Poseidon - Greek God Poseidon

Greek Mythology

Who Is Poseidon?

Poseidon is one of the three brother gods who divided the world between them. Poseidon's lot was the sea. As sea god Poseidon is usually seen with a trident. He is the god of water, horses, and earthquakes and was considered responsible for shipwrecks and drownings.

Myths involving Poseidon / Neptune (re-told by Thomas Bulfinch):

• The Rural Deities - Erisichthon - Rhoecus - The Water Deities - Camenae - Winds
• Adventures of Aeneas -- The Harpies -- Dido -- Palinurus
• Minerva and Niobe
• Prometheus and Pandora

Family of Origin of Poseidon:
The Titans Cronus and Rhea are the parents of Poseidon in Greek mythology. Poseidon is one of their three sons; the others being Hades (Underworld) and Zeus. There were also three sisters, Hestia, Hera, and Demeter. Cronus was the horrible mythological father who so feared his own children he swallowed them soon after birth. He continued to devour the newborns until his wife got wise (or help from her own parents) and handed Cronus stones in swaddling clothes to swallow.

Roman Equivalent Neptune:
Poseidon was known as Neptune by the Romans.

Attributes:
The symbol for which Poseidon is known is the trident. Poseidon is often shown in his sea chariot drawn by sea creatures alongside his wife Amphitrite.

Powers of Poseidon:
Poseidon was the sea god who could cause all manner of trouble on the sea; when on earth he caused earthquakes. He was also god of horses.

The Inferiority of Poseidon:
Poseidon asserts his equality with Zeus in the Iliad, but then defers to him as king. Poseidon by some accounts is the older brother of Zeus and one sibling Zeus didn't have to rescue from his father (the power leverage Zeus usually used with his siblings). Even with Odysseus who had ruined his son Polyphemus' life, Poseidon behaved in a less fearsome manner than might be expected of an enraged storm and earthquake kind of god. In the challenge for patronage of Athens, Poseidon lost out to his niece Athena, but then worked cooperatively with her -- as in the Trojan War where they and Hera try to thwart Zeus.

Poseidon's Mates:
Poseidon is usually shown with his wife Amphitrite, but he mated with many creatures. Odysseus' (run-in with the) Cyclops are some of his children. He mated with Medusa when she was still a beauty. Out of their union was born the winged horse Pegasus. When he tried to mate with his sister Demeter, she changed herself into a mare. Turning himself into a stallion, Poseidon raped her, which resulted in the birth of the horse Arion. He once took on the form of the river god Enipeus in order to consort with Iphimedia. Their offspring was the giant Otus. Poseidon was in competition with Zeus for the nymph Thetis.

Poseidon and Zeus:
Poseidon may have had an equal claim on the throne of the gods, but Zeus is the one who took it. When the titans made the thunderbolt for Zeus, they made the trident for Poseidon. These objects are symbols of their power and it is sometimes unclear which object and which god is depicted since a trident looks substantially different from a scepter only at the three-pronged fork end.
The trident should not be confused with Triton, the fish-man son of Poseidon and Amphitrite.

Poseidon in the Iliad:
Poseidon walks among the Greeks in the Iliad, at times taking on the guise of the human Thoas, to help them defeat the Trojans. When one of Poseidon's grandsons is slain by the Trojans, it just spurs the god on more. In this he is allied with his sister Hera and his niece Athena, but he is thwarting the will of his brother Zeus. Zeus sends Iris to tell him to cut it out. At first Poseidon rails that Zeus is not his superior, that they are equal, but then he backs down.