In Greek mythology, Poseidon is the God of the Seas, fresh and salt waters, sea life, storms, rain, floods, hurricanes, droughts, earthquakes and horses.[1] He is Zeus's and Hades' brother.[2] With his trident, he can shake and shatter whatever he wants.[3] He is also called "Earth-shaker" and is the source of earthquakes.[4]His queen's name is Amphitrite, and they had three daughters together. Like Zeus, he has many affairs, but unlike Hera, Amphitrite is not jealous. He lives in a palace made out of coral at the bottom of the sea. Poseidon's Roman counterpart is Neptune.
In Mythology
Cronus
Like all of his godly siblings (excepting Zeus), Poseidon was swallowed by his father Cronus to prevent them from rising up against him. However, he and his siblings were eventually freed when Zeus tricked Cronus into regurgitating them, and they rose up against the Titans.
The Reward of a Horse
Poseidon saw a city begging made with a great hill in the middle. He thought that it would be the perfect place for a temple, and that the city should be named after him. But Athena also saw it and had the same idea. They both went to Zeus to decide who should get it, but also he favored Athena, but he didn't want to anger Poseidon so he decided to let the king of the new city decide. The king was a good man and was wise and when Poseidon and Athena came to him proposed a competition where whoever can give the city the best gift would win. "That will be easy!" said Poseidon and summoned his chariot. He road off in to the sea as fast as he could ,and he then moulded out of the foam a horse and brought it to the beach. He gave it to the king and said "This is a horse it will pull your carts, help you into battle, and make farming easier." The king was thrilled, and then it was Athena's turn. she struck the ground with the butt of her spear and it changed in to a tree she then planted it in the ground and said "This is the olive tree. It can be used to make food better, and it will help light your houses and can be sold for money, so any king would wish for this in his kingdom." The king instantly chose Athena. Poseidon was enraged! He threw his trident in to the side of the mountain, and a leak of water started to come out. It turned to a fountain. Then it was like a tidal wave. The gods appeared and got the kings and the people to the top of the mountain. Zeus turned to Poseidon and said "Because of what you have done you must help rebuild the walls of the city instead of spending your days in the cool sea. You must work in the boiling sun for the next 7 years." But instead of rebuilding Athens, he made the walls of Troy.[5]
Akheilos
During Athena's confrontation with the shark-headed monster Akheilos, Poseidon assisted Athena. He stripped Akheilos of his sea-related powers, an opportunity which Athena used to kill Akheilos.
Family
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Poseidon had many children and descendants. Here is a small number of them.
Immortal Offspring
WithAmphitrite
- Triton (m. Libya)
- Pallas
- Triteia (m. Ares )
- Melanippos
- Calliste
- Benthesicyme
- Cymopoleia (m. Briareos)
- Oiolyka
- Rhode (m. Helios )
- Proteas (m. Psamathe)
- Eidothea
- Cabeiro (m. Hephaestus)
- Cadmilus
With Demeter
- Despoine
- Areion
With Medusa
Notable Mortal Offspring
With Aethra
With Tyro
With Euryale
- Orion
Powers & Abilities
Poseidon is an Elder Deity and a Major God, and is the second most powerful of the other Elders with his brother Zeus being the first, and his brother Hades being the third. He is also the King of the Ocean and of Atlantis.
- Aquatic Life Manipulation
- Crustacean Manipulation
- Ichthyoid Manipulation
- Aquatic Adaptation
- Earth Manipulation
- Earthquake Generation
- Storm Manipulation
- Hurricane Creation
- Rain Generation
- Ocean Lordship
- Disaster Manipulation
- Sea Monster Manipulation
- Ocean Manipulation
- Water Manipulation
- Tidal Wave Generation
- Water Affinity
- Water Mimicry
Weapons
- Divine Weapon
- Indestructible Item
- Divine Magic
- Advanced Hydrokinesis
- Advanced Atmokinesis
- Advanced Earthquake Generation
- Advanced Energy Blasts
- Electrokinesis
- Sea-Life Manipulation
- Divine Slaying
Gallery
,_part_2.JPG "450px-Statue of Poseidon NAMA 235 (DerHexer), part 2.JPG (61 KB)")
See Also
Citations
References
- Hamilton, Edith (1998), Mythology, Back Bay Books, New York, ISBN 0-316-34151-7
| Deities in Greek mythology | |
|---|---|
| Protogenoi | Chaos • Gaia • Tartarus • Uranus • Erebos • Nyx • Aether • Hemera • Eros • Oceanus • Pontus • Thalassa |
| Titans | Atlas • Cronus • Mnemosyne • Prometheus • Rhea • Tethys • Themis • Metis • Hecate • Eos • Helios • Selene |
| Twelve Olympians | Zeus • Hera • Demeter • Hestia • Poseidon • Ares • Artemis • Apollo • Athena • Hermes • Hephaestus • Aphrodite • Dionysus |
| Daemones | Bia • Dike • Eris • Hebe • Hygieia • Hypnos • Nemesis • Nike • Phobos • Poena • Soteria • Thanatos |