Greek Mythology · deity

Poseidon

Ποσειδών
also: Neptune (Roman)
deitythe seaearthquakeshorsesstorms

God of the sea, earthquakes, and horses; brother and rival of Zeus, and rival of Athena for Athens.

Poseidon/Neptune, bearded, trident-bearing — Bronze Statuette of Poseidon (Neptune)
Bronze Statuette of Poseidon (Neptune) · Unknown (Roman) · early 1st century CE · The Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public domain (Met Open Access)
The account

Who they are

Poseidon (Neptune) is the god of the sea, of earthquakes (he was 'the Earth-shaker'), and of horses — the animals he is said to have created [S1]S1 · Hesiod, Theogonyc. 700 BCEtextOpen source ↗[S2]S2 · Homer, Iliadc. 750 BCEtextOpen source ↗. Brother of Zeus and Hades, he received the sea when the world was divided [S1]S1 · Hesiod, Theogonyc. 700 BCEtextOpen source ↗. His rivalry with Zeus for supremacy runs through much of the Iliad, where he is a major (though restrained) actor [S2]S2 · Homer, Iliadc. 750 BCEtextOpen source ↗. He contested Athena for the patronage of the city that bears his rival's name: he struck the rock and sent forth a salt spring (or, in some accounts, a horse); Athena gave the olive tree, and the city chose her [S5]S5 · Pseudo-Apollodorus, Library (Bibliotheca)c. 1st–2nd c. CE (transmits earlier)text[S6]S6 · Pausanias, Description of Greecec. 150–180 CEtext. He is a father of many — to gods, heroes (e.g. the hero Theseus's divine father is Poseidon in one tradition), and sea-creatures; his most famous confrontation with a mortal is his blinding of Odysseus's son Telegonos and his anger at the blinding of his son the Cyclops Polyphemus by Odysseus [S3]S3 · Homer, Odysseyc. 725 BCEtextOpen source ↗.
Worth knowing
  • He is 'Earth-shaker' (ennosigen) — god of earthquakes as well as the sea [S1]S1 · Hesiod, Theogonyc. 700 BCEtextOpen source ↗[S2]S2 · Homer, Iliadc. 750 BCEtextOpen source ↗.
  • He is credited with creating the horse [S5]S5 · Pseudo-Apollodorus, Library (Bibliotheca)c. 1st–2nd c. CE (transmits earlier)text.
  • Rival of Athena for Athens — he gave the sea/spring, she gave the olive [S5]S5 · Pseudo-Apollodorus, Library (Bibliotheca)c. 1st–2nd c. CE (transmits earlier)text[S6]S6 · Pausanias, Description of Greecec. 150–180 CEtext.
Uncertainties & variants
  • Poseidon's 'rivalry' with Zeus is literary (Iliad); in cult he was a benevolent local patron at many coastal sites [S2]S2 · Homer, Iliadc. 750 BCEtextOpen source ↗[S6]S6 · Pausanias, Description of Greecec. 150–180 CEtext.
Relationships (6)

Connections

3 rows · 6 recorded edges — identical notes are grouped

Family & kinship

SIBLING_OFZeus · Hera · Hades · Demeter — First-born children of Cronus and Rhea.[S1]

Conflict & enmity

ENEMY_OFAthena — Athena and Poseidon rivaled for the patronage of Athens.[S5] [S6]

Artifacts

OWNSTrident of Poseidon — The trident is the weapon of Poseidon.[[S1]]
Local graph

Their corner of the divine world

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hierarchical — generations top → bottom, partners side by side
Overlays
FocusPoseidonGreek
GREEK · 41variantvariant♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥AegisHelmet of HadesCaduceus of Her…Trident of Pose…Thunderbolt of …Alcmenamortalthe mortal mother of Heracles1 relationsAndromedamortalthe rescued princess2 relationsAphroditedeitylove7 relationsAtlasdeitythe sky (bore)1 relationsChaosprimordialorigin2 relationsDanaemortalthe mortal mother of Perseus1 relationsDemeterdeityharvest6 relationsEchidnamonsterthe monster-mother2 relationsGaiadeityearth6 relationsHadesdeitythe dead7 relationsHeradeitymarriage8 relationsHestiadeityhearth1 relationsLetodeitymotherhood (as mother of Apollo/Artemis)2 relationsMedusamonsterthe Gorgon3 relationsMetisdeitycounsel2 relationsOceanusdeitythe great world-river1 relationsOdysseusherocunning2 relationsPenelopemortalthe faithful wife of Odysseus2 relationsPoseidondeitythe sea6 relationsRheadeitymotherhood2 relationsSemelemortalthe mortal mother of Dionysus1 relationsTethysdeitythe primordial sea1 relationsTyphonmonsterthe great monster7 relationsCerberusmonsterthe guardian of the underworld3 relationsErosdeitylove2 relationsHebedeityyouth2 relationsHephaestusdeityfire6 relationsMaiadeitythe nymph2 relationsUranusprimordialsky6 relationsPersephonedeitythe underworld2 relationsTelemachusmortalthe son of Odysseus2 relationsCronusdeitytime (later association)9 relationsZeusdeitysky29 relationsApollodeitysun (later)4 relationsAresdeitywar (violence, bloodshed)3 relationsArtemisdeitythe hunt3 relationsAthenadeitywisdom4 relationsDionysusdeitywine3 relationsHeraclesherostrength7 relationsHermesdeitymessengers5 relationsPerseusheroheroism8 relations
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Myths featuring Poseidon

3 stories

The Hesiodic Creation (Cosmogony)

In the Theogony, the first thing is Chaos, from which come Gaia (Earth), Tartarus, Eros, and Nyx. Gaia bears Ouranos (Sky), and the union of Gaia and Ouranos produces the Titans, the Cyclopes, and the Hecatoncheires [S1]S1 · Hesiod, Theogonyc. 700 BCEtextOpen source ↗.

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Athena and Poseidon for Athens

Athena and Poseidon each offered a gift to the city: she the olive tree, he the sea (or a horse). The city chose Athena's gift, and she became its patron [S5]S5 · Pseudo-Apollodorus, Library (Bibliotheca)c. 1st–2nd c. CE (transmits earlier)text[S6]S6 · Pausanias, Description of Greecec. 150–180 CEtext.

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Odysseus and the Cyclops

On his way home from Troy, Odysseus was trapped by the Cyclops Polyphemus, whom he blinded and escaped by calling himself 'Nobody' (Outis), so the other Cyclopes did not come when they heard 'Nobody is doing this' [S3]S3 · Homer, Odysseyc. 725 BCEtextOpen source ↗.

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Artifacts of Poseidon

Objects they wielded, forged, or were bound to

INTERPRETIVE CLASSIFICATION · FULL PROFILE IN THE DIVINE VAULT

Trident of Poseidon
Trident of Poseidon
S · DivineWielded by Poseidon
Artworks

Depictions

Poseidon/Neptune, bearded, trident-bearing — Bronze Statuette of Poseidon (Neptune)
Bronze Statuette of Poseidon (Neptune) · Unknown (Roman) · early 1st century CE · The Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public domain (Met Open Access)
Bronze Statuette of Poseidon (Neptune) · early 1st century CE
Poseidon or a river god (Okeanos-type) — Bronze Statuette of a God, Possibly Poseidon
Bronze Statuette of a God, Possibly Poseidon · Unknown (Hellenistic) · 3rd–2nd century BCE · The Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public domain (Met Open Access)
Bronze Statuette of a God, Possibly Poseidon · 3rd–2nd century BCE
Athena Promachos between judges; runners on reverse — Panathenaic Prize Amphora (Leagros Group)
Panathenaic Prize Amphora (Leagros Group) · Leagros Group · ca. 510 BCE · The Metropolitan Museum of Art · Public domain (Met Open Access)
Panathenaic Prize Amphora (Leagros Group) · ca. 510 BCE
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