Proteus

Proteus, in the Homeric or oldest Greek mythology, appears as a prophetic 'old man of the sea' (halios gerōn), who tends the seal-flocks of Poseidon (Neptune), and has the gift of endless transformation. His favourite residence, according to Homer, is the island of Pharos, off the mouth of the Nile; but according to Virgil, the island of Carpathos (now Skarpanto), between Crete and Rhodes. Here he rises at mid-day from the floods, and sleeps in the shadow of the rocky shores, surrounded by the monsters of the deep. This was the time when those who wished to make him prophesy must catch him. But it was no easy task. Proteus, unlike most vaticinal personages, was very unwilling to prophesy, and tried to escape by adopting all manner of shapes and disguises. When he found his endeavours hopeless he resumed his proper form, and then spoke out unerringly about the future.