The Role Of Poseidon In Greek Mythology

Poseidon was god of the sea, earthquakes, storms, and horses and is considered one of the most angry, moody and greedy Olympian gods. He was known to be angry when insulted for example when he blinded the Cyclops Polyphemus because his father, Odysseus, had made fun of him.He is the son of Cronus and Rhea and was swallowed by his father along with Hades,Demeter, Hestia and Hera. However, in some stories it is believed that Poseidon, like Zeus, was not swallowed by Cronus because his mother Rhea who hid him among a flock of lambs and pretended to have given birth to a colt, which was eaten by Cronus instead.

What if all the world’s seas, rivers, bays, and oceans were controlled by one god? Ancient Greeks believed that they were and that all of the forces of nature were controlled by the gods. Altogether, there were thousands of gods that the Greeks believed controlled the world in which they lived, and that they had to keep happy or suffer the consequences ("Poseidon," Ancient). Certain gods of the ancient Greek religion though, out of both fear and respect, were more important to the Greeks than others. Poseidon, god of the seas, was the most important god to the ancient Greeks because he controlled the seas and Greeks relied on the water for survival; and as a result he was feared due to his temper, but the Greeks would pray to him and build

Poseidon, wow ,remarkable person, as well as every other God. But Poseidon stood out for me. Poseidon was the god of sea, earthquakes and horses. He had the power to control water, in all different sorts like the ocean, rivers, dams and lakes. He was known for his bad temper and was greatly feared because of his ability to cause earthquakes.

So many cities around the world have a statue of Poseidon because Poseidon was friends with the Greeks and they worshiped him. They placed statues around the world so that his statues were near the sea (so he can look after it) and so that he can answer the sailors prayers for calm waters and safe

The belief system and the presence of God is one of the things many cultures and people have taken for granted. In Homer’s Odyssey, there is a presence of the gods which makes mortal to have the ability to talk to them, see them and even feel their presence around them. In this epic, what fascinated me is how the gods showed love towards odyssey throughout his journey. In the Greece empire, the power of the gods is the most constantly praised which

Poseidon is one God against him. Poseidon does everything he can to keep him away from home till Odysseus learns a lesson that Poseidon was trying to get to him. Many Gods also try to help Odysseus, one very helpful one being the god of the wind, Aeolus. Aeolus gives him a sack of wind which helps Odysseus get home but the problem with that. You only get one use out of it so if you open it when you don’t have good timing.

King Alcinous and Queen Arete shower Odysseus with gifts and wealth while dedicating a sumptuous feast for him filled with entertainment, tales, songs, and merrymaking. Odysseus regales his audience with his heroic achievements in Troy and the chains of disaster that befalls him because of the selfish whims of the gods such as the nymphs Calypso and Circe. He also recounts the tale of when he gains the ire of Poseidon for blinding his Cyclops son, Polyphemus. Despite knowing that Poseidon—the Phaeacians’ ancestral god—has a grudge against Odysseus, they still escorted Odysseus back to Ithaca while giving him more than enough treasures that can be considered more than what Odysseus could have acquired in Troy. This act of being too generous, especially to someone Poseidon considers as an enemy has damaged Poseidon’s honor and reputation.

The difference with Poseidon’s children is, when he has a child with a nymph, the child is born as a Cyclope. Cyclopes are lawless man-eating savages. Most live on an island together, Kyklopes, living as shepherds eating whatever man or creature comes to their shores. Since Poseidon can control the sea, he made Odysseus’s ship go off course forcing him into sea to find whatever land they could. Of course, landing on Poseidon's sons’ island.

"How dare she!" Poseidon seethed, the ornate mosaic flooring of the palace depicting his heroic deeds trembling beneath his form as he paced, raking his hands through his sea-sodden hair; "continuing to champion for that mortal! And of course, my darling brother would take the side of his favorite daughter!" Huffing, the raven-haired god collapsed onto his throne; a crack of thunder sounded sharply in the distance, but he paid no heed, scrubbing a hand over his face. The Olympian still couldn 't believe that the rest of his family could not see reason.

However, Zeus saw the two sides of the gods’ feelings towards Odysseus. “‘Great Odysseus/ who excels all men in wisdom... it’s the Earth-Shaker, Poseidon, unappeased,/ forever fuming against him..’” (1.78-83). Zeus created an equilibrium so that Poseidon could take out his anger on Odysseus through punishment, and Athena receives the duty of making sure Odysseus gets home to Ithaca.

After Odysseus blinded Polyphemus, then revealed himself, Polyphemus screamed out, “Odysseus, raider of cities, Laertes’ son who makes his home in Ithaca, never reaches home”(9. 588-590), to Poseidon. He acted like an arrogant monster without thought, and then the monster unleashed the most monstrous revenge on him. By revealing himself he indirectly turned himself into even more of a monster. Then when his crew eats the cattle Zeuss rings out, “I’ll hit their racing ship with a white-hot bolt, I’ll tear it into splinters.

After being trapped with his men inside the cave of Polyphemus, the cyclops, Odysseus uses his metis to devise an escape plan. Odysseus and his men carve out a stake and stab Polyphemus in his only eye while he is passed out from drunkenness. Moments after this task is carried out, Polyphemus prays to Poseidon by bellowing, “Hear me Poseidon...grant that Odysseus...never reaches home. Or if he’s fated to see his people once again...let him come home late and come home a broken man- all shipmates lost…” (Homer 228).

Greek mythology is a person favorite thing to research about because the things like goddesses,monsters, places.

Odysseus invoked the wrath of the Greek god Poseidon for the blinding of his son Polyphemus the Cyclops. Odysseus almost escaped the Cyclops and was practically home free before his pride got better of him. Upon leaving, the island where the Cyclops lived Odysseus originally had called himself “No one” when he first blinded Polyphemus but while

Polyphemus and Poseidon’s relationship is not loving or respectful. Polyphemus doesn’t see Poseidon as a father, and he yells at him to give Odysseus a rough time at sea. Poseidon seems to love Polyphemus, but the relationship is not equally loving. Not many valued characteristics. Odysseus had just blinded Polyphemus and yelled his name at him, and Polyphemus tells Odysseus that he will ask his father to give him a hard time at sea if he does not stay on the island.