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Srrf qnd Toil: The Brothen of ZcusThough not as powerful as their younger brother, Poseidon and Hades could claim to

equai his status. For iust as Zeus ruted the sky, Poseidon was lord of the seas and Hades

the supreme authority in the dark Underworld.

fUrf WqrsPoseidon, who won the right to rule the seas, was also the god of horses and of earth-

quakes. Poseidon's domain actually extended beyond the oceans to include freshwater

rivers, even though the river gods were the sons of Oceanus and Tethys.

Mlthmakers often depicted Poseidon as gruff and quick to anger. He sometimes resented

the greater dominion of Zeus. Perhaps for this reason, Poseidon lived not in olympus, butin an underwater palace off the eastern coast of Greece.

His subordinate position to Zeus made him sensitive about his other rights. Poseidon got

into more arguments over city patronage than any other olympian. He contested the

patronage of Argos with Hera and the patronage of Corinth with Helius. Poseidon lost

both disputes and had to content himself with the patronage of various islands and

seaports.

The most famous of these disputes was the fight over Athens with Athena. Poseidon

claimed the land by plunging his trident into the ground of the Acropolis and creating a

. salt-water spring. But Athena later planted the first olive tree beside this well and ciaimed

the city as her own. Poseidon immediately challenged her to combat, but Zeus intervened

and put the f.natter before a divine tribunal. Wishing to remain neutral and above the

ftay, ze:us did not vote, That left four other gods, all of whom voted for Poseidon. (Hades,

as was his custom, did not attend the Olympian hearing.) The five goddesses, however, all

sided with Athena, giving her the right to the land by virtue of her greater gift to the city.

In a fury, Poseidon flooded the Attic plain. The Athenians adopted several measures toappease Poseidon's wrath. The city denied the women of Athens the right to vote. Itended the practice of men carrying on their mothers' names. And ali Athenians con-

tinued to honor both Poseidon and Athena on the Acropolis.

Bccstly Cooplingr, Beostly ChildtenPoseidon courted Amphitrite, one of the Nereids (daughters of Nereus, the old Man ofthe Sea). Yet Amphitdte scorned the 8od's advances and fled to the Atlas Mountains.poseidon refused to give up and sent messengers after her to plead his case. One of these,

Delphinus, argued so persuasively for his master that he broke down Amphitrite,s resis-tance. She agreed to marry Poseidon. (The god later showed his gratitude by placing hismessenger's image in the sky as a constellation: the Dolphin.)

Like his brother Zeus, however, Poseidon was not exactly the poster boy for fidelity. Hetoo had numetous affairs with goddesses, nyrnphs, and mortals. Like most sea gods,Poseidon had the power to transform his shape, and often did so in order to complete aseduction:

) He appeared to the maiden Medusa as a bird. Unfortunately, he chose as the settingfor this seduction one of Athena's temples. The enraged goddess punished Medusaby turning her into a Gorgon (sbe Chapter 10).

> To mate with Theophane, whom he had changed into a ewe in order to hide herfrom her many suitors, he transformed himself into a ram.

) When Demeter, overwhelmed by the loss of her daughter persephone, attempted toescape her brother's attentions by changing herself into a mare, poseidon was notfooled. He changed himself into a staluon and mated with her in an Arcadianpasture

Poseidon also mated in the shape of a dolphin and abull. These many transformations had a powerfulinfluence on his offspring, too:

L Medusa's children were the winged horse Pegasusand the giant wardot Chrysaor.

) His union with Theophane produced the famousGolden-Fleeced ram (see Chapter 14).

) Demeter had two children by him: the nymphDespoena and a wild and remarkable horsenamed Arion.

) Many of his children were giants, includingChrysaor, the Cyclops Polyphemus, and thetrouble-making brothers Otus and Ephialtes.

As a father, Poseidon was very protective, not only toward his three children byAmphitrite, but toward the children of his many mistresses, too. poseidon made his sonCycnus invulnerable to weapons. He helped Theseus prove his parentage in a braggingcontest with King Minos of Crete (see Chapter 15). And he avenged the blinding ofPolyphemus by tormenting Odysseus for 10 years (see Chapter l8).

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POSEIDON, coD OF THE

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OCEANS

Poseidon, God of the Oceansposeidon received the oceans as his portion when the victorious Olympians divided.the

universe among themselves. The stories about him reflect the respect, love and fear that the

sea inspired in the Mediterranean world.

The sea q,as of great inrportance to the Greeks

ancl Romans, because it was one o[ their principal

means of transport ancl comtnttnication. Sea

travel, however, was fiaught with danger, so both

cultures perceivecl Poseiclon as a dangerous and

often dark gocl. He was so significant that in sorne

parts of the Mediterranean he was regarded as

equal to Zer-rs. Myths arose drawing parallels

between the stories of their births, explaining that

Poseidon hacl also lteen protected by his mother,

A triumphanl Poseidon, holding his trident aloft, is pulled by seahorses in his ocean-going chariot.

A mosaic from the first half of the 3rd century lo, found in a house in modern-day Tunisia.49

THE FIRST FAMILY OF OLYMPUS

Rhea, as a newltclrn llally. Altl'ror-rgh Cr<lntrs, her

paftner, swallowecl all ol their chilclren xs they

crnergecl fit>rtr the wourll, Rl'rea gave Crontrs a rtlck

to swallow in Zer,rs's place; sonte vcrsions clf tl're

rnyth relate that she gave Crontts a fbal to clevottr

instead of P<>seiclon.

The mvths altot-tt Poseiclon ancl the rites of

his wor.ship reflect his f'earsonre p()wer

On tlte one hancl, he hacl more ar'tthor-

ity than any other g<lcl except Zetrs,

ancl controllecl not only the oceans

br-rt all the rivers, strcatns ancl

firr-rntains ol the worlcl. He was a

g<>d of great l)eatlty ancl was

often shown stancling in a chariot

made of a sl"rell cllltwn by rvingecl

horses, holcling aloft his three-

prongecl triclent. In his rnagnificent

palace ttncler the see, he wes ettcnclecl

ancl jealor-rs ltehavi<>trr'. Sc>on afier the clcfcat <>f thc

Titans, he cleciclecl that he hacl lten r-rnfirirly

treatecl lty Zer-rs ancl atternptecl to stage a relrllion.The conspiracy was cliscoverccl ancl' as ptrnish-

nrent, Poseiclon rvas tnacle t<l lltrilcl the walls <lf

Troy. Homcr tells h<tw l.re c<ltrlcl cross the w<lrlcl in

just three stricles, car-tsing the nlottntains t<l tretn-

ble; he was also the g<>cl of c:atthclttekes ancl, in

s()[re :rcc()Ltnts, tlf v<>lcltn<les.

Poseicl<tn was ofien in c<>nflict with tl're other

gods. He became inv<llvccl in a clisptrte witl'r

Apollo over c()ntr()l of the isthtntts <lf Ctllintl.r: this

was r.rltin'rately clivided l>etwcen the two gcxls. Blrt

his rnost famor-rs quarrel was with Athena. Zetts's

favr>urite clatrgl'rter, with whorn he contestecl the

patronage of Atl'rens (see p:.rge 71). He for-rncl hirn-

self in opposition with hcr ag'"rin cluring tl're ten-

year-long Troian 'War, when she supported the

Greeks ancl he the Troians.

IIis wolsltil> cttulcl ltave cleclined r-rncler the

Ror"n:rns, who knew hiln as NeptLlne. llecelrse they

w'ere less clepenclent on seaf:rring than the Greeks

However, he rvas elso linkecl witl'r hc>rses' which

were itnp<trtant t() the ll<lrnan rnilitary. l)oseiclon's

association with horses lllay stcnl fkrm an olcler.

lost tlaclition in which hc was n()t ptlrely x

marine gocl; his t'<tle as generat()l' of e'llth-

rluakes ancl volcan()es l-nay also be

rclated to tltis traclition. In tllany

stories. he either ct'eatecl lltlt'ses

or macle thern appear, ancl in()ne tlrlc he lrssltt.t.tccl the shape

of a horse to seclttce his sister,

[)cmetet'. who rvas clisgr,risecl as

rr nrere. Tlreir ttl't.spling wrliArion. a hor.se with two htruran feet

who coulc[ rlln extl'it()l'clinarilv flrst.

Roth the Greeks ancl tlle lkltnans hon-

streets to Ncptr.rne's ten.rple in the Fortrm. Ilis sec-

riflciel anitnels r'vcle lttrlls ancl h<lrses.

I)osciclt>n rvas regarclccl as lleing as ltrstfirl es

his lrrothcr Zer-ts. ltncl tueny <>f thc n.rytl'rs all<ltrt

l-rim are reletecl t<> ['ris scxttal c()nqllcsts. He wlts

rnarriccl t<> Arttpl'ritrite, cven thc>trgh sl-re hacl takcn

a v()w r:lf celiltrrcy. They hacl ()nc s()n, Triton, '"vht>

becanre a porverfirl sea gtlcl ltinrself. l)espite his

rnalriage Posciclon was, like Zctts, contintrally

engagccl in ertt()r()Lls cscapacles. He tlfien

appealecl to tl're tlbiects <lf his clesile in cliff-erent

fi>rms. For example, afier he rcscr-recl thc princess

Thcophanc, 'uvho was clistressccl llccattsc slle wes

1>ursttecl by ttto nrany sttit<lt-s, ltc ttrrnecl her into rt

ewe ancl hirnself into a ratt-t, sech.rcing her in tl'rat

shape. Their chilcl was e golclen sheep r'vith tl.re

po\tr'er ol flight. TItc ptrrposc <lf thc legenclary

v()yage of Jason ancl the Alg()nallts rvas to llring

back thc golclen fleecc of this lleast tc> Greece .

lty cktlphins ancl fish, encl by oltrccl Pt>sciclon (Nepttrne )

t5e Nereicls, lifty nyqrphs u,lxr This image of poseidon throwing his trident rvith majt>r lnnltal fl'stivltls: the

livecl on tlte seasfigre in cltves decorates a Greek coin, known as a slafer' lt Istltl-riltn (]etlles et ('tlrintfi encl

or !ll.ott()es. was used in the colony of Poseidonia, which the Conslralie in ll<tme. At this

rhe crarker sicrc ,,f -"'l::ir:iJiliTi::":::;;::""0 ',,:,:'' l.:ul::1 ],,1::::' :::*:

l)trsciclon \ ':ts rcpt'est-.ntetl lty ' ;ln(l tl(('()l':lt('(l \\ ttll ll()wcl's.

st(xies of l'ris clangerous telnpe[ \\/erc lecl tl.rrolrgh tlte city

I

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tPoseidon's Ocean Kingdom

To be ruler of the seas and everything that lives in them should make

even the most ambitious god contented, frlr there is magic and beautyin the mysterious depths not found elsewhere. As god of the sea,

Poseidon could not merely enjoy his strange world, he could also

harness at will the power of tempests, sending great waves to lash

against the rocky shores of Greece, upsetting fishing boats and sendingeven the larger sailing ships flying before the wind for sheiter.

When Zeus, Hades and Poseidon deposed theit father Cronus, theydivided the earth, the sea and the sky between tl'rem. Poseidon dtewthe kingdom of the oceans as his share. He was not the only god ofthe seas, for others had ruled there fr<>m earlier times. They seem t()

have been more good-natured and less jealous than the later gods, forthey accepted Poseidon's domination quite happily. ()ceanus, son ofthe Titan fJranus, was the creat()r of the world's waters. l{e took theform of a vast, endless river encircling the earth; his children were the

oceans, seas, and also the iakes, rivers and small streams of t1're land.

The sun god Flelios used Oceanus t() return eacl-r day to the east afterdriving his chariot acr()ss the sky.

Another sea gocl was Nereus, a kindly old man of tl.re sea who helpedsailnrs in distress. He is chiefly known as tl.re father <>f fifty daughters,tl-re nereids, beautiful sea nymphs who appear in many of the Greeklegends as wives of both gods and men.

At first, Poseidon was content in his ocean kingdom. Off Aegae,

on the coast of lluboea, some cleys \'{ 'yagc south clf Athens, ire built a

magnificent palace on the sea bed. lt rvas adorned with white turretsand great arcl-red doorways encrustecl u'itl.r corals and sl-iells, u'hile onthe walls cif tl-re thr<:lne room and council chambers wcre fine paintingsof see monsters of ali kincls. In the stal;les was a golden chariot, drawnby white horscs witl-r golclen mancs ancl hooves. In tl'ris Poseidonv.'ould ridc firrtl-r, carrying the three-pronged trident with u'hicl-r he

had once threatened Cronus, and by which he is kntxvnPoseidon wished at first to marry the nereid Thetis, but he abandoned

her u'hen l"re learned there u,as a prophecy that her first-born son wouldgrow up to be greatcr than I'ris father. Such an idea was n()t ()ne u,hicha proud god lilie Poseidon could accept and hc marriecl instcacl another

of Nereus's claughters, Amphitritc.Amphitrite bore Poseidon threc sons, but in spite of this, tlrey

were n()t happy together. Poseidon u,as unfaithful to his u'ife and

treated her in a rougl-r, unkindly $'ay. Abrx'c all, there v'as his burning

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ambition, which took him far from home formany months on end.

It was not long before Poseidon became

discontented with his kingdom and his pov/er

over the waves. He wanted to rule the land as

well, and soon turned his greedy eyes on the

province of Attica, which included the great city

of Athens itself. To stake his claim on it, he

drove his trident into the flat, rocky top of the

Acropoiis, causing a spring of sea-water to gush

out from the spot.

At that time the whole of Attica was under

the protection of the goddess Athene, a daughter

of Zeus, and therefore Poseidon's own niece' She

could not allow such an invasion of her territoryand to establish her own claim peacefully, she

planted an olive tree beside the spring. It tookroot at once and was soon putting out new

shoots and small, grey-green leaves. But the sea

god only laughed at Athene.'Only if you vanquish me in combat will I give

up what I have claimed,' he told her' He knew,

of coutse, that he was far stronger than Athene

and that she would stand no chance in a struggle'

Athene knew it too, but she agreed to fight'However, the ever-watchful Zeus decided that

he could not allow the combat to take place, and

he brought the two immottals together to argue

their cases before a tribunal of the gods. The gods

and goddesses assembled in equal numbers todecide whether Athene or Poseidon had givenAthens the more useful gift: the gods sided withPoseidon, the goddesses with Athene. Zeus, as

judge, had to stand aside from the argument and

was not allorved to vote: so the goddesses

prevailed by one vote and Athens was restored

to Athene's care.

White with anger at being thwarted, Poseidon

called up the seas to flood the land whete Athene

lived, sending huge waves crashing over the

buildings of her own city, destroying her temple

and the houses, farms and villages of her people.

From that time, Athene went to live in Athens,

taking it into her special protection.Even after he had destroyed her home, Poseidon

did not forgive Athene, nor was his ambition inany w^y curbed. He next tried to seize the city ofTroezen from her, but Zeus once more intervened

and ruled that they must share the produce of the

city. Unsatisfied, Poseidon tried unsuccessfully totake the island of Aegina ftom Zeus himself, and

the island of Naxos from Zeus's son Dionysus.

Finally, he laid claim to some land which

j2

belonged to Hera. This time Zeus could not make

Poseidon even begin to see reason.

'It has been proved time and again that the gods

are against me,' Poseidon argued when his brothersuggested that the gods should once more sit injudgement to decide his claim.'The river gods are fair men,' said Zeus after a

while. 'Will you stand by what thel say?'

Poseidon shrugged his massive shoulders. 'Isuppose we can try,' he said grudgingly. He hoped

that they would not dare to go against one whocommanded waters so much more mighty than

theirs. However, Inachus, Asterion and Cephissus,

the three river gods, were not afraid to givejudgement in Hera's favour. Once more Poseidon

flew into a towering rage.

This time, instead of flooding the land, he

caused the rivers in which the gods lived to dryup, turning them into dusty, stony Pathv/ays and

stranding the gods and river nymphs on the

withered banks. Only when the winter rains

came did the rivers flow again, and every summer

since that time, they shrink and dwindle away.

All the animals of the ocean owed allegiance toPoseidon, from the great whales to the smailest'

coral fish. There were also less familiar creatures.

The nereids could sometimes be seen playingin the waves around their grotto home withstrange beings called Tritons. These had scaly

bodies and fins, and were half man, half fish' Theytook their name from Poseidon's son Triton,who was himself half a man and half a fish.

Though they played gently enough with the

nereids, they could be fierce creatures and had

sharp teeth and hands with great hooked claws.

Sometimes they left the sea to invade the land,

spreading terror wherever they went'Proteus, son of Oceanus, was Poseidon's

herdsman and guardian of his seals. Each day

they would sleep around him on a wide, flat-

topped rock rvhile the midday sun shone downand waves lapped lazlly at the shore. It vras at

this time that those who wished to know whatthe future held came to consult him, for he had

the gift of prophecy. Before Proteus wouldspeak, however, the questioner had to catch him,

for Proteus had a thousand forms, and vzould

turn himself into anything he liked when a

stranger appeared. It might be a dragon or a lion,or any fabulous beast.. Only if the stranger

showed he was not afraid, would Proteus become

himself again and look into the strange world ofthe future.

f ' -{'l:+ - i:e.

* CRONUS

* POLYPHEMUS

!:3 RHEA

':3 EURYACE

':3 THOOSA * POSEIDON

}:T AMPHITRITE

;:3 MEDUSA

}:3 IPHIMEDEIA

* OTOS * EPHIALTES

nPOSEIDON INEPTUNEPoseidon was the Greek god of the seas and toater; Neptune

was the Roman equiualent.

ronus had thlgs 5en5-Zeus, Hades, and

Poseidon-whooverthrew their father and

divided the woild between them.

Poseidon became the ruler of the

sea, a role he performed withconsiderable violence. The sea

god's rages were terrifring,especially when he stirred up

the waves with his magic trident,a gift from the Cyclopes.Poseidon also caused

earthquakes. He lived beneath

the Aegean Sea in a palace, fromwhich he rode out in a chariot

pulled by majestic seahorses.

On one occasion, Poseidon

dared to challenge Zeus'

supremacy. With the aid of the

goddesses Hera and Athena,

Poseidon planned to bind up

Zeus, but was thwafied by the

hundred-armed monster Brareus,

whom Zeus summoned fromTarrarus for his protection.

Most of Poseidont children

inherited their father's violentremperament. His sol-l

Polyphemus, a Cyclopes, was

notorious for eating some ofOdysseus' followers. The Greek

leader managed to escape only by

blinding Polyphemus with the

heated end of a stake, an injuryfor which Poseidon found it hard

to forgive Odysseus.

ENEMY OF THE TROJANS

In the works of the epic poet

Homel Poseidon is the

implacable foe of the Tlojans.

This hostiliry arose from the

dishonesry of the Tlojan king,

Laomendon, father of Priam.

The king had agreed to give

Apollo and Poseidon a sum ofmoney for building the walls ofTi"oy, but, when the task was

completed, he refused to pay

them. Although Apollo was

content to send a plague on the

Tiojans in punishment, Poseidon

was not satisfied untilTioY had

been sacked by the Greeks.

Neptune, Poseidon's Roman

counterpart, was a less importantgod, probably because the sea

was not as significant to the

Romans as it was to the Greeks.

ANCESTRY.,,dh'#

CnoHus & Rxrl 'r

EIPosrooN $

li,f

"d{--#-*'*"##"

.lk god

.L,.r gOOOeSs

* man

S woman

Ntrl, luNtr ()N A Ft()R.sl.

A 17th-centtrr,y painting depicting Poscidon riding through the sens

on a horsc. Hc is holding thc tident made for him by the Cyclopes.

Malcolm Day