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Nereus was the eldest son of Pontus (the Sea)
and Gaia (the Earth), a Titan who (with Doris) fathered the Nereids,
with whom Nereus lived in the Aegean Sea.
In the Iliad he is referred to as the Old Man of
the Sea. He was only one of the manifestations of the Old Man of the
Sea, never more so than when he was described, like Proteus, as a
shapeshifter with the power of prophecy.
If they could catch him between shapes he would
aid heroes such as Heracles.
Nereus and Proteus ("first") seem to
be two manifestations of the god of the sea who was supplanted by
Poseidon when Zeus overthrew Cronus..
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