Poseidon in Greek Mythology

Poseidon, brother to Zeus, and one of the major Olympian gods of Ancient Greece, could be considered simply as an ancient god from a long dead religion, and yet his image, as god of the sea, is still a potent one.

The majority of stories about his birth tell of Poseidon being the son of the Titan’s Cronus and Rhea. This parentage makes him the brother to Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades and Zeus. Upon his birth Poseidon was swallowed by his father. This act was undertaken by Cronus to prevent the completion of a prophecy with stated that one of his offspring would one take dethrone him.

Zeus would have followed Poseidon into the stomach of Cronus, but his mother, Rhea, substituted a stone wrapped in baby clothes. Zeus grew up safely on Crete. When he came of age Zeus returned to the land of Cronus, tricking him into taking a potion that forced the regurgitation of Zeus’ siblings, Poseidon included.

Poseidon's Chariot - Antiquariat Dr. Haack Leipzig - PD-life-100

Less common stories are also told of Poseidon’s birth. In these Poseidon was not swallowed, instead Rhea gave Cronus a horse to swallow, swearing that she had given birth to a colt. Poseidon was sent to Rhodes to be raised by the Telchines.

In either case, Zeus returned and with the help of his siblings waged a ten year war against the Titans, the Titanomachy. Zeus released the Cyclopes and Hecatonchires from Tarterus to aid him in his rebellion. As an act of gratitude the Cyclopes made weapons for the three brothers. Zeus received the thunderbolt, Hades got the Helmet of Darkness and Poseidon was given his Trident.

Zeus and the younger gods were victorious over the Titans, and Zeus banished the majority of the Titans to Tartarus in the deepest reaches of the Underworld. The three brothers then drew lots to see which section of the cosmos they would rule. Zeus took the sky, Poseidon received the sea and Hades was left with the Underworld as his domain. The earth was to be divided amongst all of the gods.
Like his brother, Hades, whilst Poseidon was a god of Mount Olympus he spent much of his time in his domain. Beneath the waves Poseidon resided in a palace made of gems and coral. The palace was said to be in the sea near Aegae, from which he would travel, onboard his chariot.

In the early days of his reign Zeus was faced with issues of remaining in power. One of these rebellions was against the Gigante. One hundred giants formed from the blood of Uranus, they revolted under the influence of Gaea. Gaea was annoyed with Zeus for placing her other offspring, the Titans, in Tarterus. The gods of Olympus eventually defeated the Gigante, with the assistance of Heracles. Poseidon himself defeated Polybotes, one of the Gigante, pursuing the giant across the sea. Once he was caught, Polybotes was buried beneath the rock of Nisyros, forming the tip of the island of Kos.

Poseidon and Amphitrite - Paris Bordone (1500–1571) - PD-art-100

Poseidon himself was involved in an attempted rebellion against Zeus. Poseidon, Hera and Athena planned to incarcerate Zeus. The plan though was halted before it even began. The plotters were scared off when Thetis, Zeus’ first wife, persuaded Briareus to guard her husband. Briareus was one of the three Hecatonchires, and his gigantic stature dissuaded the other gods from attacking their brother.

Poseidon retreated to his watery palace, and like his brother, Hades, tales of his undertakings are fairly rare. Rare at least in comparison with a number of the other Olympian gods. The initial tales of Poseidon relate to disputes with other gods. As the gods had decided that the earth should be jointly ruled, there was arguments as to which cities would belong to which gods.

The first of these disputes was with Helius. The land of Corinth ultimately had to be divided between Poseidon and Helius, the decision being left with Briareus. Poseidon was given the Isthmus of Corinth, whilst Helius received the heights over the city.

The next dispute was with his one time co-conspirator, Hera. This time the patronage of Argos was in question. In this instance though Poseidon received nothing, as three river gods, Asterion, Cephisus and Inachus, decided in favour of Hera. Poseidon, as god of all water, had his revenge, drying up the rivers associated with the river gods.

The most well known dispute occurred between Athena and Poseidon, with the new city in the Attica region. Poseidon was the first to arrive in Attica, but Athena followed shortly afterwards with designs on the city’s patronage. A competition was arranged between the two gods, both provided a gift to the city, the provider of the best would be the city’s god. Poseidon went first and with a blow of his trident on the Acropolis a spring was produced, the water though was salty. Next came Athena who planted an olive tree.

King Cecrops chose the olive tree as the more useful gift for the city, thus deciding the city of Attica became Athena’s. The city became Athens in honour of their patron god, with its inhabitants building the Parthenon as a temple to Athena. Initially Poseidon was enraged, flooding the Attic Plain in revenge, though he refrained from flooding Athens itself. Eventually though Athena and Poseidon put aside their differences, and worked together. Whilst Poseidon was the god of horses, Athena built the first chariot to be coupled to the animals. It was also Athena who built the first ships to sail over Poseidon’s domain. Poseidon quickly became the second god of Athens and duly worshipped.

Poseidon had much in common with his brother, Zeus, in terms of his love life. Poseidon was married to the Oceanid Amphitrite, who in herself was the daughter of Nerues, the Old Man of the Sea. Together they had a son, Triton, a half-man half-fish creature.

Poseidon though had a number of mistresses in addition to his wife. The Gorgon Medusa was turned into the monster by Athena, after Poseidon raped her in Athena’s temple. The result of this intimacy was the birth of Chrysaor and the winged horse Pegasus after Medusa had been decapitated by Perseus.

The mystical horse Arion was also one of Poseidon’s offspring. Demeter, Poseidon’s sister, had changed into a mare to avoid her brother’s attentions. Poseidon though changed himself into a stallion to mate with her.

Not all of Poseidon’s offspring were mythical creatures, as Poseidon was said to be the father heroes, including Theseus. Poseidon played a role in the adventures of his son. The Minotaur of Crete was born as an act of retaliation by Poseidon against King Minos for not sacrificing the Cretan Bull as required.

As previously said tales of adventure concerning Poseidon are few and far between. Troy though does play a central role in a couple. Apollo and Poseidon went to Troy when Laomedon was king of the city. They either went of their own volition or because Zeus ordered them to, depending on the version of the story. A test was made of the king, to see what kind of man he was. The two gods disguised themselves and set to work building fortifications for the city, for which they were promised a reward. Laomedon refused to honour his promises though on the gods’ completion of the walls. As a result Apollo sent a deadly disease into Troy, whilst Poseidon sent a sea monster to attack the city and its inhabitants.

Partially as a result of Laomedon’s actions, Poseidon assisted the Greeks during the Trojan War, fighting on their side on a number of occasions. The Greek Odysseus though quickly made an enemy of the god when he blinded the Cyclops Polyphemus escaping from his cave. Poseidon ensured that the hero’s journey home was as difficult as possible.

Poseidon was slighted by Queen Cassiopeia, when she claimed that she and her daughter, Andromeda, were more beautiful than Poseidon’s Nereids. Vengeance for Poseidon was in the form of another monster, Cetus, sent to ravage the kingdom of Ethiopia. A prophecy was made that Ethiopia could be saved if Andromeda was sacrificed to the monster. Andromeda though was rescued by Perseus before this could happen. Poseidon though decided Cassiopeia could not escape punishment and so set her as a star in the night sky.

Poseidon is often depicted as a mature man holding his trident. Horses were also important to the god, Poseidon is often said to have created horses and taught mankind how to care for them. Whilst he could be beneficial, Poseidon was also known as the Earthshaker, and would cause earthquakes when he was angered.

Poseidon was both feared and worshipped in equal measure. Whilst especially revered in Corinth and the Peloponnesus, temples to Poseidon could be found all over Greece. Perhaps not surprising for a seafaring nation the majority of the temples are found on the coast. Sacrifices normal took the form of black and white bulls, or boars and rams. There is evidence though that horses were thrown into wells in Argolis as a sacrifice. Chariot races would also be held in his honour at Poseidon’s bi-annual Istmian Games.

Poseidon was one of the major Olympian gods, alongside his brothers Zeus and Hades. He is though much better known for his offspring and his affairs than anything else. To a seafaring nation though there was no more important god.

Copyright - First Published 8th March 2008