Fast Facts on Poseidon

Greek god of the sea

By deTraci Regula, About.com Guide

The dramatic remains of the Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounion.

deTraci Regula

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Here's a quick introduction to one of the major gods of Greece - Poseidon.

Poseidon's Appearance:

Poseidon is a bearded, older man usually pictured with seashells and other sealife. Poseidon often holds a trident.

Poseidon's Symbol or Attribute:

The three-pronged trident. He is associated with horses, 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, but possibly due to the association between earthquakes and tsunamis in Greece. Some scholars believe he was first a god of the earth and earthquakes, and only later took on the role of 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. His statue also dominates one of the galleries at the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, Greece.

Poseidon's Strengths:

He is 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 Amphitrite 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 (some versions say a spring of salt water), but Athena created the incredibly useful olive tree, 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.

Poseidon is featured prominently in the 'Percy Jackson and the Olympians' books and movie, where he is the father of Percy Jackson.

Also Called Poseidon is similar to the Roman god Neptune. Common misspellings are Posidon, Posiden, Posiedon. Some believe the original spelling of his name was Poteidon.