Poseidon

=Poseidon=



Greek mythology had many great gods and goddesses. One of them was the sea god Poseidon. Son of Cronos and Rhea, Poseidon was one of the 12 great Olympians. When the earth was divided among the brothers, Zeus got the skies, Hades got the underworld and Poseidon got the waters.

Poseidon controlled the seas and also the storms. He was also known as the “Earth Shaker”, as he could create earthquakes. He had a palace under the sea where he lived with his wife, Amphirite, the daughter of the titan ocean. He carried his trident,which was like a wand, and rode the waves of the ocean on his chariot driven by golden seahorses.

Poseidon was thought of as an unruly god. When Athens was choosing their deity, Poseidon showed how great he could be and broke a rock open with his trident. Out of the rock came sea water which subsided into a well. But Athena proved she could do better and made an olive tree grow. The citizens of Athens took a vote, all of the men voting for Poseidon and all of the women voting for Athena. Because there was one more woman, Athena won. The sea god was angered and flooded the Athens countryside. To please him, Athena declared that women would not be able to vote in upcoming elections.

Poseidon was present in many stories. In the story of Amymone, Danaids daughter was sent to get water. A satyr saw her and tried to pursue her. Poseidon heard Amymone’s cry for help and went to her and saved her from the satyr. With his trident, Poseidon made in her honor, the spring which bears her name. When Minos, king of Crete, asked Poseidon for a sign, the sea god made a white bull appear from the ocean. Minos was supposed to sacrifice the animal but found it to great so he sacrificed a different bull. Poseidon was angered and asked Aphrodite to cast a love spell on Minos’ wife Pasiphae to fall in love with the bull. The result was the creation of the Minotaur. One of Poseidon’s greatest gift to man was the horse. He was father of the great Pegasus. He seduced the girl Medusa at Athena’s shrine. The goddess was angered and turned Medusa into a gorgon. When Perseus severed Medusa’s head, Pegasus and the giant Chrysaor came from the sea from the blood that fell from the gorgon’s head.

=**Questions**=

1. What was the item Poseidon used that was like a wand?

2. When Athena had won the vote when Athens was choosing their deity, what did the goddess do to please Poseidon?

Works cited:

Hamilton,Edith. __Mythology__. New York, NY: Little, Brown Co., 1942.

Joe, Jimmy. "Timeless Myths." 19, April 1999. Hillcrest High School, November 30, 2006 [|http://www.timelessmyths.com].

Pontikis, Nick. "Mythman." 1995 Hillcrest High School, December 1, 2006 [|http://www.mythman.com].

Samantha Pazyck