Poseidon-Lord of the Sea

Poseidon symbolizes the sea among the gods of Olympus and is considered the absolute ruler of the seas. He is called Poseidaon in the Homeric epics. Derived from Poti-dan, this name means "lord of the seas" when compared to its other Indo-European language. Its power and sovereignty extend not only to the seas, but also to streams and lakes. Poseidon not only rules the waves, he can also create storms. With one hit of his trident, he can move coastal cliffs and create terrible earthquakes. He is also called Enosigaios, which means the one who shakes the soil, with his identity as a god who can turn the soil upside down. He is the most important god after Zeus. The trident, the horse and the dolphin are its symbols. In Roman mythology, his name is "Neptune".

He is the son of Kronos and Rheia, and the brother of Zeus and Hades. According to a legend; Kronos, like his other children, swallows Poseidon as soon as he is born, then Zeus gives Poseidon the sovereignty of the sea when he is kidnapped with the help of his mother Rheia and made his father vomit his other siblings. According to another legend; After Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon brought their father Kronos down from the sky, they drew lots to determine who would be master of the sky, seas, and desolate underworld. Zeus wins the sky, Hades the underground and Poseidon the sea by drawing lots to make the earth open to everyone's common use.

His Struggle with Zeus

Poseidon is depicted in a type similar to Zeus with his beard and ostentatiousness. But although not as strong as Zeus, he was on par with him in dignity. Like his brother, he had a tough and belligerent nature. He did not hesitate to compete with Zeus, did not like to obey his orders, and even tried to put the father of the gods in chains by teaming up with the other gods. He challenges Zeus:

He is valiant for his valor, I know him (Zeus), but what's wrong with belittling me? Rhea gave birth to Zeus, me, Hades, who ruled over the dead, the world divided into three, we all got our share, lots were drawn, the foamy sea fell on me so that I could always sit there. A vast sky fell on Zeus among the clouds. But everyone has a share in the land and big Olympos, so I will not live according to Zeus's will, if he has the strength, let him sit comfortably in his own share, in his country, do not frighten me with his hands, let him not put me on the low place.

Poseidon and Amphitrite

Poseidon falls in love with Amphitrite, one of the fifty daughters born from the union of Doris, daughter of Oceanus, with Nereus, one of the sea gods. The girl, who does not respond to Poseidon's requests because of her shyness, flees to the Atlas Mountains. However, God sends a dolphin after Amphitrite. As the fish threw him on his back, he brought him to Poseidon and they got married. Thus, Amphitrite becomes Poseidon's legal wife, and they live in golden palaces at the bottom of the sea - between Tenedos and the rocky Imbros Island in the depths of the Aegean.

In some sources it is mentioned that he had no children from Amphitrite, while in some sources it is mentioned that he had three children named Triton (the only immortal son of Poseidon. Half human, half fish), Rhode and Benthesikyme. Many beings are born out of God's extramarital affairs. These are savage personalities, mortal but inhuman. Among them, Theseus is the only one who has a positive personality.

Poseidon did not stay behind Zeus with the love they had, and this caused jealousy in his wife similar to Hera's. He especially hated his secret love for Phorkys' daughter, Skylla. Therefore, he poured a potion of magic herbs into the lake where Scylla bathed every day, transforming the young woman into a creature with six heads and twelve legs.

Poseidon and Demeter

Another important feature of Poseidon is that he created and domesticated the horse. He is also known as the god who first organized horse races. Well, you might think, what does the lord of the waters have to do with the horse? This was born as a result of the love of Poseidon.

Despite being a married god, Poseidon falls in love with Demeter. Demeter loses hope after looking for her lost daughter for days and getting tired. In addition, Demeter, fed up with the lustful passions of all gods or Titans, transforms herself into a horse. He joins the flock of Onkos, son of Apollo, who reigns in Arcadia. But unfortunately, by doing so, he cannot get rid of Poseidon. He also turns into a horse and takes Demeter by force. From this strange union, Nympha Despoena and the wild horse Arion - even faster than Pegasus - are born.

Demeter's anger at this union, which was against her will, was so fierce that the Goddess is still worshiped as "Angry Demeter" in some places because of this.

Poseidon and Medusa

The Gorgons, whose names were Stheino, Euryale, and Medusa, were three sisters. Except for Medusa, two of these sisters were immortal. Medusa lived in one of Athena's temples in Athens. Medusa was so beautiful that even the goddesses envied her beauty. The Goddess Athena was also offended by her beauty, and she had a grudge against her. Of course, this beauty, which was told by word of mouth, went to the ears of Poseidon.

Poseidon, who cannot digest his defeat to Athena, comes to Athena's temple one day and falls in love with Medusa when he sees her there. God is fascinated by Medusa's love and chooses the temple as the place of love. He secretly comes to the temple and possesses Medusa. But before long, Athena becomes aware of all that has happened. Athena, who finds the situation humiliating for herself, punishes her anger and jealousy towards Medusa by using this event as an excuse. The goddess transforms him into a monster with eyes that look like fortune-tellers, hair full of snakes, tongue sticking out of his mouth, huge teeth and claws that turn people into stone when he looks at them.

Athena was not satisfied with the punishment she gave and she cooperated with Zeus' son Perseus, his half-brother to kill Medusa, and had this monster's head separated from its body. At that time, Khrysaor and the winged horse Pegasus were born from the blood flowing from the headless body of Medusa, who was pregnant with Poseidon.

Temple of Poseidon

Located in the city of Sounion on the Attica peninsula, 70 km south of Athens, the temple is surrounded by sea on three sides. As you can see, the temple has a magnificent view. Located on the top of a cliff overlooking the Aegean Sea, this temple is known to be one of the oldest ancient Greek temples. It is thought that the architect of this beautiful building is Iktinos, who is famous for temple construction.