Proteus
Proteus (; Ancient Greek: Πρωτεύς, Prōteus) is a sea-god or god of rivers and oceans In Greek mythology. It is one of several gods which Homer calls the “Old Man of the Sea” (halios gerôn).
Proteus can change form, and only answers those who can capture him. From this comes the adjective protean, meaning “versatile”, “changeable”, or “capable of assuming many forms”. “Protean” suggests flexibility, versatility and adaptability.
Related page
- Poseidon - a god of the sea in Greek mythology
Written for younger readers
Proteus, in simpler words
This version comes from Wikijunior, a set of books written for children aged 8 to 11. It is shorter and uses plainer language than the article above.
From Wikijunior: Solar System
Proteus is a moon of the planet Neptune. It is sometimes called Neptune VIII. We still do not know a lot about this moon, as only a few pictures have been taken when the Voyager 2 flew by in 1989.
This moon is uneven in shape and has an average size of just over 400 km across. This moon is nearly as a big as a satellite can be without it being pulled into a sphere by its own gravity. Even though it is a small moon, it is the second largest moon of Neptune after Triton.
The surface of this moon is covered in craters and some grooves. It is also a very dark moon, with a ground that is as dark as soot. It is one of the darkest objects in the Solar System.
It takes 1 day, 2 hours, and 56 minutes for this moon to orbit the planet Neptune.
This moon is named for a sea god from ancient Greek mythology. In some tales he was the first son of Poseidon, the ancient Greek god of the sea. The Romans later called him Neptune, so Proteus was the first son of Neptune.
In Greek mythology, Proteus was able to foretell the future. He was also able to change his shape, and he used this ability to avoid being asked about what is to come.
Proteus was discovered in 1989 when the Voyager 2 spacecraft flew by Neptune.
de:Wikijunior Sonnensystem/ Neptun/ Proteus
Where this page comes from
The article above is adapted from “Proteus” on Simple English Wikipedia, by its contributors. We removed reference markers, navigation boxes and tables, expanded measurement templates into readable numbers, and kept the prose otherwise intact. The simpler version is adapted from Wikijunior on Wikibooks.
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