POSEIDON

1. POSEIDON

2. Poseidon, son of Cronus and Rhea, was one of six siblings (Hestia, Demeter, Hera, hades, Zeus) and father of seven (Triton, Theseus, Polyphemus, Agenor, Belus, Neleus, and Atlas). He was one of the 12 ruling gods and goddess in the Greek mythology.

3. He and his brothers were involved with the division of the universe, Zeus was ruler of the sky, Hades’ domain was the underworld and Poseidon was in charge of the ocean as well as its creatures. The symbols that are associated with Poseidon include: dolphins, tridents, and three-pronged fish spears.

4. As well as being the master of the ocean he also had control over earthquakes and horses. He is a god of many names but the ones that he is most famous for are God of the sea, horse tamer and earth shaker.

5. Poseidon is mostly depicted as an older but very physically powerful and muscular man with long white curly hair and beard.

6. Poseidon was seen as presenting calm seas, peaceful sights and creating new islands but when he had been insulted or disregarded, he would forcefully strike the ground with his trident, therefore chaotic springs, earthquakes, landslides, many drownings and destruction of ships and homes would have taken place.

7. Sailors who feared for their lives prayed to Poseidon for a safe journey, others believed prayer wasn’t enough so sometimes they drowned their horses as a sacrifice.

8. There are different versions of this myth, in one version Poseidon’s father Cronus swallows him at birth but he survives this to become god of the sea, according to another version Poseidon along with his brother Zeus weren’t swallowed by Cronus at birth, unlike the rest of their siblings their mother Rhea hid them both from their father in Rhodes where they were raised.

9. As an immortal he could never die but as Christianity came into existence, people started to take more interest in it rather than the Greek mythology which caused Poseidon and the other gods and goddess to simply die off and become a memory.

10. “The Odyssey "written by Gareth Hinds, which is about a man who is trying to make his way home from the Trojan war, but has many challenges to face before he can get there.

11. Poseidon’s role in story is certainly valuable, it is clear that he is malicious and is constantly producing difficulty towards Odysseus on his adventure back home. He is seen as a god of immediate punishment towards Odysseus, whereas a god such as Athena works through different methods to help him.

12. He was initially introduced in the ‘Odyssey’ when the other gods set Odysseus free from being imprisoned on Calypsos’ island without Poseidon’s approval, this annoyed him so he then commanded the sea to enhance in both size and power.

13. Suddenly while Odysseus was sailing back home, large amounts of water slammed on top of him, forcing him off his craft and to swim his way back to shore, which he struggled at as he soon became exhausted from swimming and also from the continual thrashing of the waves.

14. Odysseus did not believe that he and Poseidon were enemies, he just figured that he must have done something that offended the god and that he may still be holding a grudge, in that he was correct. When he stabbed and blinded Polyphemus, Odysseus was unaware that the Cyclops was the son of Poseidon.

15. Polyphemus prayed to his father to grant him revenge on Odysseus, never let him return home or if it is his destiny to return, let him arrive late after a long suffering. The god heard and listened to his sons’ prayer, he was furious; this is how Odysseus gained the extreme resentment of Poseidon in the ‘Odyssey’.