| Nereus | |
|---|---|
| Member ofSea Gods | |
 Nereus in a frieze of thePergamon Altar (Berlin). | |
| Other names | Old Man of the Sea |
| Abode | Aegean Sea |
| Genealogy | |
| Parents | Pontus andGaia |
| Siblings | |
| Consort | Doris |
| Offspring | |
| Greek deities series |
|---|
| Water deities |
| Waternymphs |
InGreek mythology,Nereus (/ˈnɪəriəs/NEER-ee-əs;Ancient Greek:Νηρεύς,romanized: Nēreús) was the eldest son ofPontus (theSea) andGaia (the Earth), with Pontus himself being a son of Gaia. Nereus andDoris became the parents of 50 daughters (theNereids) and a son (Nerites), with whom Nereus lived in theAegean Sea.[1]
The name Nereus is absent fromHomer's epics; the god's name in theIliad is the descriptiveἅλιος γέρων'Old Man of the Sea', and in theOdyssey the combination ofἅλιος γέρων andΠρωτεύς'Proteus'.[2] Besides Nereus and Proteus, the descriptive "Old Man of the Sea" was used for otherwater deities in Greek mythology who share several traits, among themPhorcys,Glaucus, and perhapsTriton. It is suggested that the "Old Man of the Sea" had at one time played acosmogonic role comparable to that ofOceanus and could have received different names in different places.[3] It is not known whether the name Nereus was known to Homer or not, but the name of theNereids is attested before it and can be found in the Iliad.[2] Since Nereus only has relevance as the father of the Nereids, it has been suggested that his name could actually be derived from that of his daughters;[4] while the derivation of the Nereids from Nereus, as apatronymic, has also been suggested.[5] According toMartin Litchfield West (1966), Nereus is much less important than his daughters, mentioning thatHerodotus offered "the Nereids, not Nereus, as an example of a divine name not derived from Egypt".[6]
InHesiod'sTheogony, where the name was first attested, Nereus is presented in immediate juxtaposition toEris, and this extends to their children. First of all, there exists a feminine-masculine opposition. Eris is the youngest child ofNyx and the only one for whom children are mentioned, while Nereus isPontus' oldest son and, again, is granted the most attention. Hesiod chooses verbs and adjectives to describe Nereus in juxtaposition to Eris' children, such asἀ-ψευδέα'does-not-lie' andἀ-ληθέα'does-not-forget', as opposed toΨευδέα'Lies' andΛήθη'Forgetfulness'.[7] This has prompted scholars to propose aderivation fromἜριςEris'Discord' with the negative prefixνη‑ne‑ added to it; namely,Ne-Eris'Not-Discord', which evolved toΝηρεύς (<νη-ερ(ι)-ευς).[8] Furthermore, Hesiodplays with the verbal likeness betweenNereus and his last daughterΝημερτήςNemertes'Unerring', whose name also bears the negative prefixνη‑.[9]
Another possible etymology could be fromνηρόν,nerón'(fresh) water or fish', which is acontraction of the Greek adjectiveνεαρός,nearós'new, fresh, young'.[10] It is commonly believed that the contraction of νεαρός to νηρός happened later than Hesiod; however, the contraction ofε andα toη is quite old and widespread over many Greek dialects.[11]
The name could be related to theHesychian glossesνηρίδας'hollow rocks' orνηρόν'low-lying'.Robert S. P. Beekes (2010) favors aPre-Greek (pre-Indo-European) origin, as is suggested by the suffix‑εύς, ‑eús.[10] Another view is that ofApostolos Athanassakis (1983), who suggested anIllyrian origin for the name and compared it to theAlbanian wordnjeri'man'.[12]
According toAugust Fick (1890), the closestIndo-European relative ofNereus andNereids is theLithuanian verbnérti'to dive'; moreover, the Lithuanian nounnėrõvė'mermaid' has been associated with the Nereids.[13] Papachristophorou (1998) supported a derivation from the aforementioned Lithuanian verb, citingPierre Chantraine (1968),[14] while Tsantsanoglou (2015) considered the relation plausible.[13]
The name of the Nereids has survived inmodern Greek folklore asνεράιδες,neráides'fairies'.[15]
In theIliad,[16] theOld 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, likeProteus, as ashapeshifter with the power of prophecy, who would aid heroes such asHeracles[17] who managed to catch him even as he changed shapes. Nereus andProteus (the "first") seem to be two manifestations of the god of the sea who was supplanted byPoseidon whenZeus overthrewCronus.
The earliest poet to link Nereus with thelabours of Heracles wasPherekydes, according to ascholion onApollonius of Rhodes.[18]
During the course of the 5th century BC, Nereus was gradually replaced byTriton, 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.[19]
In a late appearance, according to a fragmentarypapyrus,Alexander the Great paused at the Syrian seashore before the climactericbattle of Issus (333 BC), and resorted to prayers, "calling onThetis, Nereus and the Nereids, nymphs of the sea, and invokingPoseidon the sea-god, for whom he ordered afour-horse chariot to be cast into the waves."[20]
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.[21]
The Attic vase-painters showed the draped torso of Nereus issuing from a long coiling scaly fishlike tail.[22] 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.
InAelian's natural history, written in the early third century,[23] Nereus was also the father of a watery consort ofAphrodite and lover of Poseidon namedNerites who was transformed into "a shellfish with a spiral shell, small in size but of surpassing beauty."
Nereus was father toThetis, one of the Nereids, who in turn was mother to the great Greek heroAchilles, andAmphitrite, who marriedPoseidon.
