Poseidon god of the sea8/10/2023 ![]() In vengeance, before the Trojan War, Poseidon sent a sea monster to attack Troy (it was later killed by Heracles). He had them build huge walls around the city and promised to reward them well, a promise he then refused to full fill. Poseidon and Apollo, having offended Zeus, were sent to serve King Laomedon of Troy. In the Odyssey (v.398), Poseidon has a home in Aegae. Poseidon was raised by the Telchines on Rhodes, just as Zeus was raised by the Korybantes on Crete.Īccording to a single reference in the Iliad, when the world was divided by lot in three, Zeus received the sky, Hades the underworld and Poseidon the sea. He was saved by his mother Rhea, who concealed him among a flock of lambs and pretended to have given birth to a colt, which she gave to Cronus to devour. However in some versions of the story, he, like his brother Zeus, did not share the fate of his other brother and sisters who were eaten by Cronus. In most accounts he is swallowed by Cronus at birth but later saved, with his other brothers and sisters, by Zeus. Xenophon's Anabasis describes a group of Spartan soldiers in 400–399 BCE singing to Poseidon a paean - a kind of hymn normally sung for Apollo. Apollo and Poseidon worked closely in many realms: in colonization, for example, Delphic Apollo provided the authorization to go out and settle, while Poseidon watched over the colonists on their way, and provided the lustral water for the foundation-sacrifice. Sailors prayed to Poseidon for a safe voyage, sometimes drowning horses as a sacrifice.Īccording to Pausanias, Poseidon was one of the caretakers of the oracle at Delphi before Olympian Apollo took it over. When offended or ignored, he supposedly struck the ground with his trident and caused chaotic springs, earthquakes, drowning and shipwrecks. In his benign aspect, Poseidon was seen as creating new islands and offering calm seas. Poseidon was a major civic god of several cities: in Athens, he was second only to Athena in importance, while in Corinth and many cities of Magna Graecia he was the chief god of the polis. The name of the sea-god Nethuns in Etruscan was adopted in Latin for Neptune in Roman mythology: both were sea gods analogous to Poseidon. At one point he even tried to chain Zeus up, but his plan failed and he was once again put back into his place.Poseidon (Latin: Neptunus) was the god of the sea and, as "Earth-Shaker," of earthquakes in Greek mythology. Though he had avoided being relegated to the Underworld, was able to live on Mount Olympus, and was highly recognized and worshiped, Poseidon was often jealous of Zeus's power and authority. In this way he was much more like sister Hera that brother Zeus, who often had to resolve Poseidon's conflicts so he wouldn't cause too much destruction. Known as Neptune in Roman mythology, he was considered an unruly god who was often prone to temper tantrums and angry bouts of revenge. He was often associated with bullsĪnd horses - creatures that can shake the earth fairly well themselves. So often that Hades was afraid the walls of the Underworld mightĬollapse under all of the shaking. Greek god of earthquakes as well, for he shook the earth so vigorously Sea might well have been his title, but many also considered Poseidon Many respects nobody exercised this power more than Poseidon. Zeus controlled the heavens, Poseidon the sea, and unlucky Hades was forced to live in the Underworld for the rest of his days.Īll three brothers would be given equal rule over the land, but in Thus, the world was divided into three "territories". The winner would be awarded control over the heavens, second would get control of the sea, and the smallest lot would have control of the Underworld. After helping brother Zeus overtake control of the world from their father, Cronos, Poseidon was involved in a high-stakes game of drawing lots. Poseidon is the son of Cronos and Rhea, and brother to Zeus, Hades, Demeter, Hestia, and Hera. He was one of the 12 Olympian gods and goddesses who held court on Mount Olympus - the mountain of the gods. Poseidon, Greek god of the sea, was one of the most powerful of all of the gods in Greek mythology.
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