Editing Proteus

{{Short description|Prophetic god of bodies of water in Greek mythology}}
{{redirect|Protean}}
{{For-multi|other Greek mythological characters of the same name|Proteus (mythological character)|other uses|Proteus (disambiguation)}}
[[File:Proteus-Alciato.gif|thumb|right|Illustration of Proteus by [[Andrea Alciato]] from ''The Book of Emblems'' (1531)]]
{{Ancient Greek religion}}
{{Greek deities (water)}}
{{Special characters}}

In [[Greek mythology]], '''Proteus''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|p|r|oʊ|t|i|ə|s|,_|ˈ|p|r|oʊ|t|.|j|uː|s}} {{respell|PROH|tee|əs|,_|PROHT|yooss}};<ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/proteus "Proteus"]. ''[[Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary]]''.</ref> {{langx|grc|Πρωτεύς|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'').<ref>See also [[Nereus]] and [[Phorcys]]</ref> 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.

==Name origin==
Proteus's name suggests the "first" (from [[Greek language|Greek]] "{{lang|grc|πρῶτος}}" {{Transliteration|grc|prōtos}}, "first"), as {{Transliteration|grc|prōtogonos}} ({{lang|grc|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 (mythology)|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 {{lang|gmy|𐀡𐀫𐀳𐀄}}, {{Transliteration|gmy|po-ro-te-u}}.<ref>{{cite book|title=Recherches en linquistique grecque|editor-first=Christos|editor-last=Clairis|isbn=2-7475-2742-5|first=Antonin|last=Bartoněk|chapter=Mycenaean words in Homer|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KKWlkCfX1ZsC&pg=PA94|page=94|publisher=L'Harmattan|year=2002}} At Google Books.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.palaeolexicon.com/ShowWord.aspx?Id=16869|title=The Linear B Word po-ro-te-u|website=Palaeolexicon. Word study tool of ancient languages}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://minoan.deaditerranean.com/resources/linear-b-sign-groups/po/po-ro-te-u/|title=po-ro-te-u|website=Deaditerranean: Minoan Linear A & Mycenaean Linear B|access-date=2014-03-08|archive-date=2012-08-18|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120818165712/http://minoan.deaditerranean.com/resources/linear-b-sign-groups/po/po-ro-te-u/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Family ==
Proteus was generally regarded as the son of the sea-god Poseidon<ref>[[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+2.5.9 2.5.9]; [[Lycophron]], 112</ref> and [[Phoenice (mythology)|Phoenice]],<ref>[[Stephanus of Byzantium]], s.v. ''[https://topostext.org/work/241#T629.10 Torōnē]''</ref> a daughter of King [[Phoenix (son of Agenor)|Phoenix]] of [[Phoenicia]].<ref>[[Scholia]] ad [[Euripides]], ''[[The Phoenician Women|Phoenissae]]'' 5</ref>

The children of Proteus by [[Torone (mythology)|Torone]] ([[Torone (mythology)|Chrysonoe]]) of [[Phlegra (mythology)|Phlegra]] were [[Polygonus (mythology)|Polygonus]] ([[Tmolus (father of Tantalus)|Tmolus]]) and [[Telegonus]]. They both challenged [[Heracles]] at the behest of [[Hera]] and were killed by the hero.<ref>Apollodorus, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Apollod.+2.5.9&fromdoc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0022:boo=0:chapter=0&highlight=Proteus 2.5.9]; Tzetzes, ''Chilliades'' 2.320</ref> Another son of Proteus, [[Eioneus]], became the father of [[Dymas of Phrygia|Dymas]], king of [[Phrygia]], father of [[Hecuba]].<ref>Scholia ad Euripides, ''[[Hecuba (play)|Hecuba]]'' [https://archive.org/details/scholiaineuripi00schwgoog/page/n31/mode/1up?view=theater 3] from [[Pherecydes of Syros|Pherecydes]], fr. 136 (Fowler 2013, p. 42)</ref> By the [[Nereid]] [[Psamathe (Nereid)|Psamathe]], Proteus fathered [[Theoclymenus of Egypt|Theoclymenos]] and [[Theonoe of Egypt|Theonoe]]<ref>Euripides, ''Helen'' 7 ff.; [[Conon]], [https://topostext.org/work/489#8 8]</ref> ([[Eidothea (Greek myth)|Eidothea]]<ref>[[Homer]], ''[[Odyssey]]'' [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0136:book=4:card=351&highlight=eidothea 4.360 ff.]</ref> or [[Eurynome]]<ref>[[Zenodotus]] in scholia on [[Homer]], ''[[Odyssey]]'' 4.366</ref>). [[Cabeiro]], mother of the [[Cabeiri]] and the three Cabeirian [[nymph]]s by [[Hephaestus]], was also called the daughter of Proteus.<ref>[[Strabo]], 10.321 citing Pherecydes</ref> Other daughters were [[Rhoeteia|Rhoiteia]] who gave her name to the city of [[Rhoiteion]] in [[Troad]],<ref>Scholia ad [[Apollonius of Rhodes]], 1.929 (ed. Wendel)</ref> [[Thebe (Greek myth)|Thebe]] who became the eponym of [[Thebes, Egypt|Thebes]] in Egypt<ref name=":1">Scholia ad [[Homer]], ''[[Iliad]]'' [[iarchive:scholiagraecain00homegoog/page/819/mode/1up|9.383]]</ref> and [[Thaicrucia (mythology)|Thaicrucia]] who mothered [[Nympheus (mythology)|Nympheus]] by [[Zeus]].<ref>[[Clementine literature|Pseudo-Clement]], ''Recognitions'' [https://web.archive.org/web/20040822053941/http://compassionatespirit.com/Recognitions/Book-10.htm 10.21]</ref>

==Mythology==
=== Proteus, prophetic sea-god ===
{{unreferenced section|date=May 2024}}
According to [[Homer]] (''[[Odyssey]]'' iv: 365), the sandy island of [[Lighthouse of Alexandria|Pharos]] situated off the coast of the [[Nile Delta]] was the home of Proteus, the oracular Old Man of the Sea and herdsman of the sea-beasts. In the ''Odyssey'', [[Menelaus]] relates to [[Telemachus]] that he had been becalmed here on his journey home from the [[Trojan War]]. He learned from Proteus's daughter Eidothea ("the very image of the Goddess"), that if he could capture her father, he could force him to reveal which of the gods he had offended and how he could propitiate them and return home. Proteus emerged from the sea to sleep among his colony of [[Mediterranean monk seal|seals]], but Menelaus was successful in holding him, though Proteus took the forms of a [[lion]], a [[Serpent (symbolism)|serpent]], a [[leopard]], a pig, even of [[water]] or a [[tree]]. Proteus then answered truthfully, further informing Menelaus that his brother [[Agamemnon]] had been murdered on his return home, that [[Ajax the Lesser]] had been shipwrecked and killed, and that [[Odysseus]] was stranded on [[Calypso (mythology)|Calypso]]'s Isle [[Ogygia]].

According to [[Virgil]] in the fourth [[Georgics|Georgic]], at one time the bees of [[Aristaeus]], son of [[Apollo]], all died of a disease. Aristaeus went to his mother, [[Cyrene (mythology)|Cyrene]], for help; she told him that Proteus could tell him how to prevent another such disaster, but would do so only if compelled. Aristaeus had to seize Proteus and hold him, no matter what he would change into. Aristaeus did so, and Proteus eventually gave up and told him that the bees' death was a punishment for causing the death of [[Eurydice]]. To make amends, Aristaeus needed to sacrifice 12 animals to the gods, leave the carcasses in the place of sacrifice, and return three days later. He followed these instructions, and upon returning, he found in one of the carcasses a swarm of bees which he took to his [[apiary]]. The bees were never again troubled by disease.

There are also legends concerning [[Apollonius of Tyana]] that say Proteus incarnated himself as the 1st-century philosopher. These legends are mentioned in the 3rd-century biographical work ''[[Life of Apollonius of Tyana]]''.

===Proteus, king of Egypt===
{{main|Proteus of Egypt}}
In the ''[[Odyssey]]'' (iv.430ff)  Menelaus wrestles with "Proteus of Egypt, the immortal old man of the sea who never lies, who sounds the deep in all its depths, Poseidon's servant" ([[Robert Fagles]]'s translation). Proteus of Egypt is mentioned in an alternative version of the story of [[Helen of Troy]] in the tragedy ''Helen'' of [[Euripides]] (produced in 412 BC). The often unconventional playwright introduces a "real" Helen and a "phantom" Helen (who caused the [[Trojan War]]), and gives a backstory that makes the father of his character [[Theoclymenus]], Proteus, a king in Egypt who had been wed to a [[Nereid]] Psamathe. In keeping with one of his themes in ''Helen'', Euripides mentions in passing ''Eido'' ("image"), a daughter of the king and therefore sister of Theoclymenus who underwent a name-change after her adolescence and became ''Theonoë'', "god-minded", since she was as it turned out capable of foreseeing the future—as such, she is a prophet who appears as a crucial character in the play. The play's king Proteus is already dead at the start of the action, and his tomb is present onstage. It appears that he is only marginally related to the "Old Man of the Sea"<ref name="Nottingham">Euripides. [http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/classics/staff/LSF/Euripides/helen.html "Helen"]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050301083542/http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/classics/staff/LSF/Euripides/helen.html |date=2005-03-01 }}. Nottingham University.</ref> and should not be confused with the sea god Proteus, although it is tempting to see Euripides as playing a complex literary game with the sea god's history—both Proteuses, for example, are protectors of the house of Menelaus, both are connected with the sea, both dwell in Egypt, and both are "grandfatherly" or "ancient" figures.

At [[Lighthouse of Alexandria|Pharos]] a king of Egypt named Proteus welcomed the young god [[Dionysus]] in his wanderings.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Greek Myths|last=Graves|first=Robert|publisher=Penguin|year=2012|location=New York|via=Google Books}}</ref> In Hellenistic times, Pharos was the site of the [[Lighthouse of Alexandria]], one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece|last=Wilson|first=Nigel|publisher=Routledge|year=2006|location=New York|page=36|via=Google Books}}</ref>

== Cultural references ==
Proteus as a cultural reference has been used in various contexts with different nuances according to each of the aspects of the myth: a shepherd of sea-creatures, a prophet who does not reveal their knowledge, a shape-changing god, the power to transform matter, or the primary matter that can become different materials. The adjective ''protean'' has come to mean versatile, ever-changing, or varied in nature.<ref>{{Cite Merriam-Webster |1=protean |access-date=2023-03-27}}</ref>

===In alchemy and psychology===
The German mystical alchemist [[Heinrich Khunrath]] wrote of the shape-changing sea-god who, because of his relationship to the sea, is both a symbol of the unconscious as well as the perfection of the art. Alluding to the ''scintilla'', the spark from ‘the light of nature’ and symbol of the {{lang|la|[[anima mundi]]}}, Khunrath in [[Gnosticism|Gnostic]] vein stated of the Protean element Mercury:

In modern times, the Swiss psychologist [[Carl Jung]] defined the mythological figure of Proteus as a personification of the unconscious, who, because of his gift of prophecy and shape-changing, has much in common with the central but elusive figure of alchemy, [[Mercury (mythology)|Mercurius]]. The quote below gives further elaboration.

{{blockquote|text=Our Catholick Mercury, by virtue of his universal fiery spark of the light of nature, is beyond doubt Proteus, the sea god of the ancient pagan sages, who hath the key to the sea and&nbsp;... power over all things.|title={{lang|de|Von Hyleanischen Chaos}}|source=[[Carl Jung]], vol. 14:50{{Better source needed|date=April 2012}} }}

===In literature===
The poet [[John Milton]], aware of the association of Proteus with the Hermetic art of [[alchemy]], wrote in ''[[Paradise Lost]]'' of alchemists who sought the [[philosopher's stone]]:
{{Poemquote|text=
In vain, though by their powerful Art they bind
Volatile [[Hermes]], and call up unbound
In various shapes old Proteus from the Sea,
Drain'd through a [[Alembic|Limbec]] to his native form.|author=John Milton|title=''Paradise Lost''|source=III.603–06}}

[[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]] uses the image of Proteus to establish the character of his great royal villain [[Richard III of England|Richard III]] in the play ''[[Henry VI, Part 3|Henry VI, Part Three]]'', in which the future usurper boasts:
{{Poemquote|text=I can add colours to the chameleon,
Change shapes with Proteus for advantages,
And set the murderous Machiavel to school.
Can I do this, and cannot get a crown?
Tut, were it farther off, I'll pluck it down.
|author=William Shakespeare|title=''Henry VI, Part Three''|source=Act III, Scene ii}}

Shakespeare also names one of the main characters of his play ''[[The Two Gentlemen of Verona]]'' Proteus.

In 1807, [[William Wordsworth]] finished his [[sonnet]] on the theme of a modernity deadened to [[Nature]], which opens "[[The world is too much with us]]", with a sense of nostalgia for the lost richness of a world numinous with deities: 
{{Poemquote|text=
...&nbsp;I'd rather be
A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn;
So might I, standing on this pleasant lea,
Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn;
Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea.
Or hear old [[Triton (mythology)|Triton]] blow his wreathèd horn.<ref name="WSU">[http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~wldciv/world_civ_reader/world_civ_reader_2/wordsworth.html "Wordsworth"]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060623014133/http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~wldciv/world_civ_reader/world_civ_reader_2/wordsworth.html |date=2006-06-23 }}.</ref>}}

[[James Joyce]]'s ''[[Ulysses (novel)|Ulysses]]''<ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=http://www.readprint.com/chapter-6364/James-Joyce |chapter=Chapter 3 |title=Ulysses |first=James |last=Joyce |via=Readprint.com |access-date=2018-11-05 |archive-date=2008-12-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081203133042/http://www.readprint.com/chapter-6364/James-Joyce |url-status=dead |author-link=James Joyce |title-link=Ulysses (novel) }}</ref> uses Protean transformations of matter in time for self-exploration. "Proteus" is the title provided for the third chapter in the [[Linati schema for Ulysses]].

== Gallery ==
<gallery heights=300 mode="packed">
File:Ovide - Metamorphoses - III - Thétis et Protée.jpg|alt=|''Thetis and Proteus'' by [[Noël Le Mire]]
File:Menelaus Proteus engraving achillis 1574.jpg|alt=|''Menelaus and Proteus'' by [[Giulio Bonasone]]
File:Zeegod Protheus Prothevs (titel op object) Rivier- en zeegoden (serietitel) Semideorum Marinorum amnicorumque sigillariae imagines perelegantes (serietitel), RP-P-1898-A-19949.jpg|alt=|''Seagod Proteus'' by [[Philip Galle|Philips Galle]]
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Proteus in popular culture]]
* [[USS Proteus|USS ''Proteus'']]
* [[HMS Proteus|HMS ''Proteus'']]
* [[Oresteia]], section ''Proteus''
* [[Proteus syndrome]]

==Notes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* [[Bibliotheca (Pseudo-Apollodorus)|Apollodorus]], ''The Library'' with an English Translation by Sir James George Frazer, F.B.A., F.R.S. in 2 Volumes, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1921. ISBN 0-674-99135-4. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0022 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.] [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0021 Greek text available from the same website].
* [[Euripides]], ''The Complete Greek Drama'', edited by Whitney J. Oates and Eugene O'Neill Jr. in two volumes. 2. Helen, translated by Robert Potter. New York. Random House. 1938. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0100 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.]
* Euripides, ''Euripidis Fabulae.'' ''vol. 3''. Gilbert Murray. Oxford. Clarendon Press, Oxford. 1913. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0099 Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library].
* [[Robert Graves|Graves, Robert]], ''The Greek Myths'', Harmondsworth, London, England, Penguin Books, 1960. {{ISBN|978-0143106715}}
* Graves, Robert, ''The Greek Myths: The Complete and Definitive Edition.'' Penguin Books Limited. 2017. {{ISBN|978-0-241-98338-6|024198338X}}
* [[Homer]], [[Odyssey|''The Odyssey'']] with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, Ph.D. in two volumes. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1919. {{ISBN|978-0674995611|}}. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0136 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.] [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0135 Greek text available from the same website].
* [[Károly Kerényi|Kerényi, Carl]], ''The Gods of the Greeks'', Thames and Hudson, London, 1951.
* [[Lycophron]], ''The Alexandra''  translated by Alexander William Mair. Loeb Classical Library Volume 129. London: William Heinemann, 1921. [https://topostext.org/work/128 Online version at the Topos Text Project.]
* Lycophron, ''Alexandra'' translated by A.W. Mair. London: William Heinemann; New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons. 1921. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:2008.01.0484 Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.]
* E. Prioux, «Géographie symbolique des errances de Protée: un mythe et sa relecture politique à l’époque impériale», in A. Rolet (dir.), ''Protée en trompe-l'œil. Genèse et survivances d'un mythe, d'Homère à Bouchardon'' (Paris, P.U.R., 2009), p.&nbsp;139-164 (Interférences).
* [[Clementine literature|Pseudo-Clement]], ''Recognitions'' from [[Ante-Nicene Period|Ante-Nicene]] Library Volume 8'','' translated by Smith, Rev. Thomas. T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh. 1867. [http://www.theoi.com/Text/ClementRecognitions.html Online version at theio.com]
* A. Scuderi, Il paradosso di Proteo. Storia di una rappresentazione culturale da Omero al postumano, Carocci, Collana Lingue e letterature n.147, Roma, 2012. {{ISBN|9788843067190}}
* {{citation | volume = 1 | year = 1916 | first = William | last = Sherwood Fox | author-link = William Sherwood Fox | title = Greek and Roman | url = https://archive.org/details/mythologyofallra11gray_0 | work =The Mythology of All Races }}
* [[Stephanus of Byzantium]], ''Stephani Byzantii Ethnicorum quae supersunt,'' edited by August Meineike (1790–1870), published 1849. A few entries from this important ancient handbook of place names have been translated by Brady Kiesling. [https://topostext.org/work/241 Online version at the Topos Text Project.]
* [[Strabo]], ''[[Geographica|The Geography of Strabo]].'' Edition by H.L. Jones. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0198%3Abook%3D6%3Achapter%3D1%3Asection%3D1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.]
* Strabo, ''Geographica'' edited by A. Meineke. Leipzig: Teubner. 1877. [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0197 Greek text available at the Perseus Digital Library.]
* [[John Tzetzes|Tzetzes, John]], ''Book of Histories,'' Book II-IV translated by Gary Berkowitz from the original Greek of T. Kiessling's edition of 1826. [http://www.theoi.com/Text/TzetzesChiliades2.html Online version at theio.com]

==External links==
{{EB1911 poster|Proteus (mythology)}}
* {{commons category-inline}}
* {{Wiktionary-inline|Proteus}}

{{Greek religion}}
{{Greek mythology (deities)}}
{{The Two Gentlemen of Verona}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Greek sea gods]]
[[Category:Deities in the Iliad]]
[[Category:Children of Poseidon]]
[[Category:Shapeshifters in Greek mythology]]
[[Category:Mythological Greek seers]]