Greek God Poseidon

Poseidon (or as he was later known Neptune) was the son of Rhea and Cronus. According to the myth, Rhea saved her son Poseidon from his father Cronus who ate all of Poseidon's siblings (Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades) except Zeus. Later, when Zeus defeated his father and saved his brothers and sisters, they divided the universe and Poseidon became ruler of the sea.

Of all of the gods that the ancient Greeks worshiped and paid tribute to Poseidon was perhaps the most influential. This does not necessarily mean that he was the most powerful, because it could be said that the ancient Greeks actually considered Zeus to be the most powerful. However; it was what Poseidon held sway or governed over that gave him his actual level of influence in Greek society.

The gods, goddesses and deities of ancient Greek mythology played an important role in the day to day lives of the average Greek citizen. Virtually everything that could be seen, touched or done was influenced to some degree by one or more of the many Greek mythological figures that lived on Mount Olympus. Poseidon was what might be called in this day and age a “multi-tasker” in that he had multiple roles in governing the world around the ancient Greeks.

If the earth shook from an earth quake then it was seen as the doings of Poseidon, as he oversaw the management of earth quakes. In a society that lived in brick and stone dwellings that had no foundation attachments this was something that was not taken lightly, because earth quakes did occur in ancient Greece and when they did happen they could be devastating.

Poseidon was also seen as the god of horses in ancient Greek mythology, which was seen as another job of great importance. Horses in ancient Greece meant wealth, status and power and without the good graces of Poseidon a Greek citizen was left walking on foot which meant that he or she was a peasant if they lived in the country.

Still one more area of Poseidon's sphere of influence was in governing the mental health of the Greeks of ancient times. Any and all mental shortcomings or dysfunctions were attributed to Poseidon and his displeasure with either the person suffering the disorder or his or her parents if it was a child that was afflicted.

However, Poseidon's most important area of influence, was by far his job as the god of the oceans and all large bodies of water. For it was the oceans that the ancient Greeks relied on for almost everything in their lives that raised them up beyond a dirt farmers existence. The oceans carried their solders in their boats to guard against foreign raiders and intruders. The ocean also provided fishermen with a job as well as food for the surrounding community.

Also for the wealthy Greek citizen the ocean carried their trade goods to ports both far and wide and with out the good graces of Poseidon none of that would be possible. There was no shipping insurance in these ancient times, so sacrificing a horse to the bearded god prior to an important excursion was something that a prudent general or sea trader would do to insure safe passage through Poseidon's domain.