Editing Proteus (section)

== Cultural references ==
Proteus as a cultural reference has been used in various contexts with different nuances according to each of the aspects of the myth: a shepherd of sea-creatures, a prophet who does not reveal their knowledge, a shape-changing god, the power to transform matter, or the primary matter that can become different materials. The adjective ''protean'' has come to mean versatile, ever-changing, or varied in nature.<ref>{{Cite Merriam-Webster |1=protean |access-date=2023-03-27}}</ref>

===In alchemy and psychology===
The German mystical alchemist [[Heinrich Khunrath]] wrote of the shape-changing sea-god who, because of his relationship to the sea, is both a symbol of the unconscious as well as the perfection of the art. Alluding to the ''scintilla'', the spark from ‘the light of nature’ and symbol of the {{lang|la|[[anima mundi]]}}, Khunrath in [[Gnosticism|Gnostic]] vein stated of the Protean element Mercury:

In modern times, the Swiss psychologist [[Carl Jung]] defined the mythological figure of Proteus as a personification of the unconscious, who, because of his gift of prophecy and shape-changing, has much in common with the central but elusive figure of alchemy, [[Mercury (mythology)|Mercurius]]. The quote below gives further elaboration.

{{blockquote|text=Our Catholick Mercury, by virtue of his universal fiery spark of the light of nature, is beyond doubt Proteus, the sea god of the ancient pagan sages, who hath the key to the sea and&nbsp;... power over all things.|title={{lang|de|Von Hyleanischen Chaos}}|source=[[Carl Jung]], vol. 14:50{{Better source needed|date=April 2012}} }}

===In literature===
The poet [[John Milton]], aware of the association of Proteus with the Hermetic art of [[alchemy]], wrote in ''[[Paradise Lost]]'' of alchemists who sought the [[philosopher's stone]]:
{{Poemquote|text=
In vain, though by their powerful Art they bind
Volatile [[Hermes]], and call up unbound
In various shapes old Proteus from the Sea,
Drain'd through a [[Alembic|Limbec]] to his native form.|author=John Milton|title=''Paradise Lost''|source=III.603–06}}

[[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]] uses the image of Proteus to establish the character of his great royal villain [[Richard III of England|Richard III]] in the play ''[[Henry VI, Part 3|Henry VI, Part Three]]'', in which the future usurper boasts:
{{Poemquote|text=I can add colours to the chameleon,
Change shapes with Proteus for advantages,
And set the murderous Machiavel to school.
Can I do this, and cannot get a crown?
Tut, were it farther off, I'll pluck it down.
|author=William Shakespeare|title=''Henry VI, Part Three''|source=Act III, Scene ii}}

Shakespeare also names one of the main characters of his play ''[[The Two Gentlemen of Verona]]'' Proteus.

In 1807, [[William Wordsworth]] finished his [[sonnet]] on the theme of a modernity deadened to [[Nature]], which opens "[[The world is too much with us]]", with a sense of nostalgia for the lost richness of a world numinous with deities: 
{{Poemquote|text=
...&nbsp;I'd rather be
A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;
So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,
Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;
Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea.
Or hear old [[Triton (mythology)|Triton]] blow his wreathèd horn.<ref name="WSU">[http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~wldciv/world_civ_reader/world_civ_reader_2/wordsworth.html "Wordsworth"]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060623014133/http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~wldciv/world_civ_reader/world_civ_reader_2/wordsworth.html |date=2006-06-23 }}.</ref>}}

[[James Joyce]]'s ''[[Ulysses (novel)|Ulysses]]''<ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=http://www.readprint.com/chapter-6364/James-Joyce |chapter=Chapter 3 |title=Ulysses |first=James |last=Joyce |via=Readprint.com |access-date=2018-11-05 |archive-date=2008-12-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081203133042/http://www.readprint.com/chapter-6364/James-Joyce |url-status=dead |author-link=James Joyce |title-link=Ulysses (novel) }}</ref> uses Protean transformations of matter in time for self-exploration. "Proteus" is the title provided for the third chapter in the [[Linati schema for Ulysses]].