The myth of Poseidon, god of the oceans

The myth of Poseidon is one of the most important of antiquity. It must be remembered that the Olympian gods defeated the titans, commanded by Cronus, supreme divinity at that time. After the triumph, the new deities divided up what existed and Zeus kept the sky, while the underworld was reserved for Hades and the waters corresponded to Poseidon.

The Greeks thought that the earth was an element that floated on “primordial waters.” For the same, The myth of Poseidon also points out that This god governed the telluric movements. It was also associated with some mental disturbances and with certain animals, such as horses and bulls.

The god of the oceans had a very active participation in several episodes of Greek mythology . He was present at the founding of Athens and also played a leading role in the famous Trojan War. The myth of Poseidon says that it was precisely this deity that made it take Odysseus many years to return to his land to be reunited with his beloved Penelope. Let’s get to know him better.

The myth of Poseidon: the origin

It must be remembered that, before the gods of Olympus appeared, Cronus reigned in Greek mythology. An oracle assured this god that one of his sons would dethrone him; For that reason, every time he had a offspring, Cronus himself swallowed it. However, The future god of the oceans was saved from that fate by a trick of his mother, Rhea..

The myth of Poseidon tells that Rhea pretended to have given birth to a foal and Cronus swallowed it. Meanwhile, she hid her son in a flock of sheep. Arne, daughter of Aeolus, the god of the winds, was his nurse. Then Poseidon was raised by the Telchines, who were nine brothers with the heads of dogs and the lower part of their bodies in the shape of a fish.

The Telkines knew the art of blacksmithing and metallurgy. That’s why They made for Poseidon an instrument that would later become a symbol of that deity: the trident. Later, together with his brother Zeus, he fought Cronus and won. After the victory he was left with dominion over the world’s oceans.

The rise of Athens

According to the myth of Poseidon, Athens was becoming a prosperous city and both Athena and Poseidon wanted to be its regents. The conflict finally had to be settled by Cecrops, king of the Athenians. To influence his decision, the two gods gave him a gift.

Poseidon struck the earth with his trident and a spring of water was born, which he gave to the city. However, this god only ruled over the seas, so the water that came out was salty, which was of little use to the citizens.

Athena, for her part, taught the king the secrets of olive cultivation. This impressed Cecrops, who immediately named her the patron saint of the city.

Poseidon became angry and flooded part of the region with his salty waters. Later he claimed the life of the successor of the king who had given the patronage of Athens to Athena. Even so, The Greeks always worshiped him, since this seafaring people could not do without protection. of that god during his journeys.

The great offspring of Poseidon

Like other gods of Olympus, Poseidon was not a model of fidelity, If not the opposite. Formally, his wife was the nymph Amphitrite, goddess of the calm sea.

As a wedding gift, the god of the oceans gave her a crown made of pearls and shells. She, in fact, did not want to marry him, but she agreed after one of her messengers begged her.

After the union, Poseidon did not stop having many love affairs, with goddesses, nymphs and mortals.. For the same reason, he had enormous offspring. A woman named Tiro was one of his lovers. She was married, but she was in love with the river-god. Poseidon impersonated him and joined her, resulting in two sons who would become heroes: Pelias and Neleus.

He raped a maiden named Caeneus, who after the fact asked him to turn her into a man and the god agreed. He also had affairs with his granddaughter and his grandmother.

He often transformed himself into some animal to possess the women he desired. and this caused him to have children without human form, like Arion, a horse who had the gift of speech, and the famous golden fleece.

Other myths about Poseidon

Greek mythology is very broad and rich. Therefore, here are some other examples of myths that surround this deity so that you can get a more complete idea of ​​her role in the pantheon of this culture:

The island that saved Leto: After Zeus’s infidelity, Leto suffered the wrath of Hera, his wife, and found a quiet place to give birth to his twins. However, Poseidon had created an island, Delos, on which only one palm tree grew. Leto ended up there and was finally able to give birth. This is how Apollo and Artemis were born.The dolphin’s feat: Poseidon’s insistence on marrying Amphitrite, a mermaid, caused him to send a dolphin to convince her of it. The animal came out of the waters and traveled great distances to find her and talk to her. It is a myth that reveals the power of these marine mammals and their great intelligence.The wall of Troy: Apollo and Poseidon built a huge wall around the famous city to protect it from invasion. However, when he asked for a reward and the king denied it, he sent a great sea monster to destroy them. Heracles saved them, but just barely.The great flood: Zeus asked Poseidon to bring a great flood to Earth to purge humanity. After that, Decaulion and Pyrrha were in charge of repopulating humanity.

There is also a version of the Minotaur myth that involves the god of the seas, in which he becomes enraged when they do not sacrifice the white bull that he has given them. The king of Minos had become infatuated with the animal and Poseidon punished him by making his wife have a child with the bull.

As you see, Poseidon is a key piece in Greek mythology. If you have been curious, from here we encourage you to continue researching these gods, because you will surely have more than one surprise.

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