Proteus (1)

The Old Man of the Sea; an ancient sea god and a thane of Poseidon (lord of the Sea); the son of Okeanos (Ocean) and Tethys.

Proteus was noted for his ability to assume different forms and to prophesy; when Menelaos (Menelaus) and his crewmen were stranded on the island of Pharos, he aroused the sympathy of Proteus’ daughter, Eidothea; she waited until Menelaos was alone and told him how he could catch Proteus and induce him to answer questions; each day at noon, Proetus would come out of the water and lie down in a cavern with his seals and sleep; Eidothea advised Menelaos to take his strongest men, cover themselves with seal skins, and ambush Proteus when he came out of the water.

Eidothea skinned four seals and gave the reeking hides to Menelaos and three of his shipmates; she then put ambrosia under their noses so that they could endure the terrible stench of the seals and showed Menelaos the cave where Proteus came out of the water to sleep; Menelaos did as she suggested and caught Proteus unawares; Menelaos grabbed Proteus and would not loosen his grip no matter which form the Old Man of the Sea assumed; Proteus put up a terrible fight and took the shape of a lion, a serpent, a leopard, a boar, fluid water and, finally, a towering tree but Menelaos held fast.

Finally Proteus ceased his struggle and asked Menelaos what he wanted; Menelaos asked about his companions who had fought with him at Troy and in which direction he should travel in order to reach his kingdom; Proteus told Menelaos of the sad deaths of Aias (Ajax) and his brother Agamemnon; Proteus also told Menelaos that Odysseus was still adrift on the wine-dark sea; Proteus advised Menelaos to return to Egypt and make sacrifices to the Immortals so that he might return to his home in Argos.

• Odyssey, book 4, lines 351-570