Poseidon,
Lord of the Sea
Roman name: Neptune
Poseidon was an important god. Poseidon was the Lord of the Sea. He was one of the 12 Olympians who made up the council of the gods.
Poseidon had two powerful brothers - Zeus, king of all the gods, and Hades, lord of the underworld. Poseidon was not at all jealous of his brothers or their power. He did not want to be in charge of the Underworld. And he certainly did not want all the responsibility that Zeus had shouldered. He was very happy being Lord of the Sea.
The job suited him perfectly. Poseidon had deep blue eyes and streaming green hair. He had a roaring laugh. He was moody and restless and powerful. He could magically make an island appear, or a tidal wave cover the shoreline, or send a wave to suck you right off the beach. All it took was a wave of his hand!
People who lived inland were not that worried about Poseidon. But the ancient Greeks who lived along the coastline were terrified of him. They build temples to honor him. They brought gifts every day. Sometimes the gifts made Poseidon happy, and the water was calm and sparkling. Sometimes the gifts did not make him happy, and a terrible storm would break over the land. The people tried very hard to keep Poseidon happy.
Like most of the gods, Poseidon had many wives. He especially loved his main wife, who was not jealous of the other women in his world. That was unusual, and Poseidon was grateful for it. His main wife was the only wife who lived under the sea and made her home in their fabulous underwater palace.
Like Hades, Poseidon had a huge mansion on Mount Olympus, but he only stayed there if he needed to a meeting of the council of 12 gods. He much preferred his palace under the sea. It was a beautiful place. There were Greek columns and colorful seaweed and white sand and glowing jewels and shimmering shells and magical amber, with fish swimming in and out in every color of the rainbow. At night, glow worms kept every corner bathed in soft light. It was a peaceful, colorful place. There was nothing else like it in the world. As moody and wild as he might be, Poseidon always calmed when he came home to his beautiful palace and his gentle main wife.
The Greeks told a great many myths about the sea god, Poseidon. Here are some of them:
Poseidon, Athena, and Athens - ancient myth retold
Perseus, Andromeda, and the sea god, Poseidon - ancient myth retold
