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Poseidon: God of the Sea in Greek Mythology

11/06/2020
     Poseidon is the Greek God of the Sea, different from Ponto for example that only concerns the open sea. Poseidon is an extremely important God in Greek Mythology; is son of Uranus and brother of Zeus.

Poseidon in Greek Mythology:

     Poseidon, also known as Poseidon, Poseidon, Poseidon, or Poseidon, assumed the status of supreme god of the sea, known to the Romans as Neptune, possibly having an Etruscan origin as Nethuns. He was also known as the god of earthquakes. The symbols most often associated with Poseidon were the trident and the dolphin. Posidon's origin is Cretan, as his role in the Minotaur myth attests. In Minoan civilization, he was the supreme god, lord of lightning, an attribute of Zeus in the Greek pantheon, hence the agreement of the division of powers between them, leaving the sea to the ancient king of the Minoan gods. 

     The first attested statement of the name, written in Linear B, is Po-se-da-o'ouor Po-se-da-wo-n, which correspond to Poseidaōn and Poseidawonos in Mycenaean Greek; in Homeric Greek it appears as Ποσειδάων (Poseidaōn); in wind as Ποτειδάων (Poteidaōn); and in Doric like Ποτειδάν (Poteidan), Ποτειδάων (Poteidaōn), and Ποτειδᾶς (Poteidas). A common epithet for Poseidon is Γαιήοχος Gaiēochos, "agitator of the Earth", an epithet that is also identified on Linear B tablets. Another attested word, E-ne-si-da-o-ne, recalls its later epithets Ennosidas and Ennosigaios, indicating the chthonic nature of the Greek god.

BIRTH:

     Poseidon was one of the sons of Cronos and Reia, and, like his brothers and sisters, he was swallowed up by Cronos at birth. The birth order of his brothers, according to Pseudo-Apollodore, is Hestia (the oldest), followed by Demeter and Hera, followed by Hades and Poseidon the next to be born, Zeus, was hidden by Reia in Crete, who gave a stone for Cronos to eat. Higino lists the sons of Saturn and Reia as Vesta, Ceres, Juno, Jupiter, Pluto and Neptune, he also reports an alternative version of the legend, in which Saturn encloses Orco in Tartarus and Neptune under the sea, instead of eating them. 

     Primarily Zeus would have forced his father, Cronos, to regurgitate and restore life to the children he swallowed, among them is Poseidon, thus explaining Zeus as the younger brother, because his mother Reia, gave a stone in his place. Posidon had been brought up among the Telkines, the demons of Rhodes. When he reached maturity, he fell in love with Hália, one of the Telquines' sisters, and from this romance were born six sons and a daughter, named Rodo, hence the name of the island of Rhodes.

DIVINITY:

     Poseidon disputed with Athena to decide which of them would be the patron of Athens. According to Marco Terêncio Varrão, quoted by Agostinho de Hipona, the women of Attica had the right to vote at the time of King Cécrope I. When this king founded a city, an olive tree and a water source sprang from it. The king asked the Delphic oracle what this meant, and the answer was that the olive tree meant Minerva and the Neptune water fountain, and that the citizens should choose between the two what the name of the city would be. All citizens were asked to vote, men and women; men voted for Neptune, women for Minerva, and Minerva won by one vote. Neptune was irritated, and attacked the city with the waves. 

     In order to appease the god (whom Augustine calls a demon), the women of Athens accepted three punishments: that they would lose their right to vote, that no child would bear their mother's name and that no one would call them Athenians.

Poseidon in the Iliad:

     In the Iliad, Poseidon appears to us as the supreme god of the seas, commanding not only waves, currents and tides, but also coastal and marine storms, causing coastal springs and landslides with his trident. Although their power seems to have extended to springs and lakes, rivers, in turn, have their own deities, despite the fact that Poseidon was the owner of the magnificent island of Atlantis. Poseidon generally used water and earthquakes to exercise vengeance, but he could also have a cooperative character. 

     He helped the Greeks a lot in the Trojan War, but he took years to get revenge on Odysseus, who had injured the baby of one of his Cyclops. Sailors prayed to him for favorable winds and safe travel, but his mood was unpredictable. Despite the sacrifices, which included the drowning of horses, he could provoke storms, bad winds and earthquakes on a whim. Considering that Poseidon's countless amorous adventures were all fruitful in descendants, it should be noted that, unlike the descendants of his brother Zeus, the sons of the god of the seas, like those of his brother Hades, are almost all evil and temperamental. violent. 

     Some examples: from Teosa, the Cyclops Polifemo was born; the giant Crisaor is born from Medusa; Amimone is born Nafplion; with Demeter is born Despina, goddess of winter who ends up with everything that her mother and her half-sister Persephone cultivate, also freezes the waters; with Ifimedia, the giant brothers Oto and Efialtes (the Aloidas) were born, who even went so far as to declare war on the gods. In turn, the children he had with Halia committed so many atrocities that his father had to bury them to avoid further punishment. He also married Anfitrite, daughter of Nereus and Dóris, from whom his son Triton, the god of the ocean abyss, was born, who helped Jason and his Argonauts to retrieve the Golden Fleece and Rode, who married Hélio.

Check: Pontus in Greek Mythology

CHILDREN'S:

  • Boeoto and Heleno, by Antíopa, daughter of Éolo
  • Agenor and Belo, by Libya, daughter of Epafo
  • Bellerophon, by Eurínome, daughter of Niso
  • Leuconoé by Temisto, daughter of Hipseu
  • Hirieu, by Alcíone (daughter of Atlas)
  • Tabs by Aretusa, daughter of Nereus
  • Efoceu by Alcíone (daughter of Atlas)
  • Díctis by Agamede, daughter of Aúgias
  • Evadne by * Lena, daughter of Lêucipo
  • Megareus by Oenope, daughter of Epopeu
  • Cigno por Chalice, daughter of Hecato
  • Periclimeno and Anceu by Astipaleia, daughter of Phoenix
  • Neleu and Pelias by Tire (mythology), daughter of Salmoneu
  • Eupemo, Lico and Nicteu by Celeno, daughter of * Ergeu
  • Eumolpo by Quíone, daughter of Aquilo
  • Meto by Melite, daughter of Búsiris
  • Despina and Arion (twins), by Demeter.

POSEIDON VS ATHENA:

     The Attica region of Greece was first commanded by King Cécrope, who was half human and half serpent. The place was surrounded by seas and, therefore, the cult of Poseidon was strong among the inhabitants. The god of the seas had a desire for a city devoted to him. For that, he promised the city a horse and a salt water fountain. It turns out that the goddess Athena also had the desire to have Attica devoted to her. So he created an olive tree and promised the city wisdom. The men, who lived most of the time in the seas, chose Poseidon as the god of the city. However, more women chose Athena. 

     Zeus had to interfere, leading the situation to be decided by the Olympian gods. In the end, Athena was chosen as the region's patron and a temple in her honor was built on top of the Acropolis in the city that is still known today as Athens. Irritated by the loss of the city's patronage, Poseidon took one of the most sexist attitudes in all Greek mythology: he stripped the women of Athens of their right to vote, depriving them of citizenship.

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