Poseidon's Appearance
: Poseidon is a bearded, older man usually pictured with with seashells and other sealife.
Poseidon's Symbol or Attribute:
The three-pronged trident. He is associated with horses, believed to be seen in the crashing of waves on the shore. He is also believed to be the force behind earthquakes, an odd expansion of the power of a sea god.
Major Temple Sites to Visit:
The Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion still draws huge crowds of visitors to the cliffside site overlooking the sea.
Poseidon's Strengths:
A creative god, designing all the creatures of the sea.
Poseidon's Weaknesses:
Warlike, though not so much as Ares; moody and unpredictable.Spouse: Amphitrite, a sea goddess.
Parents: Kronos, god of time, and Rhea, goddess of the earth. Brother to the gods Zeus and Hades.
Children: Many - second only to Zeus in the number of illicit liaisons. With his wife Aphitrite he fathered a half-fish son, Triton. Dalliances include Medusa, with whom he fathered Pegasus, the flying horse, and Demeter, his sister, with whom he fathered a horse, Arion.
A Basic Story: Poseidon and Athena were in a competition for the love of the people of the area around the Acropolis. It was decided that the divinity who created the most useful object would win the right to have the city named for them. Poseidon created horses, but Athena created the [link url]http://gogreece.about.com/cs/fooddrink/a/oliveoil.htm]olive, and so the capital of Greece is Athens, not Poseidonia.
Interesting Fact: Poseidon is often compared or combined with the Roman god of the sea, Neptune. In addition to creating horses, he is also credited with the creation of the Zebra, believed to be one of his early experiments in equine engineering.
More Fast Facts on Greek Gods and Goddesses:
Olympian Gods and Goddesses - Greek Gods and Goddesses at Home - Aphrodite - Apollo - Ares - Artemis - Athena - Demeter- Hades - Hephaestus- Hera - Hercules - Hermes - Pan- Persephone - Zeus.
