Poseidon was believed to be one of the twelve most powerful gods to the Greeks. The people believed that Poseidon ruled part of the Underworld. Poseidon was known as the god of the sea, earthquakes, and horses. Whenever Poseidon is represented he always has a trident in his hand and a crown on his head. A trident is a 3 pronged spear used for fishing. He is usually shown riding on a horse drawn chariot. The trident was always carried by him because they believed it was used for destroying land and creating land under the sea. Although the Greeks knew him as Poseidon, they still believed in Neptune the Roman God that ruled the sea>
The Greek gods’ family trees are very extraordinary and Poseidon is a perfect example of that. Poseidon’s father was Cronus, God of Time, and his mother, Rhea was, Goddess of Fertility. Poseidon had two brothers, Zeus and Hades. Zeus was the God of Olympus and Hades was the God of the Underworld.“When the three brothers divided the universe, Poseidon received the sea, Zeus received the heavens, and Hades got the underworld.”(World Book, 2018) Poseidon had 3 sisters Demeter, Hera, and Hestia. Demeter was the “Goddess of grain, corn, and harvest”, Hera was the “Goddess of Marriage”, and Hestia was the “Goddess of Heart”.
Poseidon married the Goddess Amphitrite, “Goddess of the Sea”. Poseidon had seven children, but, not all of the children were with his wife Amphitrite. His children from his wife Amphitrite included, son, Triton the a fish tailed sea god, daughter, Benthesikyme was a sea nymph, and daughter Rohde the goddess of the Rhode Island’s. Poseidon had many other children due to his love affairs. “When Poseidon tried to seduce the beautiful sea nymph Scylla (pronounced SIL-uh), his wife Amphitrite became jealous and transformed her into a horrible sea monster with six dog-heads.”(World Book, 2018).
One of the legends told about Poseidon was between him and his father. “Cronus was told by his father Uranus and Mother Earth that one of his own sons would someday dethrone him”(World Book, 2018) . Cronus believed what he has heard and swallowed Poseidon when he was born. Rhea tried to trick him so that he wouldn’t swallow her children, by giving him a rock covered in a blanket. This did not work. There for he swallowed her and 4 other children. Zeus upset by this tricked his father into taking poison so that he would vomit up the children.
Another myth that tells about the legend of Poseidon was the one when he lost the city of Athens to Athena “Goddess of Wisdom”. The bet was who could make the people of Athens happier. Poseidon struck the ground with his trident to give the city a spring of water. The people were not very happy with the salt water. It was Athena’s turn and she hit the ground with her spear and planted a olive tree to symbolized peace and prosperity. The King Cecrops liked Athena’s gift better. Poseidon was upset that he lost and flooded out the whole city. The gods were known to help answer prayers for people, but if they become upset they can wreak havoc. Poseidon being the god of the ocean was also connected to the land. He was honored in an olympic type festival were there was athletic competitions and horse races. He was the prominent in the art show. “He was known as Enosichthon and Enosigaios the (“earth-shaker”) and was worshipped as Asphalios the Poseidon”(https://www.britannica.com/topic/Poseidon)
Poseidon was considered one of the most powerful gods to the Greeks. He ruled the Seas with his trident and riding is chariot drawn by two golden sea horses. There are many Greek tales that tell the story of Poseidon and his powers and most of all the superior legendary strength.
References
“Poseidon.” World Book Discover, World Book, 2018, worldbookonline.com/wbdiscover/article?id=ar831257. Accessed 24 May 2018.
“Poseidon.” Robert James reese, 2018, https://robertjamesreese.com/essays/a-history-of-poseidon. Accessed 24 May 2018.
<a href=”https://greekgodsandgoddesses.net/goddesses/hestia/”>Hestia: https://greekgodsandgoddesses.net</a> – Greek Gods & Goddesses, September 19,2014