Nereus

Nereus was the old man of the sea, and the god of the sea’s rich bounty of fish. He dwelt in the depths of the Aegean with his wife Doris and fifty Nereid daughters.

Residence: The Sea
Symbols: Fish
Parents: Pontus and Gaia
Consort: Doris
Children: The Nereids

Nereus in a frieze of the Pergamon Altar, Berlin. (c) Claus Ableiter

He was a master shapeshifter, and spoke with prophetic voice. Heracles once wrestled him, in search of directions to the land of the Hesperides, for this reason.

Detail of an Attic red-figure amphora, c. 490 BC, depicting Nereus. Harvard Art Museum. (c) theoi.com
Attic black-figure kylix depicting Heracles wrestling Nereus with his daughters surrounding them. National Archaeological Museum of Tarquinia. (c) theoi.com

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