The Old Man of The Sea

Pontus, Nereus and the Nereids

The Primordial Personification of The Sea: Pontus

Pontus the Sea, Greco-Roman mosaic, Bardo Museum

Pontus was a Greek primordial deity of the sea. This sea god was often depicted with two fish tails and crab claws surfacing from his head. He is the father of Nereus, the old man of the sea.

The Shapeshifter of the Sea: Nereus

“…is true and lies not: and men call him the old man because he is trusty and gentle and does not forget the laws of righteousness, but thinks just and kindly thoughts.”

-Hesiod

According to Hesiod, Nereus is the son of Gaea (the earth goddess) and Pontus. He too was a sea god called the “Old Man of the Sea”.

Nereus is known for his knowledge, wisdom, and his skills of prophecy and shape-shifting.

During his journey of 12 Labors, Hercules is known to have wrestled with the shape-shifting sea god and his many forms in order to gain insight during his quest for the golden apples.

Illustration of Nereus by Philips Galle (1586)

Although known to be able to take on any and many forms, Nereus is often represented with fish like attributes.

This old man of the sea most often is depicted with the torso and head of man and a fish-like tail. This hybrid sea god is also the father of Nereids, the sea nymphs and protectresses of the sea.

Nereid riding dolphin, Apulian red-figure plate C4th B.C., State Hermitage Museum

Protectresses of the Sea: Nereids

Nereid, Classical Legends and Mythological Figures Engraving Antique Illustration, Published 1851

Nereids are sea nymphs from the Aegean Sea. They are known for protecting fishermen, sailors, and voyagers.

Nereids are most often depicted and referenced as beautiful young maidens in full human form, however they relate to our topic of hybrid sea creatures as they are also often pictured next to or riding on the backs of fish, dolphins, and hippocampus.

The Triumph of Galatea; the nereid riding the waves, seated on a sea-horse, accompanied by four erotes; soiled and scratched plate; after Peter Paul Rubens Etching

As sea nymphs and protectors of sailors and fishermen, Nereids are also said to share similar gifts and attributes as sirens.

For example, Nereids are known for utilizing their alluring beauty and singing voices to attract men.

Nereid And A Young Man In A Seascape by Georg Kugler

Although each Nereid possesses similar core qualities, they each are individually attributed with a specific element of the sea. For example, one may have powers ruling over the sand, rocks, or waves.

Many with ocean related attributes, some with more mystical and metaphysical gifts.

The Nereids by Adoplhe Lalyre

Amatheia, a sea nymph with long and heavy is hair, is known to rear and nurse fish to health.

Leagae, a sea nymph known for her ability to gather and assemble a school of fish.

Galene and Minthe, are sea nymphs capable of calming the weather and bringing peace and tranquility.

Psmathe, a sea nymph and goddess of the sand.

Nereids Worshipping the Moon by Moritz von Schwind

Autnoe, one of the nurses of the infant Dionysus, is known for her wisdom and intellect. Her name meaning, “with her own mind”.

Dione, whose name means “the divine”, is a sea nymph referenced in the Iliad as a mother goddess.

One famous sea nymph is widely recognized for her marriage to a great sea god.

Poseidon and the Nereids by Friedrich Ernst Wolfrom (c. 1920)