God
⚡ godsea
Mortal fisherman who ate a magical herb, became immortal, and transformed into a blue-green sea deity.
Aphrodite
⚡ godGoddess of love, beauty, desire
Goddess of love and beauty, born from the sea foam. Aphrodite's power to inspire desire was so great that even the gods were not immune.
Euphemus
🗡 herosea
Argonaut and son of Poseidon who could walk on water and was prophesied to be the ancestor of Cyrene's founders.
Palaemon
⚡ godharbours, sailors
God of harbours and patron of the Isthmian Games, originally the mortal child Melicertes.
Aphrodite
⚡ godGoddess of love, desire, and beauty
The goddess born from sea-foam whose power over desire could override the will of gods and mortals alike.