On another occasion, Poseidon seduced the gorgeous maiden, Medusa, in one of Athena’s temples. The product of this union was the divine horse, Arion. Demeter, trying to avoid her brother, turned into a mare, but Poseidon responded by turning into a stallion and having his way with her anyway. While Demeter was wandering the earth looking for Persephone, Poseidon decided to pursue her. It seems strange that a sea god should be connected to horses, but Poseidon has several myths establishing him as a god of horses. Theseus jumped into the sea and Amphitrite gave him her tiara to prove his connection to her husband. Minos prayed to his father Zeus for a sign and received thunder and lightning. So, each one had to prove to the other that he was the son of a god. In fact, in one version of Theseus’ journey to Crete, when Theseus arrived in Crete, Minos questioned his paternity, and Theseus questioned Minos’. Unlike Hera, Amphitrite does not seem to have cared much that her husband often looked for love outside of marriage. Poseidon seduced Tyro (the mother of Aeson and the grandmother of the hero, Jason) in the form of a river and became the father of Pelias and Neleus, who, in turn, became the father of Nestor (who figures in both the Iliad and the Odyssey). The cyclops Polyphemus (who figures in the Odyssey) was his son by the sea nymph, Thoösa, and he fathered the hunter Orion with Euryale, the daughter of Minos. Poseidon was married to Amphitrite, a daughter of Oceanus and Tethys, and they had a few children, most notably Triton, but like his brother Zeus, Poseidon had a tendency to pursue extramarital affairs. Athena and Poseidon competing for patronage of Athens on an amphora in the Cabinet des Médailles in Paris Family Life The most famous of Poseidon’s contests for power was over Athens, where he competed unsuccessfully with Athena. Athena and Poseidon argued over possession of Troezen, and Zeus ruled that they would share possession of the city. Hera and Poseidon fought passionately over Argos, and when the three river gods who were given the task of judging the dispute were found in favor of Hera, Poseidon flooded the city and dried up the rivers in anger. He and Helius (god of the sun) both wanted Corinth and could not agree, so they took their dispute to Briareüs, who divided the area between the two, giving the citadel to Helius and the isthmus to Poseidon.
Poseidon vied with several of his fellow gods for several areas, and Poseidon did not often fare well in these contests. The gods often competed with each other to win patronage over areas in Greece. He once convinced Hera and Athena to join him in a rebellion against Zeus, whom they managed to imprison in chains until Thetis brought Briareüs, the chief of the Hundred-Handers, to release him (Homer, Iliad, 1.396-405). Poseidon was allotted domain over the seas, but he always remained immensely jealous of Zeus’ position of King of the Gods. After the Olympians overthrew their Titan parents, the three Olympian brothers, Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon, drew lots to divvy up the realms. Most stories relate that he was swallowed by his father like all his older siblings and was rescued by Zeus along with his other siblings. Epithets: Enosichthon (Earth-Shaker), Hippios (the Horse God)įunctions: god of the sea, salt and fresh water springs, earthquakes, and horses Poseidon’s Birth Myth
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