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Figures in the ancient sources

Nereus in the ancient sources

Ancient Sources / Figures / Nereus

18 passages from 7 ancient authors that tell of Nereus, in the original with English translation, author by author in the order the Greeks read them. Nereus, also known as "the old man of the sea", was the son of Pontus and Gaea, and father of the water nymphs Nereids and Nerites. One of the Nereids... For the story in one place, read our article on Nereus.

Hesiod (1)

  1. Hesiod, Theogony 210–264Night's children, Strife's children and the Nereids (210-264)Night bears Doom, Fate and Death, Sleep and the tribe of Dreams, and then Blame, Woe, the Hesperides, the Fates and Nemesis; Strife in turn bears Toil, Forgetfulness, Famine and other sorrows. Pontus begets Nereus, the truthful Old Man of the Sea, and then Thaumas, Phorcys, Ceto and Eurybia; Nereus and Doris have fifty daughters, whom the section names.

Apollodorus (1)

  1. Apollodorus, The Library (Bibliotheca), with the Epitome 1.2.1–7Zeus and the Titanomachy; the children of the TitansZeus takes Metis as his ally, and she gives Cronus a drug that makes him disgorge the stone and his swallowed children. In the ten-year war the gods win once Zeus frees the prisoners in Tartarus and the Cyclopes give him thunder and lightning, Pluto a helmet and Poseidon a trident; the Titans are shut in Tartarus and the three brothers draw lots for sky, sea and the underworld. The rest of the section lists the offspring of the Titans, of Styx, and of Sea and Earth, ending with the Nereids.

Euripides (3)

  1. Euripides, Andromache 1222–1288Exodos: Thetis appears and consoles PeleusPeleus says that he has no city or sceptre left and throws his sceptre on the ground, and the Chorus sees a divine form moving through the air. It is Thetis, who tells him that he must take the body to the Pythian altar and bury it there, a reproach to Delphi, and that Andromache will live in the Molossian land, married to Helenus, and that her child will found an unbroken line of kings, while Peleus himself will be made divine and live with her in the halls of Nereus.
  2. Euripides, Iphigenia at Aulis 1036–1097Third choral song: the wedding of Peleus and Thetis; Iphigenia's coming sacrificeThe Chorus recalls the day when the Pierian choir came over Pelion to the wedding of Peleus, with the banquet of the gods and the Centaurs on horseback. They then turn to Iphigenia and say that the Argives will crown her like a pure heifer, and stain her throat with blood.
  3. Euripides, Cyclops 253–312Second episode: Odysseus and Silenus quarrel before the CyclopsOdysseus tells the Cyclops that they came to buy food and that Silenus sold them the lambs behind his master's back. Silenus protests and swears by Poseidon, but the Chorus says that it saw him sell them. The Cyclops asks who the strangers are, and Odysseus says that they are Ithacans on their way home from Troy, and he begs for mercy as suppliants.

Apollonius Rhodius (1)

  1. Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica 4.685–782Circe purifies Jason and MedeaAt Aeaea Circe, daughter of Helios, purifies Jason and Medea of the murder. When she learns the whole story she drives them from her house with reproaches. Hera sends Iris to fetch Thetis and to ask Hephaestus and Aeolus to help Argo.

Quintus Smyrnaeus (2)

  1. Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 3.665–787The pyre of AchillesAt dawn the Argives raise a great pyre, and Achilles is burned with the horses and men slain round it. His companions gather his bones into a silver casket, which the Nereids anoint and lay in a golden vase given by Thetis, and the Argives heap a barrow by the Hellespont. His immortal horses mourn him, and Poseidon rises from the sea to console Thetis.
  2. Quintus Smyrnaeus, The Fall of Troy (Posthomerica) 2.388–548Achilles kills MemnonAchilles leaves the line and finds Memnon, rebuking him as inferior in blood and strength. They fight with swords and shields, and the long and even struggle is watched from Olympus. At last Eris tips the scales and Achilles kills Memnon.

Nonnus of Panopolis (9)

  1. Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 20.289–404Book 20: Dionysos flees into the sea; Nereus consoles him; Zeus rebukes LycurgosDionysos, deceived, goes unarmed to the palace of Lycurgos, who scorns him, beats the Bacchants with his poleaxe and drives them into the hills. Terrified by Hera's thunder, Dionysos flees into the Erythraian sea, where Thetis and Nereus receive and console him. Lycurgos rages at the water and calls for fishermen to haul the god out, and Zeus rebukes him from the sky, recalling how Teiresias was blinded for seeing Athena.
  2. Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 43.307–449Book 43: Zeus ends the battle; Poseidon weds Beroe; Eros consoles DionysosBassarids, Satyrs and Seilenoi fight the sea-gods, and Psamathe prays to Zeus to save the Nereids from Dionysos. Zeus grants Beroe to Poseidon and halts Dionysos with thunder. The sea-gods celebrate the wedding with rich gifts, and Poseidon gives her city victory at sea. Eros consoles Dionysos by promising him another bride, Aura of Phrygia, and Dionysos returns to Lydia, Rheia and then Europe.
  3. Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 43.225–306Book 43: Proteus, Nereus and the Rivers join the frayProteus, ringed by the Indian soldiers, changes into a panther, a tree, a serpent, a lion, a boar and water to slip their grasp. Nereus leads his daughters into the fight, sea creatures and the Nereids join, and the seas and straits roll against one another. The Rivers come to the aid of Dionysos while Melicertes thrusts at him with his trident.
  4. Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 21.90–177Book 21: Earthquake and madness in Arabia; Lycurgos is blindedPoseidon shakes Arabia with his trident, and Megaira drives the Nysian women to kill their children. Lycurgos, still bound, defies the gods and demands fire to burn the vines, until Hera cuts him free and Zeus makes him a blind wanderer, though the Arabs later worship him as a god. Under the sea the Nereids, Ino and Melicertes entertain Dionysos.
  5. Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 1.0–133Book 1: Invocation; Zeus carries Europa across the seaThe poet asks the Muse to tell of the twice-born Dionysos and calls for the wand, cymbals and fawnskin of his rites, picturing Proteus's many shapes as the god's. Zeus, as a bull, carries Europa over the sea while Eros drives him and the sea-gods marvel. The girl cries out to the shores, to her father and to Boreas.
  6. Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 6.207–257Book 6: Zeus punishes the Titans and sends the floodZeus learns the trick of the mirror and burns the Titans and the whole earth with his thunderbolts. Oceanos weeps, and Zeus, pitying the scorched land, covers the sky with cloud. The heavenly bodies stand in their houses as the rain begins and the waters rise over the hills.
  7. Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 39.295–407Book 39: The sea-battle: arrows, the fire-ship and the Indian retreatArrows and spears fly across the water, and Dionysos wounds Morrheus, who has to withdraw. Zeus, Poseidon, Melicertes and the winds help the Bacchic side, and Eurymedon sets his own ship on fire and sends it among the enemy. The Indian fleet retreats to land, and Deriades flees.
  8. Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 42.438–542Book 42: Poseidon woos Beroe; Aphrodite sets the contest and the oathsPoseidon, in turn, comes up from the sea, gazes at Beroe, and offers her the sea, the rivers and the Nereids as her kingdom and servants, but she will not listen. Both suitors bring gifts to her parents in vain, and Aphrodite, fearing them both, decrees that they must fight for the bride and swear an oath to spare her city. As the gods gather on Lebanon, an omen of a pigeon seized by an osprey makes Dionysos despair of victory.
  9. Nonnus of Panopolis, Dionysiaca 43.0–142Book 43: The battle of sea and vine beginsAres and Hymenaios sound the call to war for Beroe's hand, while the maiden, silent, prefers Dionysos to a sea-god husband. Poseidon arms with his trident and Dionysos rides his mother Rheia's lion-drawn car wreathed in vine. Dionysos addresses his host and swears that Poseidon shall not harm Beroe's city.

Orpheus (attributed) (1)

  1. Orpheus (attributed), Orphic Hymns 22–26Hymns 22-26: the Sea (Tethys), Nereus, the Nereids, Proteus, the EarthThese hymns descend into the sea. Tethys is called on as the sea-goddess with sea-blue eyes, Nereus as the keeper of the roots of Ocean, the Nereids as the nymphs who sport in the waves, and Proteus as the god who holds the keys of the deep. The group closes with the Earth, honoured as the source of gods and men and endowed with fertile force.