God of Earthquakes
Poseidon bears the title Enosichthon, the Earth-Shaker, and every tremor of the ground is his doing.
The Meaning of God of Earthquakes
Poseidon's dominion extended beneath the sea floor to the foundations of the earth itself. When angered, he would strike the ground with his trident and the earth would crack and heave. The Greeks attributed every earthquake to his wrath. After Athens chose Athena over him, he flooded the surrounding plains in fury. When King Laomedon of Troy cheated him of payment for building Troy's walls, Poseidon sent a sea monster to ravage the coast and later supported the Greeks during the war, shaking the ground beneath the Trojan defences. He shattered the walls of the Greek camp with a single blow when Zeus looked away. Coastal cities built elaborate temples to him not from love but from fear, hoping to appease the god whose moods could swallow entire harbours beneath the waves.
Parents
Kronos and Rhea
Symbols
Fun Fact
The Greeks called Poseidon "Earth-Shaker" more often than "Sea God" — earthquakes terrified them far more than storms at sea.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
God of the Sea
💭 conceptSea, storms, earthquakes, horses
Poseidon, brother of Zeus, commands the oceans and all waters beneath the sky.
Trident of Poseidon
💭 conceptArtefact
The three-pronged weapon of the sea god, capable of causing earthquakes and summoning storms
Poseidon
⚡ godGod of the sea, earthquakes, and horses
Poseidon was the god of the sea and earthquakes whose moods determined whether sailors lived or died — and whose grudge against Odysseus drove the Odyssey.
Deucalion's Flood
💭 conceptflood, renewal
The Greek deluge myth in which Zeus destroyed corrupt humanity with a great flood, sparing only the pious Deucalion and Pyrrha who repopulated the earth with stones.
Poseidon
⚡ godGod of the sea, earthquakes, horses
Lord of the seas and brother of Zeus. Poseidon's moods shaped the oceans — calm seas for those who pleased him, devastating storms for those who did not.
Gigantomachy
💭 conceptwar, cosmology
The great battle between the Olympian gods and the Giants, fought to defend the divine order established after the Titanomachy.
God of War
💭 conceptWar, bloodlust, battle rage, courage
Ares embodies the brutal, violent side of warfare and was feared even by his fellow Olympians.
God of the Sky
💭 conceptSky, weather, thunder, law, kingship
Zeus rules the sky and all its phenomena, serving as king of the gods and enforcer of cosmic order.
Perseus and Andromeda
💭 conceptNarrative
The rescue of an Ethiopian princess from a sea monster by the Gorgon-slaying hero
Titanic
💭 conceptEnormous size, overwhelming power
Of enormous size or power, from the Titans, the primordial gods who ruled before the Olympians.
Battle of Salamis
💭 conceptwar, divine intervention
The 480 BC naval battle where the Greek fleet destroyed the Persian armada in the straits of Salamis, attributed to the intervention of Ajax and the Aeacidae heroes.
God of Lightning
💭 conceptLightning, thunder, divine punishment
Zeus wields lightning as both weapon and symbol of supreme authority, striking down those who defy cosmic order.