Poseidon

Greek mythology – Present

God of the sea, earthquakes, and horses; brother of Zeus and Hades, and the vengeful force whose anger keeps Odysseus from home for ten years.

greek mythologygodolympian

Poseidon was the Greek god of the sea, and also of earthquakes and horses, a reminder that to the Greeks the ocean was beautiful, powerful, and terrifying all at once. A brother of Zeus and Hades, he received the sea as his domain when the three gods divided the world after defeating the Titans. His symbol was the trident, a three-pronged spear he used to stir up storms or split the earth. Poseidon was known for a fierce, changeable temper, as unpredictable as the sea itself. Sailors prayed to him for safe passage and feared his moods, because a single storm could destroy an entire fleet. He fathered many creatures and heroes, and one of his sons was the one-eyed giant Polyphemus, the Cyclops. That detail drives the entire Odyssey. When Odysseus and his men are trapped in Polyphemus's cave, Odysseus blinds the Cyclops to escape, then, in a burst of pride, taunts him and reveals his real name. Polyphemus prays to his father Poseidon for revenge, and the sea god spends the next ten years hurling storms and disasters at Odysseus, keeping him from Ithaca. Poseidon is the perfect villain for the poem: not evil, exactly, but proud, powerful, and unforgiving, the embodiment of nature's fury and the price of hubris. How we know. Sea-god cults (for example at Sounion) are historical. The ten-year revenge is Homer, Odyssey Book 9 onward. Read the Cyclops episode and the contest for Athens.

Poseidon

Further reading

Poseidon

Further reading