Editing Nereus (section)

== Mythology ==
In the ''[[Iliad]]'',<ref>''Iliad'' i.358, 538, 556; xviii.141; xx.107; xxiv.562.</ref> the [[Old Man of the Sea]] is the father of Nereids, though Nereus is not directly named. He was never more manifestly the Old Man of the Sea than when he was described, like [[Proteus]], as a [[shapeshifting|shapeshifter]] with the power of prophecy, who would aid heroes such as [[Heracles]]<ref>Or, as [[Proteus]], [[Menelaus]].</ref> who managed to catch him even as he changed shapes. Nereus and [[Proteus]] (the "first") seem to be two manifestations of the god of the sea who was supplanted by [[Poseidon]] when [[Zeus]] overthrew [[Cronus]].

The earliest poet to link Nereus with the [[Twelve Labors of Heracles|labours of Heracles]] was [[Pherecydes of Athens|Pherekydes]], according to a ''[[scholia|scholion]]'' on [[Apollonius of Rhodes]].<ref>''On Argonautica'' iv.1396f, noted by Ruth Glynn, "Herakles, Nereus and Triton: A Study of Iconography in Sixth Century Athens", ''American Journal of Archaeology'' '''85'''.2 (April 1981, pp. 121–132) p 121f.</ref>

During the course of the 5th century BC, Nereus was gradually replaced by [[Triton (mythology)|Triton]], who does not appear in Homer, in the imagery of the struggle between Heracles and the sea-god who had to be restrained in order to deliver his information that was employed by the vase-painters, independent of any literary testimony.<ref>Glynn 1981:121–132.</ref>

In a late appearance, according to a fragmentary [[papyrus]], [[Alexander the Great]] paused at the Syrian seashore before the climacteric [[battle of Issus]] (333 BC), and resorted to prayers, "calling on [[Thetis]], Nereus and the Nereids, nymphs of the sea, and invoking [[Poseidon]] the sea-god, for whom he ordered a [[Quadriga|four-horse chariot]] to be cast into the waves."<ref>[[Karl Wilhelm Ludwig Müller]]'s ed. Papyrus Oxyrrhincus ''Fragmenta Historicorum Graecorum'' 148, 44, col. 2; quoted by Robin Lane Fox, ''Alexander the Great'' (1973) 1986:168 and note. Thetis was the mother of Alexander's hero [[Achilles]].</ref>

Nereus was known for his truthfulness and virtue:
{{blockquote|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.<ref>Hesiod, ''Theogony'' 233</ref>}}

The Attic vase-painters showed the draped torso of Nereus issuing from a long coiling scaly fishlike tail.<ref>[[Beazley Archive]] [http://www.beazley.ox.ac.uk/record/D7A36279-CF7A-4A24-A520-5A1D177DE573 201859]; [http://www.theoi.com/Gallery/P11.1.html Theoi.com]; Glynn 1981.</ref> 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 [[Claudius Aelianus|Aelian]]'s natural history, written in the early third century,<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.theoi.com/Pontios/Nerites.html| title = Aelian, ''On Animals'' 14.28}}</ref> Nereus was also the father of a watery consort of [[Aphrodite]] and lover of Poseidon named [[Nerites (mythology)|Nerites]] who was transformed into "a shellfish with a spiral shell, small in size but of surpassing beauty."

Nereus was father to [[Thetis]], one of the Nereids, who in turn was mother to the great Greek hero [[Achilles]], and [[Amphitrite]], who married [[Poseidon]].