Proteus

In Greek mythology, Proteus (ˈproʊtiəs,_ˈproʊt.juːs ; Prōteús) is an early prophetic sea god or god of rivers and oceanic bodies of water, one of several deities whom Homer calls the "Old Man of the Sea" (hálios gérôn). Some who ascribe a specific domain to Proteus call him the god of "elusive sea change", which suggests the constantly changing nature of the sea or the liquid quality of water. He can foretell the future, but, in a mytheme familiar to several cultures, will change his shape to avoid doing so; he answers only to those who are capable of capturing him. From this feature of Proteus comes the adjective protean, meaning "versatile", "mutable", or "capable of assuming many forms". "Protean" has positive connotations of flexibility, versatility and adaptability. Proteus' name suggests the "first" (from Greek "πρῶτος" , "first"), as (πρωτόγονος) is the "primordial" or the "firstborn". It is not certain to what this refers, but in myths where he is the son of Poseidon, it possibly refers to his being Poseidon's eldest son, older than Poseidon's other son, the sea-god Triton. The first attestation of the name is in Mycenaean Greek, although it is not certain whether it refers to the god or just a person; the attested form, in Linear B, is 𐀡𐀫𐀳𐀄, . Proteus was generally regarded as the son of the sea-god Poseidon and Phoenice, a daughter of King Phoenix of Phoenicia. The children of Proteus by Torone (Chrysonoe) of Phlegra were Polygonus (Tmolus) and Telegonus. They both challenged Heracles at the behest of Hera and were killed by the hero. Another son of Proteus, Eioneus, became the father of Dymas, king of Phrygia. By the Nereid Psamathe, Proteus fathered Theoclymenos and Theonoe (Eidothea or Eurynome). Cabeiro, mother of the Cabeiri and the three Cabeirian nymphs by Hephaestus, was also called the daughter of Proteus. Other daughters were Rhoiteia who gave her name to the city of Rhoiteion in Troad, Thebe who became the eponym of Thebes in Egypt and Thaicrucia who mothered Nympheus by Zeus.