Difference between revisions of "Poseidon" - New World Encyclopedia

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File:Poseidon.statue.arp.500pix.jpg

Neptune reigns in the city of Bristol.

In Greek mythology, Poseidon (Greek: Ποσειδών; Latin: Neptūnus) was the god of the sea, as well as of horses and, as "Earth-Shaker", of earthquakes. The sea gods Rodon in Illyrian mythology, Nethuns in Etruscan, and Neptune in Roman mythology were all analogous to Poseidon (or directly derivative of him).

Bronze Age Greece

If surviving Linear B clay tablets can be trusted; the name PO-SE-DA-WO-NE ("Poseidon") occurs with greater frequency than does DI-U-JA (Zeus). A feminine variant, PO-SE-DE-IA, is also found, indicating a lost consort goddess. Tablets from Pylos record sacrificial goods destined for "the Two Queens and Poseidon" and to "the Two Queens and the King". The most obvious identification for the "Two Queens" is with Demeter and Persephone, or their precursors, goddesses who were not associated with Poseidon in later periods.

Poseidon is already identified as "Earth-Shaker"— E-NE-SI-DA-O-NE— in Mycenaean Knossos ^[1], a powerful attribution in a society where earthquakes were credited with the collapse of the Minoan palace-culture. In the heavily sea-dependent Mycenean culture, no connection between Poseidon and the sea has yet surfaced; among the Olympians, it was determined by lot that he should rule over the sea.^[2] In other words, the god preceded his realm.

Poseidon was a major civic god of several cities: in Athens, he was second only to Athena in importance; while in Corinth and many cities of Magna Graecia, he was the chief god of the polis.<reference?>

According to Pausanias, Poseidon was one of the caretakers of the Oracle at Delphi before Olympian Apollo became its patron. Apollo and Poseidon worked closely in many realms: in colonization, for example, Apollo provided the authorization to go out and settle from Delphi, while Poseidon watched over the colonists on their way, and provided the lustral water for the foundation-sacrifice.<source?> Further, Xenophon's Anabasis describes a group of Spartan soldiers singing to a paean to Poseidon - a type of hymn normally reserved for Apollo.

Later Myth

Birth and triumph over Cronus

Poseidon was a son of Cronus and Rhea. In most accounts, he is swallowed by Cronus at birth. However in some versions of the story, he, like his brother Zeus, did not share the fate of his other brother and sisters who were eaten by Cronos. He was saved by his mother Rhea who tricked Cronus into eating a foal instead, saying that she had given birth to a horse. Zeus and his brothers and sisters, along with the Hecatonchires, Gigantes and Cyclopes overthrew Cronus and the other Titans. According to other variants, Poseidon was raised by the Telchines on Rhodes, just as Zeus was raised by the Korybantes on Crete.^[3]

When the world was divided in three, Zeus received the sky, Hades the underworld and Poseidon the sea.^[4]

Lovers

File:Neptune amphitrite mosaic.jpg

Mosaic from Herculaneum depicting Neptune and Amphitrite

As with many Greek gods, Poseidon was depicted a lascivious being who thought nothing of taking women (both divine and human) by force if they refused his advances. The list below will chronicle some of these barbaric exploits:

His wife was Amphitrite, a nymph and ancient sea-goddess, daughter of Nereus and Doris.^[5]
He was also thought to have raped Aethra, thus fathering the famed Theseus.^[6]
He is described (in an archaic myth) pursuing Demeter. She spurned his advances, turning herself into a mare so that she could hide in a herd of horses; he saw through the deception and became a stallion and captured (or raped) her. Their child was a horse, Arion, which was capable of human speech.^[7]
He rescued Amymone from a lecherous satyr and then fathered a child, Nauplius, by her.^[8]
He trick Tyro (a mortal woman) into having intercourse with him by disguising himself as a different deity (that she happened to have an attraction to).^[9]
He had intercourse with Medusa on the floor of a temple to Athena. The aggravated goddess proceeded to transform his lover into a monster.^[10]
He slept with Caeneus, and then fulfilled her request and transformed her into a man.^[11]

Homeric Hymn to Poseidon

Temple of Poseidon at Ak Sounion Greece.

The hymn to Poseidon included among the Homeric Hymns is a brief invocation, a seven-line introduction that addresses the god as both "mover of the earth and barren sea, god of the deep who is also lord of Helicon and wide Aegae^[12], and specificies his twofold nature as an Olympian: "a tamer of horses and a saviour of ships."^[13]

Consorts/children

Not all of Poseidon's children are human. There is Triton, the merman; Pegasus, the winged horse; Polyphemus, the cyclops; and Oto and Ephialtae, the giants.

Gill, N.S. (2007). Mates and Children of Poseidon (in English). Retrieved 2007-02-05.

With Aethra
1. Theseus
With Alope
1. Hippothoon
With Amphitrite
1. Rhode
2. Triton
3. Benthesikyme
With Amymone
1. Nauplius
With Astypalaea
1. Ancaeus
2. Eurypylos
With Canace
1. Aloeus
2. Epopeus
3. Hopelus
4. Nireus
5. Triopas
With Celaeno
1. Lycus
With Chione
1. Eumolpus
With Chloris
1. Poriclymenus
With Clieto
1. Atlas
2. Eymelus
3. Ampheres
4. Evaemon
5. Mneseus
6. Autochthon
7. Elasippus
8. Mestor
9. Azaes
10. Diaprepes
With Demeter
1. Arion
2. Despina
With Europa
1. Euphemus
With Euryale
1. Orion
With Gaia
1. Antaeus
2. Charybdis
With Halia
1. Rhode
With Hiona
1. Hios
With Hippothoe
1. Taphius
With Libya
1. Belus
2. Agenor
3. Lelex
With Lybie
1. Lamia
With Melia
1. Amycus
With Medusa
1. Pegasus
2. Chrysaor
With Periboea
1. Nausithous
With Satyrion
1. Taras
With Thoosa
1. Polyphemus
With Tyro
1. Neleus
2. Pelias
Unknown mother
1. Aon
2. Byzas
3. Cercyon
4. Cycnus
5. Evadne
6. Lotis
7. Rhodus
8. Sinis

Poseidon Festival

Was widely celebrated at the beginning of the winter. ^[14]

Role in society

Sailors prayed to Poseidon for a safe voyage, sometimes drowning horses as a sacrifice. In his benign aspect, Poseidon created new islands and offered calm seas. When offended or ignored, he struck the ground with his trident and caused chaotic springs, earthquakes, drownings and shipwrecks.

Depiction in Greek Art

Poseidon's chariot was pulled by a hippocampus or horses that could ride on the sea. He was associated with dolphins and three-pronged fish spears (tridents). He lived in a palace on the ocean floor, made of coral and gems.

Neptune

Neptune was worshipped by the Romans primarily as a horse god, Neptune Equester, patron of horse-racing. He had a temple near the race tracks in Rome (built in 25 B.C.E.), the Circus Flaminius, as well as one in the Campus Martius, where on July 23, the Neptunalia was observed.

Spoken-word myths - audio files

Poseidon myths as told by story tellers
1. Poseidon and Pelops, part I, (integral to Tantalus myth), read by Timothy Carter
Bibliography of reconstruction: Homer, Odyssey, 11.567 (7th c. BC); Pindar, Olympian Odes, 1 (476 B.C.E.); Euripides, Orestes, 12-16 (408 B.C.E.); Apollodorus, Epitomes 2: 1-9 (140 B.C.E.); Ovid, Metamorphoses, VI: 213, 458 (AD 8); Hyginus, Fables, 82: Tantalus; 83: Pelops (1st c. AD); Pausanias, Description of Greece, 2.22.3 (AD 160 - 176)
2. Poseidon and Pelops, part II (Integral to the myth of Pelops and Hippodameia), read by Timothy Carter
Bibliography of reconstruction: Pindar, Olympian Ode, I (476 B.C.E.); Sophocles, (1) Electra, 504 (430 - 415 B.C.E.) & (2) Oenomaus, Fr. 433 (408 B.C.E.); Euripides, Orestes, 1024-1062 (408 B.C.E.); Apollodorus, Epitomes 2, 1-9 (140 B.C.E.); Diodorus Siculus, Histories, 4.73 (1st c. BC); Hyginus, Fables, 84: Oinomaus; Poetic Astronomy, ii (1st c. AD); Pausanias, Description of Greece, 5.1.3 - 7; 5.13.1; 6.21.9; 8.14.10 - 11 (c. AD 160 - 176); Philostratus the Elder Imagines, I.30: Pelops (AD 170 - 245); Philostratus the Younger, Imagines, 9: Pelops (c. AD 200 - 245); First Vatican Mythographer, 22: Myrtilus; Atreus et Thyestes; Second Vatican Mythographer, 146: Oenomaus

Neptune fountain02.jpg

Neptune in Bologna, Italy.
Neptune in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Neptune in Florence Piazza.jpg

Neptune in Florence, Italy.
Gliwice-Fontanna-Naptuna.JPG

Neptune in Gliwice, Poland.
MillesPoseidon.jpg

Neptune in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Louvre neptune RF3006.jpg

Neptune at the Louvre, in Paris.
Neptune Mexico.jpg

Neptune in Mexico City, Mexico.
Neptune Adam 1725 La County Museum California.jpg

Neptune in Los Angeles, the United States.
Lwów04a.jpg

Neptune in Lviv, Ukraine.
Neptun Fountain in Olomouc.jpg

Neptune in Olomouc, Czech Republic.
Neptun Poznan.jpg

Neptune in Poznań, Poland.

Notes

↑ Michael Ventris & John Chadwick, Documents in Mycenaean Greek second ed. (Cambridge 1973), Document #172 (from Pylos), page 463
↑ Powell, 149.
↑ Hesiod: Theogony 453.
↑ Powell, 149.
↑ Hesiod: Theogony 930
↑ Apollodorus 3.15.7.
↑ Apollodorus 3.7.1
↑ Apollodorus 2.1.5
↑ Homer: Odyssey 11.250
↑ Apollodorus 2.4.1
↑ Apollodorus 2.151
↑ The ancient palace-city that was replaced by Vergina.
↑ The Homeric Hymns (XXII), Translated by Hugh G. Evelyn-White, accessed online at sacred-texts.com, April 22 2007.
↑ Noel Robertson, "Poseidon's Festival at the Winter Solstice", The Classical Quarterly, New Series, 34.1 (1984), pp. 1-16.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

Wikimedia Commons has media related to::

Poseidon

Walter Burkert, Greek Religion (1977) 1985.
Greek Mythology resource
Theoi.com: Poseidon
The story of Poseidon and Pelops
Gods found in Mycenaean Greece; a table drawn up from Michael Ventris and John Chadwick, Documents in Mycenaean Greek second edition (Cambridge 1973)
Jenks, Kathleen (2003-04). Mythic themes clustered around Poseidon/Neptune. Myth*ing links. Retrieved 2007-01-13.

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[1] Michael Ventris & John Chadwick, Documents in Mycenaean Greek second ed. (Cambridge 1973), Document #172 (from Pylos), page 463

[2] Powell, 149.

[3] Hesiod: Theogony 453.

[4] Powell, 149.

[5] Hesiod: Theogony 930

[6] Apollodorus 3.15.7.

[7] Apollodorus 3.7.1

[8] Apollodorus 2.1.5

[9] Homer: Odyssey 11.250

[10] Apollodorus 2.4.1

[11] Apollodorus 2.151

[12] The ancient palace-city that was replaced by Vergina.

[13] The Homeric Hymns (XXII), Translated by Hugh G. Evelyn-White, accessed online at sacred-texts.com, April 22 2007.

[14] Noel Robertson, "Poseidon's Festival at the Winter Solstice", The Classical Quarterly, New Series, 34.1 (1984), pp. 1-16.

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@@ Line 14: / Line 14: @@
 ==Later Myth==
 ===Birth and triumph over Cronus===
-Poseidon was a son of [[Cronus]] and [[Rhea (mythology)|Rhea]]. In most accounts, he is swallowed by Cronus at birth. However in some versions of the story, he, like his brother Zeus, did not share the fate of his other brother and sisters who were eaten by Cronos. He was saved by his mother Rhea who tricked Cronus into eating a foal instead, saying that she had given birth to a horse. [[Zeus]] and his brothers and sisters, along with the [[Hecatonchires]], [[Gigantes]] and [[Cyclopes]] [[Titanomachy|overthrew]] Cronus and the other [[Titan (mythology)|Titans]]. According to other variants, Poseidon was raised by the [[Telchines]] on [[Rhodes]], just as [[Zeus]] was raised by the [[Korybantes]] on [[Crete]].
+Poseidon was a son of [[Cronus]] and [[Rhea (mythology)|Rhea]]. In most accounts, he is swallowed by Cronus at birth. However in some versions of the story, he, like his brother Zeus, did not share the fate of his other brother and sisters who were eaten by Cronos. He was saved by his mother Rhea who tricked Cronus into eating a foal instead, saying that she had given birth to a horse. [[Zeus]] and his brothers and sisters, along with the [[Hecatonchires]], [[Gigantes]] and [[Cyclopes]] [[Titanomachy|overthrew]] Cronus and the other [[Titan (mythology)|Titans]]. According to other variants, Poseidon was raised by the [[Telchines]] on [[Rhodes]], just as [[Zeus]] was raised by the [[Korybantes]] on [[Crete]].<ref>Hesiod: Theogony 453.</ref>
-When the world was divided in three, [[Zeus]] received the sky, [[Hades]] the [[underworld]] and Poseidon the sea.
+When the world was divided in three, [[Zeus]] received the sky, [[Hades]] the [[underworld]] and Poseidon the sea.<ref>Powell, 149.</ref>
 ===Lovers===
 [[Image:Neptune amphitrite mosaic.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Mosaic from [[Herculaneum]] depicting [[Neptune (god)|Neptune]] and Amphitrite]]
-His wife was [[Amphitrite]], a [[nymph]] and ancient sea-goddess, daughter of [[Nereus]] and [[Doris]].
+As with many Greek gods, Poseidon was depicted a lascivious being who thought nothing of taking women (both divine and human) by force if they refused his advances. The list below will chronicle some of these barbaric exploits:
+* His wife was [[Amphitrite]], a [[nymph]] and ancient sea-goddess, daughter of [[Nereus]] and Doris.<ref>Hesiod: Theogony 930</ref>
-Poseidon was also thought to have [[raped]] [[Aethra]] thus fathering the famed [[Theseus]].
+* He was also thought to have raped Aethra, thus fathering the famed [[Theseus]].<ref>Apollodorus 3.15.7.</ref>
+* He is described (in an archaic myth) pursuing [[Demeter]]. She spurned his advances, turning herself into a mare so that she could hide in a herd of horses; he saw through the deception and became a [[Horse|stallion]] and captured (or raped) her. Their child was a horse, Arion, which was capable of human speech.<ref>Apollodorus 3.7.1</ref>
-In an archaic myth, Poseidon once pursued [[Demeter]]. She spurned his advances, turning herself into a [[Mare (horse)|mare]] so that she could hide in a herd of horses; he saw through the deception and became a [[Horse|stallion]] and [[rape|captured]] her. Their child was a [[horse]], Arion, which was capable of human speech.
+* He rescued Amymone from a lecherous [[satyr]] and then fathered a child, Nauplius, by her.<ref>Apollodorus 2.1.5</ref>
+* He trick Tyro (a mortal woman) into having intercourse with him by disguising himself as a different deity (that she happened to have an attraction to).<ref>Homer: Odyssey 11.250</ref>
-Poseidon had an affair with [[Alope]], his granddaughter through [[Cercyon]], begetting [[Hippothoon]]. [[Cercyon]] had his daughter buried alive but Poseidon turned her into the spring, Alope, near [[Eleusis]].
+* He had intercourse with Medusa on the floor of a temple to [[Athena]]. The aggravated goddess proceeded to transform his lover into a monster.<ref>Apollodorus 2.4.1</ref>
+* He slept with Caeneus, and then fulfilled her request and transformed her into a man.<ref>Apollodorus 2.151</ref>
-Poseidon rescued [[Amymone]] from a lecherous [[satyr]] and then fathered a child, [[Nauplius (mythology)|Nauplius]], by her.
-A mortal woman named [[Tyro]] was married to [[Cretheus]] (with whom she had one son, [[Aeson]]) but loved [[Enipeus]], a [[river]] [[god]].
-She pursued Enipeus, who refused her advances.
-One day, Poseidon, filled with lust for Tyro, disguised himself as Enipeus and from their union were born [[Pelias]] and [[Neleus]], twin boys.
-With [[Medusa]], Poseidon had [[sexual intercourse]] on the floor of a temple to [[Athena]].
-Medusa was changed into a [[monster]]. When she was later beheaded by the hero [[Perseus]], [[Chrysaor]] and [[Pegasus]] emerged from her neck.
-After having sex with [[Caeneus]], Poseidon fulfilled her request and changed her into a man.
 ===Homeric Hymn to Poseidon===
-[[Image: Temple_of_Poseidon.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Temple of Poseidon at Ak Sounion Greece.]]  The hymn to Poseidon included among the [[Homeric Hymn]]s is a brief invocation, a seven-line introduction that addresses the god as both "mover of the earth and barren sea, god of the deep who is also lord of [[Mount Helicon|Helicon]] and wide [[Aegae]]<ref>The ancient palace-city that was replaced by [[Vergina]]</ref>, and specificies his twofold nature as an Olympian: "a tamer of horses and a saviour of ships."
+[[Image: Temple_of_Poseidon.jpg|thumb|300px|right|Temple of Poseidon at Ak Sounion Greece.]]  The hymn to Poseidon included among the [[Homeric Hymn]]s is a brief invocation, a seven-line introduction that addresses the god as both "mover of the earth and barren sea, god of the deep who is also lord of [[Mount Helicon|Helicon]] and wide [[Aegae]]<ref>The ancient palace-city that was replaced by [[Vergina]].</ref>, and specificies his twofold nature as an Olympian: "a tamer of horses and a saviour of ships."<ref>The Homeric Hymns (XXII), Translated by Hugh G. Evelyn-White, accessed online at [http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/homer/hymns.htm sacred-texts.com], April 22 2007.</ref>
 === Other stories ===
 [[Image:Neptun brunnen.jpg|thumb|left|225px|The Greek and Roman view of the world's [[hydrologic cycle]] made Poseidon/Neptune a god of fresh waters as well; thus he was an appropriate fountain figure, as here in [[Berlin]].]]
-Athena became the patron goddess of the city of [[Athens]] after a competition with Poseidon.
+In one  Athena became the patron goddess of the city of [[Athens]] after a competition with Poseidon.
 They agreed that each would give the Athenians one gift and the Athenians would choose whichever gift they preferred. Poseidon struck the ground with his trident and a spring sprung up; the water was salty and not very useful, whereas Athena offered them an olive tree.
 The Athenians (or their king, [[Cecrops]]) accepted the olive tree and along with it Athena as their patron, for the olive tree brought [[wood]], [[olive oil|oil]] and food.