To ἱμάτιον τοῦ Ποσειδῶνος - Poseidon's mantle
Poseidon, Greek: Ποσειδῶν, was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth. He was god of the Sea and other waters, of storms, earthquakes and of horses.
Poseidon was the second son of titans Cronus and Rhea. In most accounts he was swallowed by Cronus at birth, but later saved, with his other brothers and sisters, by Zeus. However, in some versions of the story, he, like his brother Zeus, did not share the fate of his brother Hades and sisters, who were eaten by Cronus. He was saved by his mother Rhea, who concealed him among a flock of lambs and pretended to have given birth to a colt, which she gave to Cronus to devour.
According to a single reference in the Iliad, when the world was divided by lot in three, Zeus received the sky, Hades the underworld and Poseidon the sea.
Poseidon was protector of seafarers, and of many Hellenic cities and colonies. In Homer's Iliad, Poseidon supports the Greeks against the Trojans during the Trojan War. In the Odyssey, during the sea-voyage from Troy back home to Ithaca, the Greek hero Odysseus provokes Poseidon's fury by blinding his son, the Cyclops Polyphemus, resulting in Poseidon punishing him with storms, the complete loss of his ship and companions, and a ten-year delay.
In his benign aspect, Poseidon was seen as creating new islands and offering calm seas. When offended or ignored, he supposedly struck the ground with his trident and caused chaotic storms, earthquakes, drownings and shipwrecks. Sailors prayed to Poseidon for a safe voyage, sometimes drowning horses as a sacrifice. In this way, according to a fragmentary papyrus, Alexander the Great paused at the Syrian seashore before the climactic battle of Issus and resorted to prayers "invoking Poseidon the sea-god, for whom he ordered a four-horse chariot to be cast into the waves".
In Plato's Timaeus and Critias, the island of Atlantis was Poseidon's domain.
His Roman equivalent is Neptune.
To ἱμάτιον τοῦ Ποσειδῶνος - Poseidon's mantle
Poseidon, Greek: Ποσειδῶν, was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth. He was god of the Sea and other waters, of storms, earthquakes and of horses.
Poseidon was the second son of titans Cronus and Rhea. In most accounts he was swallowed by Cronus at birth, but later saved, with his other brothers and sisters, by Zeus. However, in some versions of the story, he, like his brother Zeus, did not share the fate of his brother Hades and sisters, who were eaten by Cronus. He was saved by his mother Rhea, who concealed him among a flock of lambs and pretended to have given birth to a colt, which she gave to Cronus to devour.
According to a single reference in the Iliad, when the world was divided by lot in three, Zeus received the sky, Hades the underworld and Poseidon the sea.
Poseidon was protector of seafarers, and of many Hellenic cities and colonies. In Homer's Iliad, Poseidon supports the Greeks against the Trojans during the Trojan War. In the Odyssey, during the sea-voyage from Troy back home to Ithaca, the Greek hero Odysseus provokes Poseidon's fury by blinding his son, the Cyclops Polyphemus, resulting in Poseidon punishing him with storms, the complete loss of his ship and companions, and a ten-year delay.
In his benign aspect, Poseidon was seen as creating new islands and offering calm seas. When offended or ignored, he supposedly struck the ground with his trident and caused chaotic storms, earthquakes, drownings and shipwrecks. Sailors prayed to Poseidon for a safe voyage, sometimes drowning horses as a sacrifice. In this way, according to a fragmentary papyrus, Alexander the Great paused at the Syrian seashore before the climactic battle of Issus and resorted to prayers "invoking Poseidon the sea-god, for whom he ordered a four-horse chariot to be cast into the waves".
In Plato's Timaeus and Critias, the island of Atlantis was Poseidon's domain.
His Roman equivalent is Neptune.