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Geras, detail of an Attic red-figure pelike, ca. 480 BC–470 BC,
Louvre.
In Greek mythology, Geras (Greek Γῆρας, Gēras) was the god of old age. (The distinct word Γέρας, Gĕras means plunder or prize.) It was considered a virtue whereby the more gēras a man acquired, the more kleos (fame) and arete (excellence and courage) he was considered to have. According to Hesiod (Theogony, 225) Gēras was a son of Nyx. Hyginus (Preface) adds that his father was Erebus. He was depicted as a tiny shrivelled up old man. Gēras's opposite was Hebe the goddess of youth. His Roman equivalent was Senectus. He is known primarily from vase depictions that show him with the hero Heracles; unfortunately, the mythic story that inspired these depictions has been entirely lost.
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