Poseidon

salsa88 — Fri, 10 May 2013 14:32:00 MDT

Poseidon - Poseidon.jpg

Poseidon was the ruler of the sea a powerful god in Greek mythology who was often called the Earth-shaker His father was the Titan Cronus who at the time was ruler of the Universe and his mother was Rhea Cronus was a paranoid ruler because it had been prophesized that one of his own sons would dethrone him just as Cronus had done to his father UranusThus Cronus would swallow the children whom Rhea bore him He figured that it was the safest way to ensure that none of his offspring overthrew himOne by one the children were swallowed by Cronus: first Hestia then Demeter Hera Hades and Poseidon (Some mythographers claim that Rhea tricked Cronus by presenting a foal instead of the baby Poseidon for consumption but most agree that Poseidon had been swallowed like the rest of his siblings)Needless to say this constant swallowing of her children enraged Rhea She bore her third son Zeus in the middle of the night and gave him for safekeeping to Gaea (Mother Earth) She fooled Cronus into believing he had swallowed his new son by substituting a rock wrapped in baby blanketsWhen Zeus grew up and with the help of Gaea and his mother Rhea he slipped Cronus a potion that made the Titan disgorge the swallowed children Being gods they were unharmed albeit a tad dazed and confused With Zeus serving as their leader Poseidon Hades Hestia Demeter and Hera waged war against the Titans for supremacy of the UniverseAssisted by the Cyclops (they gave Zeus his thunderbolts Poseidon his trident and Hades his helmet of invisibility) and the Hecatoncheires (the Hundred-handed-ones) the siblings fought a terrible war that lasted ten years In the end they were victorious banishing their vanquished foes to the deepest depths of the Underworld called Tartarus This dark and woeful place is as far beneath the earth as heaven is above the earth Around Tartarus runs a fence of bronze with gates of bronze which Poseidon fixed in such as way as to offer no escape and there the Titans were forever confinedAfter Zeus with his brothers and sisters defeated the Titans anddethroned Cronus the three brothers drew lots out of a helmet todetermine which one of the three realms each would rule Zeus won the heavens and thus became the supreme ruler Hades got the Underworld and Poseidon got the sea The Earth remained common to all threePoseidon was very powerful second only to Zeus himself Equal to Zeus in dignity though not in power he was reputed to be a surly and quarrelsome figurePoseidon at once got busy constructing a magnificent palace beneath the sea off Aegae in Euboea Splendid white chariot horses with brazen hooves and golden manes lived in the palace's spacious stables and an awesome golden chariot was always ready to transport the sea god about At the approach of Poseidon's chariot storms and foul weather would cease and sea monsters would rise from the depths playfully frisking around it like friendly dolphinsAs wonderful as his underwater palace was Poseidon still spent much of his time participating in the festivities in Olympus with the other godsPoseidons wife was Amphitrite granddaughter of the titan Oceanus At first Poseidon courted Thetis the Nereid because she was beautiful and was already accustomed to the sea-depths But when the respected Titan Themis prophesized that any son born to Thetis would be greater than his father wisely he backed off and looked elsewhere for a wifeNext he approached Amphitrite another Nereid who wanted nothing to do with Poseidon For whatever reason she was turned-off by the god of the sea and fled to the Atlas Mountains in order to escape his advancesNot to be denied Poseidon sent messengers all over the earth to look for her Eventually after much wandering a man named Delphinus located Amphitrite and was so convincing in pleading Poseidon's case and his love for her that at last she yielded and agreed to the marriage Delphinus himself organized the entire wedding and a splendid party it wasThe union of Poseidon and Amphitrite produced three children: Triton Rhode and Benthesicyme But like his brother Zeus Poseidon wasn't a very faithful husband and engaged in numerous affairs with goddesses nymphs and even mortalsUnderstandably jealous Amphitrite punished many of her husband's lovers just like Hera did to her husband Zeus' women She was particularly upset with Poseidon's infatuation with Scylla gorgeous daughter of Phorcys and was determined to punish her indiscretion Amphitrite threw magical herbs into Scylla's bathing pool and when the woman took her bath at once she transformed into a barking monster with six heads and twelve feetPoseidon was never fully satisfied with his share of the world and once even conspired with other Olympians to dethrone Zeus But his plot was discovered and in punishment Zeus exiled him to earth There he was to build the walls of Troy for king Laomedon He was helped by Apollo who was also banished from Olympus at that timeThe two Olympian gods assumed the likeness of men and undertook to fortify Troy for wages Apollo was able to move the heaviest of stones with just the sound of his lyre But when they had fortified it and the task was completed the foolish king Laomedon would not pay their wages Therefore Apollo sent a pestilence and Poseidon sent a Sea-monster which snatched away the people of the plainThe oracles foretold deliverance from these calamities if Laomedon would expose the maiden Hesione to be devoured by Poseidon's Sea-monster Not knowing what else to do the king followed the oracles' advice and fastened her to the rocks near the sea but at the last moment the greatest Greek hero Heracles (Hercules) saved her and she married TelamonGetting stiffed for his wages was also the chief reason why Poseidon was on the Greek side during the Trojan WarMany more Sea-monsters were unleashed by Poseidon to exactvengeance: Poseidon sent a Sea-monster against the Teucriansbecause Hierax a righteous man was devoted to Demeter and would not honor Poseidon When Queen Cassiopeia boasted of being better than the Nereids the water nymphs became angry and asked Poseidon to intervene The wrathful god sent a flood and yet another Sea-monster to invade the land Andromeda was exposed as a prey to this monster only to be rescued by the hero Perseus Poseidon also sent a bull from the sea and the horses of Hippolytus were startled entangling their master in the reins dragging him to a horrible deathAnother time Poseidon competed with the great Athena - goddess of wisdom war and the crafts - over who would gain patronage of the famous city state called Athens Poseidon struck the side of the Acropolis and a fountain spurted forth its water much to the amazement of the people However the water was salty which proved no use to the populace Athena presented the people with the first olive tree which was used for food oil and provided wood to burn in the winter The gods and goddesses had assembled to pass judgment with the males voting for the god of the sea and the females choosing Athena's olive tree Since the women outnumbered the men by one Athena's gift was judged to be the most useful and Athena was awarded the city which forever after carried her name - Athens Known for his anger and not being the best of sports Poseidonproceeded to sent huge waves to flood the area in a mean-spiritedparting gesture To appease Poseidon's wrath the women of Athens were deprived of their vote and the men forbidden to bear their mothers names In the shrine of Erechtheus there remained preserved a long time an olive tree and a pool of salt water which had been set there by Poseidon and Athena as tokens when they contended for the city Another dispute arose between Poseidon and Athena over the city of Troezen but Zeus nipped it in the bud by declaring that it was to be shared equally between the two an arrangement loathed by both parties Quarrelsome Poseidon thus engaged in disputes with: Zeus over the island of Aegina Dionysus over the island of Naxos Helios the sun god over the area of Corinth (Poseidon was upset because he received the Isthmus of Corinth only while Helios got the prestigious Acropolis of Corinth) Hera wife of Zeus got into it with Poseidon over Argolis and that one got real ugly with accusations flying all over the place and Poseidon claiming that the Olympians were biased against him Poseidon's argument with Hera was referred for arbitration to a panel of three River-gods who made a decision in favor of Hera Outraged Poseidon vowed revenge on them Zeus had forbidden him to bring on floods as he had done in Athens so the sea god did the exact opposite -- He dried up the streams of his three judges (Inachus Cephissus and Asterion) and they never again flowed in the summer But Poseidon could be compassionate Anymone was a Danaid (nymph of nature) who was greatly distressed by these droughts and taking pity on her Poseidon caused the Argive river of Lerna to perpetually flow bringing Anymone much-needed relief Poseidon liked to boast that he created the first horse and it wasaccepted that he instituted horse-racing He even claimed to haveconstructed the first horse bridle although Athena begs to differ on thatthe two rarely got along at first even though eventually they reconciled and worked on some common causes Like Zeus it took many years for Poseidon to mature and not always act belligerently Although Poseidon is adored for giving men the first horse his primary importance was as Lord of the Sea At his command winds rose and the most violent of storms began but when he drove in his golden chariot over the water the storms subsided and tranquil peace followed his wheels Ancient sailors and warriors would pray and offer tributes to the great Poseidon prior to undertaking a sea journey In turn Poseidon could be cruel and hostile to those who displeased him such as the hero of the Trojan War Odysseus who suffered great tribulations at the hands of Poseidon while embarked on his Odyssey back home Both the bull and the horse are associated with Poseidon but the bull is associated with many other gods as well so the horse can be considered his animalHe was always depicted carrying or using his distinguishing weapon the trident a three-pronged spear which he used to shatter and shake anything he pleased much like his brother Zeus used his thunderbolts That's why he was commonly referred to as the Earth Shaker The trident his symbol was the gift of the Cyclopes who had fought with the Olympians versus the TitansHe was always accompanied by his son Triton who was half man half fish Triton would blow on his seashell to announce Poseidon's arrival

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Poseidon