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Poseidon

po see DON

Ποσειδαων

Lord of the Sea

Poseidon

Poseidon and the Siege of Troy
Poseidon and Odysseus
Poseidon in The Iliad (reference)
Poseidon in The Odyssey (reference)

Poseidon is the son of the Titans, Kronos (Cronos) and Rheia (Rhea). As one of the six original Olympians, he is the brother of Zeus, Hades, Histia (Hestia), Demeter and Hera. Poseidon’s mission is to give voice to the earth and for that reason he is commonly called the Earth-Shaker ... he pounds and shakes the earth and sea with his wrath and pleasure and answers to no one ... except Zeus.

Poseidon’s kingdom is the vast sea which he has populated with creatures of his own design. He rides the waves in a chariot drawn by dolphins but, curiously enough, his most honored creation is the horse.

One story tells of a competition between the divine Athene (Athena) and Poseidon ... the contest was to see which of the two Immortals could devise the most cunning gift for the mortals of the earth. Poseidon devised the horse and Athene created the olive tree. Athens was named after the contest winner but Poseidon’s gift of the horse literally changed the shape of the ancient Greek world.

Poseidon and the Siege of Troy

Poseidon’s participation in the Trojan War on the side of the Achaeans (Achaians) was based more on the desire to see the Trojans defeated than to see the Achaeans victorious. Poseidon had an old grudge against the Trojans which began when he and Apollon had been forced into servitude for the Trojan king, Laomedon.

When Laomedon was the king of Troy, Zeus commanded Poseidon and Apollon to serve him for one year. Poseidon built the walls of Troy and Apollon tended Laomedon’s herds. When their service was over, Laomedon refused to pay for their services and threatened to sell them into slavery. Apollon seemed more inclined to forgive the insult but Poseidon would not forgive or forget. When the final battle for Troy was fought, Poseidon fought fiercely on the side of the Achaeans and helped topple the walls that he had built.

As the Trojan War was entering it’s most bloody phase, Poseidon, against the strict orders of Zeus, entered the fray and fought vigorously against the Trojans. He went through the ranks of the strong-grieved Achaeans and urged them to have courage and to lust for victory over the seemingly invulnerable Trojans.

Zeus had been seduced by Hera and was lounging in the afterglow of love on Mount Ida when he heard Poseidon bellowing and screaming from the battlefield in the valley below. Zeus had warned the Immortals to stay away from Troy and now he could see that Hera had tricked him and Poseidon had used the opportunity to disobey him. Zeus contained his anger and did not lash out at his brother ... he sent Iris, the storm-footed messenger instead. Iris warned Poseidon of Zeus’ displeasure and the Earth-Shaker quickly agreed to withdraw but remained defiant ... he said he would leave because of his respect for Zeus but not because of fear.

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Poseidon and Odysseus

The rewards and punishments that Poseidon, and the other Olympians, visit on their friends and enemies are as fair or harsh as Zeus will permit. As an example: Odysseus blinded Poseidon’s Cyclops son and received an epic punishment. Actually, if Odysseus had simply blinded Polyphemos he might have been forgiven, but Odysseus went too far, he added insult to injury. He, and his family, paid dearly for his transgression.

Polyphemos (Polyphemus) was a Cyclops, i.e. one of the race of one eyed monsters who were called ‘wheel-eyed.’ Polyphemos was the son of Poseidon and the sea nymph Thoosa. When Odysseus came to Polyphemos’ cave, he and his shipmates were shocked to find that Polyphemos was a man eater. Polyphemos thought he had the puny sailors trapped so he let his guard down. Odysseus relaxed Polyphemos with some potent wine, tricked him with some clever talk and then sprang upon the Cyclops with a burning spear. The monster was blinded as his eye was boiled in the socket. Odysseus made his escape but, in his pride, he turned and taunted Polyphemos with cruel insults. Poseidon would not forgive the indignity that Odysseus had visited upon his son and Zeus could not save Odysseus from Poseidon’s wrath. Poseidon caused Odysseus and his family constant misery but he did not kill the haggard wanderer, he just kept driving him away from his home and thus, his happiness.

On one occasion, Poseidon found the resourceful Odysseus on a raft within sight of land. The sea and the wind rose at Poseidon’s command and with his trident, he staggered the sea and let loose the storm blasts against Odysseus and his tiny raft shattered. Before the raft was smashed to splinters, a sea goddess, Leukothea, saw Odysseus and gave him her veil as protection from drowning but Odysseus was afraid that this was just another one of Poseidon’s tricks ... he waited until the raft sank below the crashing waves before he accepted the goddesses’ help and began the three day swim to the foreign shore. Satisfied that harm but no death had befallen our cursed hero, Poseidon turned away from the long-suffering Odysseus and made his way to his palace. (Odyssey, book 5, line 281)

Poseidon is often confused with the Roman god, Neptunus.

Poseidon

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Poseidon in The Iliad

(listed by book and line)

The line numbers listed here correspond fairly well with the Lattimore and Murray/Wyatt translations of The Iliad. Other translations (Fitzgerald, Fagles et al) do not correspond as well but, with a small amount of effort, you should be able to find the reference you need regardless of the translation you use. Lattimore (ISBN 0226469409); A.T. Murray/William F. Wyatt Vol. I & II (ISBN 0674995791 and 0674995805); Robert Fitzgerald (ISBN 0374529051); Robert Fagles (ISBN 0140275363)

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Poseidon in The Odyssey

(listed by book and line)

The line numbers listed here correspond fairly well with the Lattimore and Murray/Dimock translations of The Odyssey. Other translations (Fitzgerald, Fagles et al) do not correspond as well but, with a small amount of effort, you should be able to find the reference you need regardless of the translation you use. Richmond Lattimore (ISBN 0060931957); A.T. Murray/George E. Dimock Vol. I & II (ISBN 0674995619 and 0674995627); Robert Fitzgerald (ISBN 0374525749); Robert Fagles (ISBN 0140268863)

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