Greek sea gods conform to a single type: that of Homer's "halios geron" or Old Man of the Sea: Nereus, Proteus, Glaucus and Phorkys. These sea gods are not as powerful as Poseidon, the main god of the oceans and seas. Each one is a shape-shifter, a prophet, and the father of either radiantly beautiful nymphs or hideous monsters (or both, in the case of Phorkys). Nymphs and monsters blur, for Hesiod relates that Phorcys was wed to the "beautiful-cheeked" Ceto, whose name is merely the feminine of the monstrous Cetus, to whom Andromeda was due to be sacrificed. Each appearance in myth
Why the Sea is Salt Why the Sea is Salt Why the Sea Is Salt (; the mill that grinds at the bottom of the sea) is a Norwegian fairy tale collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe in their "Norske Folkeeventyr". Andrew Lang included it in "The Blue Fairy Book" (1889). It is a late parallel to the Old Norse poem "Grottasöngr", found in Snorri Sturluson's "Skáldskaparmál". Georgios A. Megas collected a Greek variant The Mill in "Folktales of Greece". It is Aarne-Thompson type 565, the Magic Mill. Other tales of this type include "The Water Mother" and "Sweet porridge". A poor man