Hey all! Welcome to our very first Mythology Wednesday! Every Wednesday, both Erika from Books, Stars, Writing, and Everything in Between and I will be summarizing a myth or legend that is relevant to the current book in our read-along!
Erika’s topic this week is Medusa *shivers*. It’s a great post, make sure to check it out! :)
~~~Poseidon~~~
Poseidon is the Greek god of the Sea, Water, and Earthquakes.
“Poseidon” said Chiron “Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses, (...) the Sea God”
It is said that he lives in an underwater palace along with other sea gods and spirits. As far as the Olympians go, he is the second most powerful after Zeus. The three sons of Kronos and Rhea (Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades) split the world between themselves - Zeus got the sky, Hades got the Underworld, and Poseidon got the sea.
As mentioned, he is known as the “Earthshaker”, as well as a vengeful god. The Odyssey says that Odysseus, the hero, was, well, annoyed by Poseidon after he blinded the cyclopes, Polyphemus. You see, cyclops are often children of Poseidon.
One backstory I find interesting is the history of Athens. Yes Athens is named after the goddess of wisdom, Athena. But, had things gone differently, it could have been named otherwise. It is said that the two deities wanted to claim the city as their own. As a gift, Athena gave the city an olive tree. Poseidon, on the other hand, gifted a saltwater spring. The people of the city found more use in Athena’s gift and appreciated it more, hence calling the city Athens.
Poseidon is the Father of Horses. Again, working with Athena, who created a chariot, Poseidon created horses out of sea foam. His symbols are horses and a trident.
So there’s a few facts about this week’s topic! :D Go ahead and shoot me with any questions, or add some facts you know in the comments! :) (I’m sorry if this was brief, I have exams next week...)
Also, don’t forget to check Erika’s review about Medusa!
Have a great day! :D
I always think of The Little Mermaid when I think of Poseidon because her dad (I forget his name) always had the trident! By the way, I did the tag you nominated me for!
ReplyDeletehttp://lessrealitymorebooks.blogspot.ie/2015/10/tags-book-boyfriend-one-lovely-blog.html
Yeah, Neptune is the roman version ;)
Deleteawesome! checking it out right now!
Haha the world of mythology would've been pretty different if Poseidon got the city named after him. But yeah I wouldn't change a thing, I mean Athena is pretty awesome. It's really ironic how even though they had a rivalry their kin, Annabeth and Percy, fell in love with each other. Annabeth and Percy will always be my otp, but like theirs always that what if, like I'm serious I would've shipped percy with calypso honestly if Annabeth wasn't there..
ReplyDeleteOh gosh could you imagine?? x)
DeleteI think it’s sweet, like opposites attract :3 They manage to work past the differences in their heritage (oh my gosh I just realized it’s like a twisted romeo and juliet XD)
I don't know, I think saltwater springs are cooler than olives, but I could be biased ;)
ReplyDeleteBefore I even knew about greek mythology, I never would have guessed that water and horses were related! Especially the chariot. That really is a neat invention! It's nice to know that gods, when getting along, can actually create very useful things!
I think a lot of people always think of water whenever they think of Poseidon. He never gets enough credit for being the god of earthquakes and horses!
Same, (even though I really love olives!!)
DeleteHorses are related to water in the following way: the sound the waves make when crashing onto the shore...
have a quick think about that ;)