Poseidon the Ancient Greek God of the Sea and Horses

Did you know that the Greek god of the sea was also god of earthquakes? Hello and welcome to World History Encyclopedia. My name is Kelly and today's video is all about one of the oldest gods of the Greek pantheon and a deity whose domain fell over the seas, horses and earthquakes. Yes, today we are talking about the great Greek god Poseidon, who among his many attributes inspired modern day movies. Don't forget the easiest way to support us is by giving this video a thumbs up, subscribing to our channel and hitting that bell icon for notifications so you don't miss out on any new uploads. World History Encyclopedia is a non-profit organization and you can find us on Patreon, a brilliant site where you can support our work and receive exclusive benefits in return. Your support helps us create videos twice a week so make sure to check it out via the pop-up in the top corner of the screen or the Patreon link down below. Poseidon in ancient Greek mythology was the god of the sea, horses, earthquakes and storms, floods and droughts and was also a protector of mariners. Due to his governance over natural disasters like storms and floods, Poseidon was probably the most destructive of the gods, although he wasn't necessarily always a negative force. Poseidon was also associated with horses as the patron of horses and horse breeding and to the Romans he was known as Neptune. Poseidon is one of the Greek deities with the longest history as cults to him date back to the Mycenaean period during the Bronze Age between circa 3300 to 1200 BCE. In classical Greek mythology though, Poseidon is one of the children that Rhea bore to Kronos and one of the five that Kronos subsequently swallowed after being born. After being regurgitated along with his fellow siblings, Poseidon and the Olympian gods went to war against the Titans in a battle known as the Titanomachy in which the Olympian gods were victorious and claimed rule over the world. The three sons of Zeus, Hades and Poseidon then drew lots to decide which domain they would rule over. Zeus got the heavens, Hades got the underworld and Poseidon was granted the seas. Although the home of the gods was on Olympus, Poseidon chose to dwell in a beautiful golden mansion underneath the sea which was also the home to a stable of fine white horses. Poseidon was married to the Amphitrite, although she didn't always seem too keen on the prospect of marrying Poseidon since at one point she fled to the Atlas Mountains until the dolphin Delphinus persuaded her to return and marry the god of the sea. With Amphitrite, Poseidon had a few children with their most famous being Triton who was half fish and half man. Like most other Greek gods though, Poseidon wasn't exactly faithful to his wife and fathered numerous children with various partners, most notably the Greek hero Theseus with Aethera, Polyphemus the Cyclops who is best known from Homer's Odyssey, Orion the hunter, Pegasus the flying horse after the rape of Medusa, Charybdis the terrible whirlpool sea monster that ate ships and the wild horse Arion with Poseidon is commonly depicted in art as a bearded mature man and is often brandishing his three-pointed trident, a weapon that was crafted for him by the Cyclops. This trident could be used by Poseidon to create earthquakes by striking it against the ground. He is also often depicted in his chariot pulled by a half horse, half serpent creatures called hippocampus. In the company of Poseidon in art, he also finds himself with depictions of numerous types of sea life including dolphins, seahorses and fish. Homer and Hesiod both describe Poseidon as deep sounding earth shaker, the dark haired one and the encircler of the earth. The final title tells us of the ancient Greeks worldview and their belief that all of the waterways were connected and that land floated on water and could be shaken by the lord of the sea. Poseidon as one of the big three of the Olympian gods unsurprisingly features in many tales from Greek mythology. Another monster from mythology that Poseidon was somewhat responsible for was the Minotaur. After Minos the king of failed to sacrifice a beautiful bull to the god of the sea given to him as a gift by Poseidon, a gift that was given only on the basis that Minos would sacrifice it back to the god, Poseidon bewitched Minos' wife Pasiphae to fall in love with the bull. As a result of Pasiphae's amorous relationship with the bull, the half-man half-bull Minotaur was born. The monster named Asterion was then forced to live in the labyrinth under the palace at Knossos until he was killed by Theseus, a son of Poseidon. One of the best known tales of Poseidon is his fight with Athena over the city of Athens. Both Athena and Poseidon wanted to be the patron deity of the city and so the two of them gave Kepros, the half-man half-serpent first king of Attica, a gift in order to win his favor. Poseidon used his trident to make a sea or sometimes a saltwater spring depending on the version that you're reading and Athena planted an olive tree. Unfortunately for Poseidon, Athena was chosen, hence the name the city still bears. Poseidon is also a major protagonist in Homer's Iliad and features significantly in his Odyssey as well. In the Iliad, Poseidon is on the side of the Greeks or Achaeans and gives them words of encouragement and rousing speeches and he even leads them into battle flashing a sword. In the Odyssey, he is less helpful and is essentially the nemesis of the Greek hero Odysseus who was just trying to get home. On his travels, Odysseus comes across Poseidon's son, the Cyclops Polyphemus and during that unpleasant encounter, Odysseus blinds Polyphemus. The Cyclops is enraged as Odysseus and his men sail away and so Polyphemus's father, Poseidon, curses Odysseus to wander the sea for 10 years before he can finally return home to Ithaca. Poseidon is one of the oldest Greek deities and was worshipped prior to the archaic and classical Greek periods. His popularity is most likely due to the importance of seafaring in the Mycenaean culture and so it's no surprise that Poseidon was one of their most important deities and cults to the god have been referenced in ancient Greek texts such as Linear B inscriptions from sites like Pelos and Knossos. We also know that the city of Pelos, best known as the home of Nestor, one of the Greeks from the Trojan War, worshipped Poseidon as its main god and had a priestess as the head of his cult. In the classical Greek period though, Poseidon was still a popular god worshipped all throughout Greece and in Greek religion, Poseidon held the Isthmus of Corinth in special regard. Every two years, the Isthmian games near Corinth were held in his honour and horse races were the main focus. In Corinth, the god was connected with maritime trade and navigation and there are even votive clay plaques from the archaic period referencing this. Another important site to the god is the Temple of Poseidon at Zunion that towered over ships entering the Saronic Gulf and dates to the 5th century BCE. Here, Poseidon was honoured by boat races that were held every four years. Despite losing to Athena in the contest for Athens, Poseidon was still honoured in the city with the annual Posidae festival, although the festival did have more to do with agriculture than the sea. Although Poseidon was the god of earthquakes, he was also seen as the protector during earthquakes and it was as his protective aspect, known as Poseidon Asphalios, that a temple to him was built There was also an unusual rite enacted at Elmkestis in Boeotia, where there was an important sanctuary dedicated to Poseidon, where horses would pull riderless chariots and when one of them crashed, the chariot would be dedicated to the god. Fishers and mariners throughout the Greek world made votive offerings to Poseidon for protection and his cult worshippers His fame as a powerful god of the ancient world may have faded, but in the modern age, his name is still remembered from movies such as The Poseidon Adventure, Poseidon and various TV shows and documentaries. Which TV show or movie bearing his name, if any, do you think Poseidon would approve of? Let us know what you think in the comments below. If you enjoyed this video make sure to give it a thumbs up and subscribe to our channel so you don't miss out on our new videos every Tuesday and Friday. This video was brought to you by World History Encyclopedia, for more great articles and interactive content head to our website via the link below. If you like my shirt you can find this design and a bunch more in our shop at worldhistory.store or you can find a link for it down below. Thank you so much for watching and we will see you soon with another video.