Nestor is not actually a character in The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare. Instead, he is one of the leaders of the Greeks in the Trojan War and figures prominently in Homer's Iliad. Because of the importance of classical culture in anglophone literature, most people writing in English assume their readers will be familiar with the Homeric epics, and thus allusions to figures such as Nestor are common.
Nestor was the King of Pylos. His distinguishing characteristics in the Iliad are his age and his wisdom. Unlike many of the other heroes, he is not described as being at the peak of his fighting prowess, but because of his age, brings considerable patience, experience, and expertise to the Greek army and offers sage counsel to Agamemnon and the other leaders. He is renowned for his wisdom. Unlike Odysseus, who is clever and unscrupulous, Nestor is wise in a way that includes good moral judgment.
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