Poseidon was the son of the Titan gods Cronus and Rhea. He had a number of siblings including Zeus, Hades, Demeter, Hera and Hestia. Poseidon married Amphitrite and together they had 4 children, the most famous being Triton. Poseidon had a large number of affairs with many goddesses and women. From the affairs came a long line of children including gods, giants, animals and mortals.
Poseidon was the god of the sea and spent much of his time in his realm under the sea. He created many of the sea creatures including the octopus, the blow-fish and the dolphin. He also created a number of land animals like the camel, the hippopotamus, the giraffe, the donkey, the zebra and of course the horse. He would wear a green robe and ride around the ocean on a chariot drawn by dolphins.
He carried a great trident and in many of the myths he is super sized when compared with the other Olympian gods. Interestingly, his power became diminished the further away from the sea he would travel inland.
Poseidon could be good and bad depending on the occasion, more often bad. A good description of his personality would be vengeful, angry and persistent.
- Vengeful – In many of the Greek myths Poseidon was known to be highly vengeful. When the Queen of Joppa said she was more beautiful than the ocean nymphs, Poseidon took great offence and unleashed a sea monster on the kingdom. The only way to appease the monster was for the King and Queen to sacrifice their daughter Andromeda to the beast. They did, but she was eventually saved by the hero Perseus.
- Angry – Poseidon was generally known as the god of the sea, but he was also known as the earth-shaker and was said to cause many earthquakes. In fact whenever Posedion became angry in his underwater realm, it was said there would be a great earthquake upon the land.
- Persistent – Poseidon was somewhat persistent in a number of endeavours. Despite being married to the sea nymphs Amphitrite, Poseidon also tried to woo the goddess Demeter. He would shower her with gifts including many animals, first the camel, then the hippopotamus, the giraffe, the donkey, the zebra. He eventually perfected the gift in the form of the horse. This is why Poseidon, a god of the sea, is so associated with the symbol of the horse.
So, that is just a little about Poseidon’s family, powers and realms. Lets now dive into the myths and stories of this interesting god.
Poseidon Facts – Everything You’d Possibly Want to Know
- Poseidon was in and out of many different feuds with his fellow Olympian gods. The main rivals were his brother Zeus and Hades but other gods like Athena also had to withstand his wrath.
- Poseidon ravished the Gorgon Medusa and when she was killed by Perseus she gave birth to a winged horse Pegasus from her decapitated neck. This was because Poseidon was strongly associated with horses.
- The walls of Troy were actually built by Poseidon with the help of Apollo. In the Trojan war, Poseidon sides with the Greeks and helps them to defeat the Trojans.
- He lived under the ocean in a palace with his wife Amphitrite and their children. The palace is made from beautiful jewels and incredibly colourful coral reef.
- In the great Gigantomachy battle in which the Olympian gods with the help of Heracles fight the giants, Poseidon takes on the giant Polybotes. He defeats him by breaking off a piece of the island Kos and hurling it at the giant.
- When the three brothers Zeus, Poseidon and Hades defeated the titans and took control of the universe they had to decide who would control each realm. In the end Poseidon got the oceans, Zeus the sky and Hades the underworld. Together the three gods were tasked with the management of the land.
- The word Poseidon in Greek translates as husband. This is rather ironic given how terrible a husband Poseidon was.
- It was speculated that Poseidon was the father of the Greek hero Theseus. Theseus would go on to kill a terrible monster called the Minotaur. The Minotaur was only born because Poseidon had caused the Queen of Crete to fall in love with one of Poseidon’s prize bulls.
- Poseidon had a trident which was in fact a gift from the cyclopes. He could use the trident to force a spring of sea water to appear anywhere on dry land. He also used the trident in the fight against the Titans.
- Poseidon actually attempted to overthrow Zeus at one point. He was unsuccessful and Zeus punished him by sending him to help the Trojans build the walls of Troy.
