Periclymenus
Grandson of Poseidon and defender of Pylos who could shapeshift into any animal but was killed by Heracles with Athena's help.
The Legend of Periclymenus
He turned into an eagle to attack Heracles from above — and Athena pointed him out so Heracles could shoot him down. Periclymenus received the gift of shapeshifting from his grandfather Poseidon. When Heracles attacked Pylos, Periclymenus transformed into a lion, a snake, a bee, and finally an eagle. Each form was defeated. Athena identified him in eagle form, and Heracles shot him with a Hydra-venom arrow. His death left only Nestor alive from the sons of Neleus. Some versions say he also sailed with the Argonauts. His shapeshifting power parallels that of Proteus and Thetis — a Poseidon-lineage ability that mortal descendants could inherit but never fully control.
Parents
Neleus, Chloris
Symbols
Fun Fact
Periclymenus is one of the very few mortal men in Greek myth with Proteus-like shapeshifting ability.
Explore Further
Periclymenos
🗡 heroShape-shifting, combat
Grandson of Poseidon who could change shape at will and sailed with the Argonauts
Mestra
🗡 heroshapeshifting
Daughter of Erysichthon who was given the power of shapeshifting by Poseidon, sold repeatedly by her starving father.
Arcas
🗡 heroKingship, hunting, Arcadia
Eponymous founder and king of Arcadia who was nearly tricked into eating his own transformed mother
Autolycus
🗡 herotheft, cunning
The master thief and shapeshifter, grandfather of Odysseus, whose gift for deception was inherited by the most cunning hero in Greek mythology.
Peleus
🗡 heroheroism
King of Phthia, Argonaut, and father of Achilles who wrestled the shape-shifting sea goddess Thetis to win her as his bride.
Caeneus
🗡 herotransformation
Born as the woman Caenis, raped by Poseidon, who granted her wish to become an invulnerable man.
Caenus
🗡 heroTransformation, Invulnerability, Gender
Lapith warrior transformed from a woman into an invulnerable man by Poseidon, killed by Centaurs pounding him into the earth.
Lycaon
🗡 heroKing transformed into a wolf
Lycaon was the king of Arcadia who tested Zeus by serving him human flesh at a banquet — and was transformed into a wolf as punishment.
Prometheus
🗡 heroBringer of fire and champion of humanity
Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to humanity, for which Zeus chained him to a rock where an eagle devoured his liver daily — the archetypal rebel against divine authority.
Odysseus
🗡 heroMan of many wiles
Odysseus was the most cunning of all Greek heroes — the man of polytropos (many turns), whose intelligence rather than strength defined a new kind of heroism.
Bellerophon
🗡 heroThe hero who tamed Pegasus
The Corinthian hero who tamed the winged horse Pegasus and slew the Chimera, but fell from heaven when he tried to reach Olympus.
Tereus
🗡 heroKing who was transformed into a hoopoe
Tereus was a Thracian king who married Procne, then assaulted her sister Philomela and cut out her tongue — the sisters' revenge and transformation is one of mythology's darkest tales.