\paperw3990 \margr0\margl0 \plain \fs20 \f1 \cf7 The son of \b \cf15 \ATXht10332 Cronus\b0 \ATXht0 \cf7 and \b \cf15 \ATXht11800 Rhea\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , Poseidon (Neptune to the
Romans) was one of the Olympians, equal to \b \cf15 \ATXht8 Zeus \b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 in dignity, if not power. When, after the deposition of \b \cf15 \ATXht10332 Cronus\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , who had swallowed him along with his brother \b \cf15 \ATXht1 Hades
\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 and sisters\cf0 \b \cf15 \ATXht10818 Hestia\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , \b \cf15 \ATXht11 Demeter\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , and \b \cf15 \ATXht3 Hera\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , lots were cast to divide power among the brothers, he received the kingdom of the sea,
while Zeus was given the heavens and Hades the underground kingdom of the dead. The earth remained a common domain. Poseidon did not just command the sea, but was able to cause storms and tidal waves and to shake the earth with his trident, a gift of the
\b \cf15 \ATXht10336 Cyclopes\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 . His underwater palace stood off Aeges, in Euboea, with its stables housing his horses with bronze hooves and golden manes. When Poseidon appeared on his golden chariot drawn by these horses storms ceased a
nd sea monsters emerged from the waves to act as his escort.\par
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Though a gloomy and quarrelsome figure, Poseidon maintained good relations with his brother Zeus, fighting alongside him against the \b \cf15 \ATXht1001 Titans\ATXht12014 \b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 and in the\cf0 \b \cf15 \ATXht10704 Gigantomachia\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 . However, on one occasion he attempted to overthrow Zeus with the complicity of Hera and \b \cf15 \ATXht9 Apollo\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 . Zeus was set free by the intervention of \b \cf15 \ATXht12011 Thetis\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , who sent\cf0 \b \cf15 \ATXht10206 Briareus\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 \cf7 with his one hundred hands to untie the bonds that imprisoned him, and Poseidon was forced to undergo the humiliation of serving King \b \cf15 \ATXht11205 Laomedon\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , for whom he raised the walls of \b \cf15 \ATXht12019 Troy\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 .\par
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As he needed a wife who would be at ease in the depths of the sea, Poseidon courted the powerful \b \cf15 \ATXht12011 Thetis\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , but when he learned of an ancient prophecy that a child born to her would depose its father, he renounced the marriage and allowed the goddess to wed the mortal \b \cf15 \ATXht11610 Peleus\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 . He then set his sights on the haughty Amphitri
te, whom he eventually succeeded in marrying. But it was a stormy and difficult relationship, since Poseidon continued to run after nymphs, goddesses, and mortal women. He united with\cf0 \b \cf15 \ATXht12009 Theophane\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 \cf7 in the form
of a ram and possessed his sister Demeter in that of a stallion.\par
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From his many unions, all of them fertile, he had, like Zeus, many children. But while Zeus' sons were generally beneficent heroes, Poseidon's were often rough giants, violent mo
nsters, or treacherous beings. They included the Cyclops\cf0 \b \cf15 \ATXht11631 Polyphemus\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 ,\cf0 \b \cf15 \ATXht10321 Chrysaor\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 \cf7 generated from\cf0 \b \cf15 \ATXht11307 Medusa\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , Nauplius, and \b \cf15 \ATXht10316 Cercyon\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , the notorious tyrant of \b \cf15 \ATXht10502 Eleusis\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 \cf7 who was killed by\cf0 \b \cf15 \ATXht12010 Theseus\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 . Yet\cf0 \cf7 he was very fond of these offspring, as was discovered
by \b \cf15 \ATXht12100 Ulysses\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 \cf7 when he blinded\cf0 \b \cf15 \ATXht11631 Polyphemus\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 \cf7 and by \b \cf15 \ATXht10307 Cassiopeia\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , whose own pride nearly led to the loss of her daughter\cf0 \b \cf15 \ATXht10128 Andromeda\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 .\par
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When human beings organized themselves into cities and each god, desiring to receive special honors, wished to become a poliadic deity (protector of a \i polis\i0 , or city), Poseidon too entered the cont
est, though he generally failed. He fought for the city of \b \cf15 \ATXht10135 Argos\b0 \cf0 \ATXht0 \cf7 with Hera, but was unsuccessful. He desired the island of\cf0 \b \cf15 \ATXht10111 Aegina\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , but was defeated by Zeus. He tried ag
ain with\cf15 \b \ATXht11403 Naxos\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , but this went to Dionysus. The most famous dispute was with Athena over the possession of Athens and\cf0 \cf7 Attica, but Poseidon lost once again. However, no one was able to take away his marvelous
island,\cf0 \b \cf15 \ATXht10142 Atlantis\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 , hidden in the midst of the River \b \cf15 \ATXht11501 Oceanus\b0 \cf7 \ATXht0 .\par
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\ATXul1024 Appearances in literature\par
\ATXul0 - Apollodorus, \i Bibliotheca\i0 , 1,7,3 \i et sqq.
