Poseidon
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.
The Myth of Poseidon
Poseidon received dominion over the sea when Zeus divided the cosmos among the three brothers after defeating Kronos and the Titans. His trident could cause earthquakes, create springs, and summon storms. He competed with Athena for patronage of Athens, offering a salt spring against her olive tree — and lost. He built the walls of Troy with Apollo, then punished the city when King Laomedon refused payment. He tormented Odysseus for blinding his son the Cyclops Polyphemus, extending the hero's voyage to Ithaca by ten years. He cursed Minos's wife Pasiphaë, creating the Minotaur in Crete. He fathered Theseus, Triton, Pegasus (by Medusa), and the merman Proteus. Corinth and the Isthmus were his sacred ground.
Parents
Kronos and Rhea
Children
Polyphemus, Triton, Theseus, Pegasus, many others
Symbols
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
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.
Neptune
⚡ godSea, earthquakes, horses
Roman god of the sea and freshwater, identified with the Greek Poseidon but originally a deity of springs and rivers
Nereus
⚡ godThe Old Man of the Sea
Nereus was the ancient, benevolent sea god known as the Old Man of the Sea — truthful, wise, gentle, and father of the fifty Nereids.
Amphitrite
⚡ godGoddess-queen of the seas
Amphitrite co-ruled the oceans with Poseidon.
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
Glaucus
⚡ godsea, prophecy
A mortal fisherman who became an immortal sea god after eating a magical herb.
Leucothea
⚡ godsea, rescue
Sea goddess who rescued drowning sailors, formerly the mortal princess Ino.
Palaemon
⚡ godharbours, sailors
God of harbours and patron of the Isthmian Games, originally the mortal child Melicertes.
Euphemus
🗡 herosea
Argonaut and son of Poseidon who could walk on water and was prophesied to be the ancestor of Cyrene's founders.
Glaucus the Sea God
⚡ godsea
Mortal fisherman who ate a magical herb, became immortal, and transformed into a blue-green sea deity.
Proteus
⚡ godShape-shifting seer of the sea
Proteus knew all things but only spoke if held through shape-shifts.