Nereus’s Family Tree

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Family

• Gaia(parent),Pontus(parent),Ceto(sibling),Eurybia(sibling),Phorcys(sibling),Thaumas(sibling)— Consort

  In Hesiod's Theogony, Pontus and Gaia produced five sea deities: Nereus, Thaumas, Phorcys, Ceto, and Eurybia. These siblings represent the ancient powers of the sea, predating the Olympian order.

• Doris(spouse),Amphitrite(child),Galatea(child),Psamathe(child),Thetis(child)— Marriage

  Nereus and the Oceanid Doris produced fifty daughters, the Nereids. Among them, Thetis became Achilles's mother, Amphitrite married Poseidon as queen of the sea, Galatea was courted by the Cyclops Polyphemus, and Psamathe bore Phocus to Aeacus.

Associated with

• Ceto

  Ceto and Nereus were siblings, both children of Pontus and Gaia. While Nereus represented the sea's calm wisdom, Ceto embodied its terrors and dangers.

• Glaucus

  Glaucus was described as an attendant and prophet of Nereus in Apollonius's Argonautica, dwelling among the sea gods and serving as interpreter of the Old Man of the Sea.

• Heracles

  Heracles wrestled the shapeshifting Nereus to force him to reveal the location of the Garden of the Hesperides. Despite Nereus transforming into many forms, Heracles held fast until the sea god yielded the information.

• Nereids

  The fifty Nereids took their collective name from their father Nereus, the Old Man of the Sea. They inherited his benevolent nature and gift of prophecy.

• Paris

  Nereus, the Old Man of the Sea, calmed the winds and prophesied doom when Paris sailed from Troy to claim Helen — foretelling the war, the burning city, and the deaths Paris would bring upon his people.

• Thetis

  Thetis was the most famous daughter of Nereus. He foretold that her son would surpass his father in greatness, a prophecy that led Zeus and Poseidon to marry her to the mortal Peleus instead.