Poseidon's Influence On Greek Mythology

In ancient times around 800 B.C. a civilization arose that would become a great power called Greece. Poseidon was important to these people because the myth of Poseidon explained all the things that happened to the Greeks at sea so they could attain a greater knowledge of everything else and now have a form of religion which would cause a spark of order and unity. Poseidon also stood as one of the most powerful major gods. He is connected to our lives today through popular culture and literacy. Poseidon also stands as an example of power that could represent law enforcement or our military/homeland security.

Thousands of years ago, the ancient Greek civilization had a god for everything that they could have thought of. One such god was Poseidon. Poseidon was the god of the sea and horses (Gil). Symbols that represented Poseidon included the trident and dolphin(Gil). He became one of the most well known of the gods because of his fierce temper and his adulterous ways. Poseidon was also part of many battles, such as the Trojan Wars. (Poseidon: Greek) He also caused many hardships for Odysseus as he returned home from the war.(Gall 49). Poseidon was a lustful (Gall 48) being who showed signs of violence and was also known to hold fierce grudges against those who wronged him (Poseidon).

“About Poseidon, a great god, I begin to sing, the shaker of the earth and of the barren sea” (Morford, Lenardon, and Sham, 171). Poseidon in Greek Mythology, or Neptune in Roman Mythology, is the God of the Earthquakes and of the Seas. He is known for his “severe and rough” nature and is associated with “the surge of the seas” (Morford, Lenardon, and Sham, 171). Poseidon is often underrepresented in myth but his role is pivotal due to the fact that he ruled the earth and the seas. Travel via the sea was essential in the spreading of culture during this time period and worship to Poseidon played an important role.

Poseidon is the brother of the Gods Zeus and Hades. Poseidon’s weapon is a trident. He is second to Zeus. Poseidon is also called Neptune. Poseidon is married to Amphitrite. He also has a son and two daughters. Poseidon tried to stop Odysseus from getting back to Ithaca because Odysseus blinded his son the cyclops Polyphemus. Poseidon is a patron of the Phaeacians, who ultimately helped Odysseus return to Ithaca. Poseidon trapped Odysseus and his men after the Trojan war when they were going back to Ithaca in a lee with big storms and high winds. Eventually Odysseus did get free and returned to Ithaca. (Graves

Poseidon was the god of the sea, earthquakes and horses. He was married to Amphitrite (granddaughter of the Titan Oceanus) they had two children together Trition and Rhode. Poseidon was the son of the titans Cronus and Rhea. There are two birth stories of Poseidon one he was swallowed with the rest of his brothers and sisters by his father Cronus at birth but was saved later by Zeus. The second story is that his mother Rhea saved him by hiding him in a flock of sheep and told Cronus that she’d given birth to a horse and gave him that to eat.

Depending on which god a person angered and their situation in life, this hostility could be deadly. For example, Poseidon was the god of the sea but he also had control over earthquakes (Moford, Lenardon, and Shan 171). Odysseus’ famous journey took place mostly on the sea, which put him at the very mercy of this powerful god. However, as controller of both earthquakes and ocean, Poseidon could harm almost any mortal, unless that mortal was aided by another god in the moment of the attack. Other gods possessed similar grand jurisdictions, such as Apollo, the god of the sun and medicine, Hera, goddess of the earth, Hestia, goddess of the hearth’s fire, and Zeus, the god of the sky, among others. Each of these figures reigns over equally important aspects in the life of mortals. Additionally, as most Greeks never met the goddess in myth or in history, the actions of their elements were an even greater sign of their mysterious

Poseidon is the only god who does not like Odysseus, because he harmed his son. Athena did not let Poseidon’s wrath overcome Odysseus. Instead, she calms the winds and takes Odysseus to safety on the island of Phaeacia. Without her help, Odysseus would have never safely landed on the shores Phaeacia.

In The Odyssey, there are both divine and mortal villains. Poseidon, the God of the sea and earthquakes, is the divine vengeful villain archetype that goes against Odysseus. Once Odysseus won the Trojan War, he boasted to the gods that he did it by himself and did not require their assistance. However, Poseidon had helped them win and strongly disliked the idea of a mortal thinking that he was more powerful than him. This is when the grudge began. When Athena is asking Zeus for permission to have Odysseus returned home, he says, “Only the god who laps the land in water bears the fighter a grudge” (Homer 3) and that “buffets him away from home” (Homer 3). The sea god has been withholding Odysseus from his home for ten years after the war because he is angry with his actions of excessive pride. The other reason that Poseidon is out for vengeance is because Odysseus blinded Poseidon’s son, Polyphemus, and proceeded to brag once again about how he was invincible. Polyphemus then proceeded to invoke his father’s power, yelling out, “Hear me, Poseidon who circle the earth, dark-haired. If truly I am your son, and you acknowledge yourself as my father, grant that Odysseus, sacker of cities, son of Laertes, who makes his home in Ithaka, may never reach that home,” (Homer 249) and it is then that Poseidon becomes one of Odysseus’s true antagonists in the story. He only lets up in his efforts when Zeus

The god I chose is Poseidon and I will explain his powers, accompleshments, and life in the pages listed below. Poseidon is a very important because he is one of the major three gods called the big 3. He is the brothers of the other two, Zues and Hades. Since the big 3 swore to never have kids they couldn’t marry humans, so Poseidon married a sea-nymph named Amphitrite. He was the god of the sea and horses and protected and ruled both of those things. There are many rivers with their own gods, poseidon was the god of all water in general. Other than the sea and horses he is also the god of earthquakes and can cause or stop them. When he was not on Mount Olympus he was in or near the water at pretty much all times. Other than being able to

The Immortal Aid When first looking at Homer’s Odyssey, people tend to think of Odysseus as a hero, and the main character, when in truth there are also others including his son and the immortals. As time goes on, Odysseus and his family continue to receive help from the immortals, leading to the idea that the role the immortals play in the story is an important theme. Athena, Poseidon, and Ino play a main role in the demise, protection, praise, and fame of both Odysseus and Telemachus, thus showing that mortals rely on the immortals for the outcome of their future. Poseidon is one of the three main immortals that play a role not only in the demise of Odysseus, but Telemachus as well. A notable example of when Poseidon unleashes despair on Odysseus is when he “…rammed the clouds together---both hands clutching his trident, and then churned the waves into chaos, whipping all the gales from every quarter, shrouding over in thunderheads” (5,321-323) showing that Poseidon goes

Poseidon is the god of the sea, earthquakes, and horses. “He was violent and moody and carried a three-pronged spear called a trident” (Gall 46). Poseidon had two brothers, Zeus, and Hades. Poseidons wife was Amphitrite. His father was the head titan Cronus, his mother was Rhea. All of the olympian gods hated the titans. Poseidon was one of the twelve olympian gods. The olympians fought against the titans and won. All of them were the rulers of the world. They were better than the titans. The twelve of them called themselves the twelve olympian gods because their kingdom was on top of Mt. Olympus and there were twelve of them. When the gods chose which god controlled what domain of the world poseidon picked the sea. The greeks made him the god of earthquakes and horses too. If he was mad he created earthquakes. He created the horse for Demeter. So

Poseidon is the ancient Greek god who resembles the power of the untamed, the brutal, and the wild. After the defeat of the Titans, Poseidon drew straws with his brothers and got the middle straw. Therefore, he became the lord of the Sea, earthquakes, and horses. The Romans knew Poseidon as Neptune. He is also associated with clouds, which was essential to agriculture. Poseidon could create springs, floods, and even tidal waves when angered. Besides the sea, Poseidon is also connected with the earth. It is believed that his anger is

Poseidon was one of a god . He was a god of the ocean .He live under the water because he take care of the fish. He get mad when you kill a animal because he really care for the animal. He is so powerful that he can make your journey supper lang when you travel, like when you get him mad he will make you go a different pass . He

What Odysseus did to anger the mighty sea god was not directly at Poseidon himself, but at one of his kinsfolk. Odysseus and his men were hiding from a giant Cyclops named Polyphemus, and long story short Odysseus blinded Polyphemus and taunted him, but the son of pain made the mistake of yelling “Cyclops— if any man on the face of the earth should ask you who blinded you, shamed you so—say Odysseus”(IX.585-7). This was a big mistake because Polyphemus then knew the name of his assailant. The Cyclops then prayed to his father Poseidon and told him that it was Odysseus who blinded him. The god took this as a direct insult to himself and went on a personal vendetta against Odysseus. Poseidon shows human-like obsessive tendencies and vengefulness. Gods have a lot of time on their hands, basically all of time, so they will go to the end of the Earth to make sure a mortal feels their wrath. Poseidon’s revenge leads to the prolonging of Odysseus’ homecoming, putting him in a major antagonistic role. When it comes to gods and mortals, gods tend to stray away from interfering with the interest and claims of other Olympians, gods will forever and always side with other gods over mortals, unless that mortal is a particular favorite, like Odysseus is favored by Athena. Poseidon seems to be the opposing force to Athena’s mission, working against the

The Role of Poseidon in Ancient Greek Mythology Greek Mythology is part of the religion of Ancient Greece, comprised of a collection of stories, legends, and teachings. These stories helped to explain natural phenomena, cultural traditions, and expressed how the Ancient Greeks understood the world around them. One of the greatest legends in Greek Mythology is Poseidon, the Olympian god of the sea and earthquakes. He lived in an underwater palace with his wife, Amphridite, and children. Many tales illustrate how Poseidon was an emotional and temperamental god, shown by his jealousy and how he handled himself in situations with other gods.