Poseidon

=**Poseidon**= Poseidon, also called Neptune by the Romans, was the god of the seas and earthquakes. His symbols include the trident, horse, dolphin, and bull. He gave the first horse to man, controlled the weather, seas, and earthquakes, and created all the creatures of the sea. Some of his other names include "Earth Shaker", "Rain God", "Cloud Gatherer", and Poseidon of the Thunderbolt.

He had a palace beneath the sea, but could usually be found in Olympus. Whenever he went out, he rode in a golden chariot led by horses, and everywhere it passed became peaceful and happy. Poseidon was known for having a bad temper and being easily angered, so he was often cast in a negative light, even though he made the land fertile, and ensured the safety of sailors.

Poseidon had a very confusing and strange family. His father was the Titan Cronus, and his mother was Mother Earth, aka Goddess Rhea. Cronus feared a prophecy that one of his children would overthrow him, so he swallowed all of them when they were born. However, when they had their sixth child, Goddess Rhea hid the child, and Poseidon was able to survive. Zeus then tricked Cronus into drinking a potion that made him vomit out his children, and they defeted the Titans and dethroned Cronus. So, the Greek Gods held a lottery to determine which realm each god would rule. Hades won the underworld, Zeus won the heavens, and Poseidon was awarded with the seas.

Poseidon's siblings included Zeus, Hades, Hera, Hestia, and Demeter. His children were Pegasus, Triton, Arion, Cyclops, and Theseus. He married Amphritrite, a grand-daughter of the Titan, Ocean, but had affairs with many women. He would use physical force, and raped several women, too.



Also, Poseidon was always looking to expand his domain, and often fought with the other Olympians, but rarely won. For instance, he competed with Athena to be god of Athens but, Athena won.

Lastly, Poseidon has ties with Indo-European culture, and has a Greek month around the time of the winter solstice and festival in his honor ( in Athens, Greece). The temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion still draws crowds, too. In addition, the trident is still a very famous symbol, and movies and books have included and been based off of him.

Websites/Texts used:
 * __Mythology__ by Edith Hamilton
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