Poseidon (Mythology)
The Greek god of the sea, earthquakes, and horses — one of the three great Olympian brothers who divided the cosmos after the Titans fell. Wielder of the trident. Roman counterpart: Neptune. Planetary correspondence: neptune-planet. Crossing note: crossing-neptune-poseidon.
The Three-Way Division
After Zeus led the Olympians to victory over the Titans, the three sons of Cronus divided the cosmos by lot:
- Zeus received the sky and lightning — lord of the heavens
- Poseidon received the sea — lord of all waters
- Hades received the underworld — lord of the dead
- The earth and Olympus were held in common
Poseidon was not subordinate to Zeus — he was an equal ruler of his domain, and he frequently acted against Zeus's will. The Odyssey turns largely on the conflict between Poseidon's rage (Odysseus blinded his son Polyphemus) and Athena's protection of Odysseus.
Character
Poseidon is volatile, proud, and territorial — far more temperamental than Zeus. His epithets define him:
- Ennosigaios ("Earth-Shaker") — earthquakes were Poseidon striking the earth with his trident
- Pelagios ("of the deep sea") — he ruled not just surface waters but the depths
- Hippios ("of horses") — he created the first horse by striking a rock with his trident, or (in other accounts) from sea foam
The horse connection is ancient and may predate the sea connection — Poseidon may have originated as an earth deity or horse deity before being associated with water.
Family
- Wife: Amphitrite, a sea nymph (Nereid). Initially she fled his pursuit; a dolphin found her and persuaded her to return — Poseidon placed the dolphin among the stars as Delphinus in gratitude.
- Son Triton: Half man, half fish — herald of the sea, blows a conch shell to calm or raise waves. Named Triton the moon after him.
- Son Polyphemus: The Cyclops blinded by Odysseus. Poseidon's subsequent persecution of Odysseus drives the *Odyssey*.
- Son Orion: In some traditions Poseidon was the father of the giant hunter (myth-orion).
- Son Antaeus: The giant wrestler who drew strength from contact with his mother Gaia — killed by Heracles, who lifted him from the earth.
- Son Theseus: In Athenian tradition, Poseidon was Theseus's divine father.
Athens and the Contest
Poseidon and Athena contested patronage of the city of Athens — each offered a gift:
- Poseidon struck the Acropolis with his trident, producing a salt spring (or a horse in some versions)
- Athena planted the first olive tree
The Athenians (or the gods) judged Athena's gift more useful. Poseidon, furious, flooded the Attic plain. Athens became Athena's city — but the Erechtheion on the Acropolis preserves both the mark of Poseidon's trident and Athena's olive tree, honoring the contest.
The Trident
Poseidon's trident was forged by the Cyclopes (the same smiths who made Zeus's thunderbolt and Hades's helm of invisibility). With it he could:
- Shatter rock and cause earthquakes
- Calm or raise storms at sea
- Create springs and rivers
- Strike the sea floor and raise islands
The trident became the defining symbol of sea power — still used in heraldry for naval associations.
Poseidon and the Sea
In Greek cosmology, the sea surrounded the entire flat earth disk — the river Oceanus at the outermost edge, the Mediterranean and known seas within. Poseidon ruled all of it, plus the freshwater sources that welled up from below. He was both the danger of the sea (storms, monsters, shipwrecks) and its potential for communication and trade.
No mortal sailed without implicitly entering Poseidon's domain.