God of the Sea
Poseidon, brother of Zeus, commands the oceans and all waters beneath the sky.
The Meaning of God of the Sea
After the Titans fell, the three sons of Kronos divided the cosmos by lot. Zeus claimed the sky, Hades the underworld, and Poseidon received dominion over every sea, river, and spring. He built a glittering palace on the ocean floor near Aegae and rode across the waves in a chariot drawn by golden-maned hippocampi. Poseidon competed with Athena for patronage of Athens: he struck the Acropolis rock and a saltwater spring burst forth, but Athena planted an olive tree, and the citizens chose her gift. Enraged, Poseidon flooded the Thriasian plain. Sailors prayed to him before every voyage, and earthquakes were attributed to his wrath when he struck the ground with his trident.
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 Earthquakes
💭 conceptEarthquakes, tectonic upheaval, earth-shaking
Poseidon bears the title Enosichthon, the Earth-Shaker, and every tremor of the ground is his doing.
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.
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.
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.
God of the Sun
💭 conceptSun, light, truth, cattle of the sun
Helios drives the sun chariot across the sky each day, and Apollo later inherited many solar associations.
Trident of Poseidon
💭 conceptArtefact
The three-pronged weapon of the sea god, capable of causing earthquakes and summoning storms
Phaethon's Ride
💭 concepthubris, catastrophe
The myth of Helios's son who drove the sun chariot across the sky, lost control, and was struck down by Zeus to prevent the earth from burning.
Descendants of Deucalion
💭 conceptDynasty, flood, origin
The lineage descending from Deucalion and Pyrrha, the survivors of Zeus's great flood who repopulated Greece
Voyage of the Argo
💭 conceptNarrative
The legendary sea journey of the Argonauts through uncharted waters to reach the kingdom of Colchis
God of the Underworld
💭 conceptDeath, the dead, underground riches
Hades governs the realm of the dead, ruling over every soul that crosses the river Styx.
House of Cadmus
💭 conceptDynasty, Thebes
The royal dynasty of Thebes founded by the Phoenician prince Cadmus who sowed the dragon's teeth
Neptune
⚡ godSea, earthquakes, horses
Roman god of the sea and freshwater, identified with the Greek Poseidon but originally a deity of springs and rivers