Poseidon, son of Cronus and Rhea, was one of six siblings

(Hestia, Demeter, Hera, hades, Zeus) and father of seven (Triton,

Theseus, Polyphemus, Agenor, Belus, Neleus, and Atlas). He was

one of the 12 ruling gods and goddess in the Greek mythology.

He and his brothers were involved with the division of the universe, Zeus was

ruler of the sky, Hades’ domain was the underworld and Poseidon was in charge of the ocean as well as its creatures. The symbols that are

associated with Poseidon include: dolphins, tridents, and three-pronged

fish spears.

As well as being the master of the ocean he also had control over earthquakes and horses. He is a god of many names but the ones that he is most famous for are God of the sea, horse tamer and earth shaker.

Poseidon is mostly depicted as an older but very physically powerful and muscular man

with long white curly hair and beard.

Poseidon was seen as presenting calm seas, peaceful sights and

creating new islands but when he had been insulted or disregarded, he

would forcefully strike the ground with his trident, therefore chaotic springs, earthquakes, landslides,

many drownings and destruction of ships and homes would have taken

place.

Sailors who feared for their lives prayed to Poseidon for

a safe journey, others believed prayer wasn’t

enough so sometimes they drowned their horses as a

sacrifice.

There are different versions of this myth, in one version Poseidon’s father Cronus

swallows him at birth but he survives this to become god of the sea, according to

another version Poseidon along with his brother Zeus weren’t swallowed by

Cronus at birth, unlike the rest of their siblings their mother Rhea hid them both from their father in Rhodes where they

were raised.

As an immortal he could never die but as Christianity came

into existence, people started to take more interest in it

rather than the Greek mythology which caused

Poseidon and the other gods and goddess to simply die off

and become a memory.

“The Odyssey "written by Gareth Hinds, which is about a man who is trying to make his

way home from the Trojan war, but has many challenges

to face before he can get there.

Poseidon’s role in story is certainly valuable, it is clear that he is malicious and is constantly producing difficulty towards Odysseus on his adventure back home. He is seen as a god of immediate punishment towards Odysseus, whereas a god such as Athena works through different methods

to help him.

He was initially introduced in the ‘Odyssey’ when the other gods set

Odysseus free from being imprisoned on Calypsos’ island

without Poseidon’s approval, this annoyed him so he then

commanded the sea to enhance in both size and power.

Suddenly while Odysseus was sailing back home, large amounts of water slammed on top of him, forcing him

off his craft and to swim his way back to shore, which he struggled at as he

soon became exhausted from swimming and also from the continual

thrashing of the waves.

Odysseus did not believe that he and Poseidon were enemies, he just figured that he must have done something that offended the god and that he may still

be holding a grudge, in that he was correct. When he stabbed and blinded Polyphemus, Odysseus was unaware

that the Cyclops was the son of Poseidon.

Polyphemus prayed to his father to grant him revenge on Odysseus,

never let him return home or if it is his destiny to return, let him arrive late after a long suffering. The god

heard and listened to his sons’ prayer, he was furious; this is how

Odysseus gained the extreme resentment of Poseidon in the

‘Odyssey’.