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Poseidon

Poseidon. And the Other Oceanic Powers. Poseidon (Neptune). trident. God of oceans Also god of earthquakes Some stories associate him with flowing water as well. He competed with Athena to be patron deity of Athens. Athena provided an olive tree, Poseidon a spring. Athena won.

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Poseidon

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  1. Poseidon And the Other Oceanic Powers

  2. Poseidon (Neptune) trident

  3. God of oceans Also god of earthquakes Some stories associate him with flowing water as well. He competed with Athena to be patron deity of Athens. Athena provided an olive tree, Poseidon a spring. Athena won. Poseidon is not often a city’s chief patron god, but has many temples, especially at ocean towns. Sounion is one of these.

  4. Sounion

  5. One myth tells of Poseidon’s union with Demeter:. When she was mourning for her kidnapped daughter Persephone, Poseidon pursued her. She turned into a mare to escape him, but he caught up with her. From this union was born the horse Arion. Or, in other versions, Persephone. Perhaps this shows us Poseidon, the freshwater god, consort of the earth . . .

  6. But usually Poseidon is god of the deep, shown in connection with winds (as here), representing the power of the ocean, its merciless nature, its barren and forbidding aspect. Poseidon is only one aspect of ocean. There are many, since the ocean has many aspects. Also representing the fearsome deep is Pontus, the consort of Gaia, father of many monsters and grandfather of many more. Among them:

  7. Terracotta sphinx head ; temple of Artemis Laphria in Calydon; c. 630 BC Female monsters The Sphinx is a dangerous, mankilling monster, part animal, part woman. Roman copy of a Greek sphinx with victim

  8. And the Gorgons (Medusa is the most famous), a “vagina dentata” with an apotropaic function . . . Sirens with their deadly singing

  9. Among Pontus’ offspring is Nereus, “the old man of the sea,” who has 50 daughters, the Nereids. The Nereids were more important in cult than their father, since they represented the lighter aspect of the sea, a beautiful, gentle presence, and a hope for mercy in times of storm or disaster. Sailors made small sacrifices to them often. Some Nereids have an individual role in myth: Thetis, mother of Achilles, and Poseidon’s wife Amphytrite.

  10. Proteus Proteus, another “Old Man of the Sea”, changes form if you try to grab hold of him. But if you don’t let go, he is obliged to answer whatever question you ask him. Many heroes wrestle him in myth.

  11. finis The ocean is powerful, frightening, useful, dangerous, full of strange creatures and possibilities. Its gods reflect its nature.

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