Poseidon was the son of Cronus and his sister Rhea. Once Poseidon and his siblings deposed their father, he received the kingdom of the sea. They drew lots to see who would rule.
Poseidon is most often pictured with a trident, a powerful three-pronged weapon that could make the earth rumble and could destroy any object. He also inhabited an expansive golden palace under the ocean. He spent some of his spare time developing multiple relationships with goddesses as well as mortals and fathering children. One of these love interests may have been the catalyst for the creation of the horse.
The ancient Greeks believed that they had Poseidon to thank for the formation of one of their favorite and most useful animals: the horse. He had rivalries with Zeus, Hades and one of the more famous he had was with the goddess Athena. Athena was the daughter of Zeus and Metis and was the goddess of warcraft, strategy and heroism.
She was quite the combatant and could very easily hold her own against the other Olympians. Many of the Greek gods liked to take on a Greek city as the patron or protector.
Athens and the surrounding area was one of the most popular cities because of its cultural and economic might. As such, both Poseidon and Athena vied for the honour of being patron and battled it out for the right. They both attempted to persuade the city with their own special gifts. Poseidon was said to have crafted the horse which was used by the Athenians in battle and to transport goods.
He also used his trident to produce a saltwater spring which erupted from the mountain on which the acropolis can be found. The Athenians were initially very impressed by the gifts that Poseidon had given.
Then came Athena with her gift of the olive tree. She also placed this olive tree on the acropolis and the Athenians were able to produce olives and olive oil from the tree. The Athenians were equally if not more impressed by this gift from Athena. The Athenians were not however the judges for this particular contents. The judge was none other than Zeus, and he declared Athena the victor. In the end, Poseidon was so angered by this that he took revenge on the Athenians by flooding their city.
Poseidon battled with many other gods for patronage of a number of cities, but in the end was given the role of patron of Corinth. Following the Trojan war, Poseidon took particular dislike to a number of Greek soldiers who were returning to Greek. Odysseus ended up killing a son of Poseidon and so Poseidon tormented Odysseus and his crew for much of their journey home. To counter this, Athena would often appear to help Odysseus in one or another of their trials.
Poseidon is one of the more warped and terrible Olympian gods. He has a terrible temper and was feared by many of the Greeks. A peaceful start for such a violent, elemental god.
Diodorus Siculus V:5 said that he was raised by the Telechines on Rhodes , magicians and metalworkers who in some versions were the children of either the Oceanids or Nemesis. It is interesting that Rhea did substitute a foal for her baby, however, given the close connection between the two.
As the god of horses, Poseidon also looked out for charioteers in the horse-races which were an important part of Greek life and sport. The god intervened in a chariot race involving his former favourite Pelops. He also gave a winged horse to Idas, and his sons Pelias and Nelius were suckled by mares.
Pindar, praising a successful charioteer , says:. Earth-shaking Poseidon, he is devoted to you, who rule over horse-races, and his thoughts are pleasing to you. Pythian Odes VI, trans. Then the horses for a while rattle the empty car, being rid of guidance; and if they break the chariot in the woody grove, men look after the horses, but tilt the chariot and leave it there; for this was the rite from the very first.
And the drivers pray to the lord of the shrine; but the chariot falls to the lot of the god. Although most Graeco-Roman art shows him riding hippocamps, he did have a chariot with horses, at least in Homeric myth. The Iliad has one marvellous passage which shows him clearly as a powerful god sitting on the mountain-tops like Zeus , then making the earth shake as he strides to the sea to mount his horses, who are not wetted by the water.
The Irish said the same about Manannan mac Lir , incidentally. There he sat, being come forth from the sea, and he had pity on the Achaeans that they were overcome by the Trojans, and against Zeus was he mightily wroth. Forthwith then he went down from the rugged mount, striding forth with swift footsteps, and the high mountains trembled and the woodland beneath the immortal feet of Poseidon as he went.
Thrice he strode in his course, and with the fourth stride he reached his goal, even Aegae, where was his famous palace builded in the depths of the mere, golden and gleaming, imperishable for ever. Thither came he, and let harness beneath his car his two bronze hooved horses, swift of flight, with flowing manes of gold; and with gold he clad himself about his body, and grasped the well-wrought whip of gold, and stepped upon his car, and set out to drive over the waves.
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