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Nestor, a MythSource painting
Greek

Nestor

Gerenian Nestor · Horseman Nestor · Shepherd of the People

01Identity

Nestor in Greek tradition

Nestor earned his reputation as a warrior before becoming the old horseman and king of Pylos who advised younger heroes. He fought for Pylos, killed Elean opponents with a spear and later welcomed Telemachos with food, gifts and guidance. Unlike a purely martial hero, Nestor is distinguished by combining battlefield experience with royal hospitality, ritual prayer and persuasive counsel.

Top questions

The quick answers

  • Who is Nestor?

    Nestor is a Greek hero associated with the kingship of Pylos, war counsel and strategy, diplomatic counsel, eloquence and persuasive speech, sacrifice and royal ritual.
    Source

    Source

    • The Library of Greek Mythology (Oxford World's Classics)
    • War in Greek Mythology
    • Greek Myths & Tales
    • THE ODYSSEY
    • Classical Mythology a to Z

  • What is Nestor associated with?

    the kingship of Pylos, war counsel and strategy, diplomatic counsel, eloquence and persuasive speech, sacrifice and royal ritual
    Source

    Source

    • The Library of Greek Mythology (Oxford World's Classics)
    • War in Greek Mythology
    • Greek Myths & Tales
    • THE ODYSSEY

  • What family links are recorded for Nestor?

    Father: Neleus, Mother: Chloris, Spouse: Anaxibia, 9 children, 1 sibling.
02Family

Nestor’s family, at a glance

Parents above, children below, and the figure’s consorts named in between, the same family data as the fact box, laid out as a chart instead of a field list.

NeleusChloris
NestorPericlymenus

with Anaxibia, Eurydice of Pylos

AntilochusAretusEchephronPeisistratusPerseusPisidicePolycasteStratius
Thrasymedes
03The names

The names Nestor answers to

Gerenian Nestor

Nestor associated with Gerenia

SourceClassical Mythology a to Z

Nestor the Horseman

Nestor famed for horsemanship

SourceWar in Greek Mythology

Neleid Nestor

Nestor, son of Neleus

SourceThe Library of Greek Mythology (Oxford World's Classics)

King of Pylos

Nestor's royal title

SourceThe Library of Greek Mythology (Oxford World's Classics)

04The myths

The myths of Nestor

2 myths, each traced to its primary text and corpus sources.

Nestor Survives the Fall of Pylos

Heracles marched against Pylos after taking Elis. He captured the city and killed Neleus, its ruler, along with Neleus’ sons. Periclymenos, the bravest of them, fought by changing his shape, but Heracles killed him. Nestor alone survived. He was still a boy and was being raised among the Gerenians. During the fighting, Heracles also wounded Hades, who had come to aid the Pylians.

Neleus was the son of Poseidon and Tyro. Poseidon had taken the appearance of the river Enipeus, whom Tyro loved, and fathered twin sons with her. Tyro exposed the children after their birth. A horse belonging to passing horse trainers struck one of them on the face with its hoof. The trainers found both children and raised them, naming the bruised child Pelias and the other Neleus. Another account says that a horse keeper and his wife raised them, while a further version says that the twins were found floating down the Enipeus in a wooden ark.

When Pelias and Neleus grew up, they found Tyro and learned that her stepmother, Sidero, had mistreated her. They went to punish Sidero. She took refuge in Hera’s sanctuary, but Pelias killed her there, even on the altar. Neleus later ruled Pylos. Heracles attacked him after Neleus had refused to purify him, according to one account. Another says that Neleus died because he tried to steal Heracles’ cattle of Geryon. After Neleus and the other Neleids fell, Nestor succeeded to the Pylian kingdom.

Nestor Survives the Fall of Pylos, a MythSource painting of the scene

In the modern world

No modern rework confirmed yet.

3 sources· checked 2026-08-18

  1. 1The Library of Greek Mythology (Oxford World's Classics)T1
  2. 2Homer, OdysseyT1

    Quote

    “Heracles killed Neleus and his sons, while Nestor alone escaped because he had been brought up among the Gerenians.”

    Homer, Odyssey

  3. 3The Library of Greek Mythology (Oxford World's Classics)T1

Nestor's War with the Epeans

The Eleans attacked Pylos after an earlier war between Pylos and Heracles had destroyed its best warriors. They took advantage of the city’s weakness, stealing its cattle and horses. The Pylians responded, and Elis sent an army against them. The Elean force included the Molionides, twin warriors whose bodies were joined together.

When the Elean army made camp, Athena came from Olympus. She instructed the Pylians to form up for battle. Neleus tried to stop his son Nestor from fighting, but he could not prevent him from joining the battle.

Nestor later said that he killed Itymoneus, the son of Hypeirochus, with a spear. He also killed Mulius, who was the son-in-law of King Augeas. He could not kill the Molionides, however, because Poseidon covered them in a fog. The Pylians defeated the Elean forces, and Nestor gained his reputation as a warrior through the conflict.

The account is connected with the later story that Nestor alone represented the sons of Neleus at Troy. After the war with Elis, the Pylians also fought the Arcadians. Their opponents included Ereuthalion, the squire of King Lycurgus.

Nestor's War with the Epeans, a MythSource painting of the scene

In the modern world

No modern rework confirmed yet.

3 sources· checked 2026-08-18

  1. 1War in Greek MythologyT1
  2. 2Homer, OdysseyT1

    Quote

    “Nestor killed Itymoneus and Mulius among the Epeans, while Poseidon saved the Moliones by covering them in mist.”

    Homer, Odyssey

  3. 3The Library of Greek Mythology (Oxford World's Classics)T1

Also appears in

The myths across MythSource where Nestor features, each on that figure’s page.

The film

The Underdrawing video on Nestor embeds here once it publishes.

Continue the road

More of Nestor’s family, sourced

PerseusChild