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Proteus

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In Greek mythology, Proteus ( PROH-tee-əs, PROHT-yooss; Ancient Greek: Πρωτεύς, romanized: 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 changeable 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 - Wikipedia Jump to content From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Prophetic god of bodies of water in Greek mythology "Protean" redirects here. For other uses, see Protean (disambiguation) . For other Greek mythological characters of the same name, see Proteus (mythology) . For other uses, see Proteus (disambiguation) . Illustration of Proteus by Andrea Alciato from The Book of Emblems (1531) Part of a series on Ancient Greek religion Origins Minoan religion Mycenaean deities Mycenaean religion Sacred places Sacred islands Delos Ithaca Naxos Kythira Samothrace Crete Lemnos Sacred mount

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