Greek mythology belongs to one of the greatest religions or traditions that ever existed. Ancient Greeks had a special way of celebrating their deities and showing their affection towards them.
Greek mythology represents a combination of various stories, myths and legends about heroes, beasts and beautiful women. These stories are all tied together and linked into one magnificent piece of history. Greek mythology belongs to one of the widest known mythologies around the world. The reason why it stood out is because the Greeks had an enormous amount of stories, so greatly written that they couldn’t have been neglected.
Greek deities were formed as a hierarchy, which means there were or there was a supreme god that ruled the rest of them, but there were also deities for almost every segment of human life. In ancient times when people didn’t have the opportunity to explain events that were happening around them, the only logical solution was that these events were created by some sort of higher force.
These higher forces were deities that ruled over humans and who were their supreme emperors. Humans were afraid but at the same time they showed a great amount of love and appreciation for gods that had the ability to send the grace or eternal damnation.
Unlike other religions and traditions that are common today, Greek mythology was full of violent events and even killing by the gods themselves. They were all shaped in form of human beings and they had the same weaknesses as humans. This is one of the reasons why people enjoyed listening to stories about Greek gods, since they weren’t so different from us in character. It was far easier to relate to Greek gods because they all felt greed, jealousy, anger and all other negative emotions.
In today’s text, we will be talking about Poseidon. He was the Greek god of the sea and earthquakes and in Greek mythology this character has a very big importance. His significance is very big because Greeks and people in general in those times highly relied on the sea to travel and to feed themselves. Making sure that Poseidon was happy was the primary goal of Greeks and they made sure his will was served. So, if you ever wanted to know more about Poseidon and his symbolic meaning, this is your opportunity.
Mythology
Poseidon was the Greek god of the sea and earthquakes. As I mentioned earlier, the sea and travelling across the sea as well as fishing, was very important to Greeks. They lived from the fruits of the sea and the only way they could travel long distances was by sea. Poseidon was the son of Rhea and Cronus. His brother was Zeus and he was one of the twelve Olympians. In Greek mythology, Poseidon holds a very important place and his personality was something that Greeks certainly remembered.
According to most legends and myths, Poseidon was a very bad-tempered god who didn’t have much patience for human errors and mistakes. People feared him and considered him to be one of the most dangerous deities that ever existed. His reputation was definitely something that was questionable and his greed was very obvious to humans. Poseidon’s parents were Rhea, who was the goddess of Earth and his father Cronus ruled over time.
According to mythology, his father Cronus was afraid of the passing of time and that one of his children might succeed him at his throne, so he decided to eat his children and that way stop them at succeeding at this. One legend says that Zeus was the only child that was hidden by Rhea, and taken away to safety from his father. Other legends suggest that Poseidon had the same faith, while other brothers and sisters of his and Zeus’s were eaten by their father. This legend says that Poseidon was hidden among sheep and that way saved from his father.
Before the gods that ruled from the mount of Olympus, there were Titans who were one of the original deities. After the Titans were defeated in a great battle by the Olympian gods, three brothers Zeus, Poseidon and Hades split the Earth into three parts and each one ruled his own region. Zeus ruled over the earth, Hades ruled over the underworld or hell and Poseidon ruled over the sea and water. All legends suggest that Poseidon was the god of the sea, water, earthquake and even horses.
Since Poseidon ruled over the seas and oceans, sailors worshipped him the most out of all deities and relied on his help during their times at the sea. Sailing fishing in those times was crucial, which means Poseidon belonged to one of them sot important deities.
Another ability that Poseidon had, besides ruling over the power of the water, was to cause earthquakes and bring destruction to earth whenever he wanted to. He was also called the god of fertility, even though this title wasn’t something he was familiar for. Myths also say that Poseidon had a huge palace on the bottom of the ocean that was decorated by gems, sea shells and corals, but since he rarely spent time there he was more often painted at the top of mount Olympus.
One of the most famous fights was the fight between Athena and Poseidon for the rule over Athens. The city of Athens needed its patron and Poseidon had a wish that this would be him. in this epic fight, Poseidon decided to gift Athenians a salty sea and spring, while the goddess Athens offered them an olive tree. Athenians choose the gift from the goddess and declared her as the patron of the city of Athens. After his loss, Poseidon was angry and he decided to send a huge flood to destroy all the crops and flood the ground of Athens completely.
Poseidon was also linked to the Trojan War. According to a legend, Apollo and Poseidon made Zeus very angry because of a rebellion that they were a part of and it was run by Hera, which was his wife. Zeus took their divine powers and made them serve the king of Troy as a punishment. While serving the king, they built a huge wall around Troy. The king promised them a big reward for their work, but after they finished the work he didn’t want to fulfill his promise to get back at the king, Poseidon decided to send a hug monster to destroy Troy and that monster was later defeated by the hero Heracles.
Poseidon had many romantic relationships with both sexes and his lovers had many children with him. One of his most famous consorts was the nymph Amphitrite, who was the goddess of the sea and also the daughter of Nereus. Together with Amphitrite, Poseidon had one son called Triton and he was a merman. Poseidon, according to legends, had many children who later became very important figures in Greek mythology. He had relationships with humans, such as with a woman Tyro and many more. One interesting story speaks about Poseidon raping Caeneus, and turning her into a man or to be exact a male warrior. His male lovers were Patroclus, Peolps and Nerites.
Symbolism
Poseidon belongs o one of the more notorius gods in Greek mythology. People were afraid of him but at the same time they needed his help and protection. Poseidon was the god of the sea and he also had an ability to strike his trident into the ground and cause earthquakes. He was one of the original Olympian gods and his brother was the supreme Greek god Zeus. Poseidon’s parents were Cronus and Rhea, and he survived his father’s attack because his mother managed to hide him away from Cronus.
Poseidon was one of the Greek deities that had a cult following and many stone findings and plates with his name were found across Greece. The cult following usually included sailors and families of sailors that ha to embark on long trips and sail away on dangerous seas. Poseidon had the ability to kill all of them by simply causing a storm at sea or calling upon the creatures of the sea.
Poseidon’s symbolic meaning is still relevant and very important. His name is often associated with things that have something to do with sea and oceans, and there are many works of art made in his honor. In art and literature, Poseidon was usually painted naked or covered with a cloth in his lower body, or riding his chariot. Poseidon’ chariot was pulled by horses and many associated Poseidon with horses as well. His name actually, in Greek means husband, which is why many associated him with fertility or called him the god of fertility. His many lovers, both male and female, are perfect examples of this symbolic representation.
Facts
Poseidon was the son of Rhea and the god Cronus. He was one of the original Olympian gods that ruled on the mount Olympus and his powers were great. Poseidon had a magic trident which allowed him to use his powers more efficiently and call upon his monsters from the sea. According to one myth, Poseidon used his trident to strike the ground and cause spring to flourish in Athens, in order to win in a fight against Athena. His attempts to rule over Athens and to become its patron failed, but his powers certainly didn’t diminish after this.
Most of his powers were similar to Zeus’s powers and h had a great deal of dominance over women. He had many children with various lovers, who were both male and female. Some of his children grew up to be important figures in the Greek mythology and one of them was Theseus according to old myths. Poseidon was one of the deities that helped Zeus during the Trojan War, but after a while he was asked to leave the battlefield and no longer assist him.
He also had a disagreement with Odysseus which is actually one of the plot stories of Odyssey. One of the more gruesome stories about Poseidon is the one that includes his sister Demeter. According to a legend, she refused his advances but he wouldn’t give up. She then turned herself into a mare to hide from his pursuit, but he saw through her intentions and turned himself into a horse and raped her. He later had a child/son with her called Arion who was a horse as well.
Poseidon’s chariot was mostly pulled by horses or by sea horses. He was also painted with dolphins and other creatures from the sea, which is a true representation of what he actually was, and that was the god of sea and oceans.
Poseidon comes from a very well-known family that was the first family to rule Greece. Legend about his father Cronus and his brothers and sisters I one of the more gruesome stories in –Greek mythology. Escaping his father’s claws was something that he owed to his mother Rhea who hid him away and rescued him from his father’s madness.
Poseidon also belongs to one of the first deities that ruled the mount Olympus. His rule over the sea and the ocean was given to him after the Titans were defeated, and he split the Earth, sea and the underworld with his brothers Zeus and Hades. After this, his rule began and it lasted until the rule of Olympian gods ended. Writers and historians of that time weren’t impressed by his rule and often considered him to be one of the angriest ever deities to rule over Greece.
Roman equivalent to Poseidon was Neptune and there are other mythologies as well, that use the character of Poseidon as their guiding figure. In ancient Rome, his figure was even more celebrated, only in form of Neptune, and he certainly belonged to one of the more important Roman deities. Festival that is held each year in the honor of Poseidon is called the Campus Martius and it is celebrated on July 23rd.
Poseidon ruled over the water and he was so often painted in his chariot, but the goddess Athens actually deserved for the invention of chariots and ships. Poseidon might have been the ruler of water but his powers were mostly spent in vain, since his character wasn’t open for negotiation with humans. After looking deeper into his figure, it is safe to say that he wasn’t a deity devoted to humans and that his goal wasn’t to please them.
Conclusion
Greek deities were formed as a hierarchy, which means there were or there was a supreme god that ruled the rest of them, but there were also deities for almost every segment of human life. In ancient times when people didn’t have the opportunity to explain events that were happening around them, the only logical solution was that these events were created by some sort of higher force. Humans were afraid but at the same time they showed a great amount of love and appreciation for gods that had the ability to send the grace or eternal damnation.
Poseidon was one of the more gruesome and scarier deities that ruled over Greece and his mentioning in ancient myths wasn’t always in the positive context. Poseidon was the ruler of the sea but his titles were also the god of fertility, earthquakes and horses. Many stories are linked to his figure and some of them are not considered to be praise-worthy.
Just like many other Greek gods, Poseidon expressed some of the most negative characteristics that even humans can produce. According to most myths, he was one of the most moody deities and his will was hard to please. People who worshipped Poseidon were mostly sailors that had no other option but to embark on long distance journeys and pray to Poseidon that their lives will be spared.
Unlike other religions and traditions that are common today, Greek mythology was full of violent events and even killing by the gods themselves. They were all shaped in form of human beings and they had the same weaknesses as humans. Greek mythology represents a combination of various stories, myths and legends about heroes, beasts and beautiful women. These stories are all tied together and linked into one magnificent piece of history. Greek mythology belongs to one of the widest known mythologies around the world. The reason why it stood out is because the Greeks had an enormous amount of stories, so greatly written that they couldn’t have been neglected.
Poseidon’t significance in Greek mythology is certainly great but he wasn’t a deity that helped people or made their lives any easier. He was the type of god that didn’t give people anything, even if they deserved it. Constant floods, shipwrecks were just some of the dangers that were lurking for humans on daily basis. Even though he didn’t who humans any mercy, he still remains to be an important figure in Greek mythology and his rule was something that is a crucial part of Greek history.
