Poseidon

Taken from here

Also see: Poseidon's Cabin

Triton, Arion, Antaeus, Chrysaor, Pegasus, Polyphemus, Phaunos, Hyrieus, Sciron, Theseus, Procrustes, Bellerophon, Daimones Proseoous, Proteus, Cercyon, Antaeus, Khrysomallos, Laistrygon, Agenor, Belus, Triopas, Halirrhothius, Hyperenor, Hippothoon, Eumolpus, Pelias, and Neleus (sons)
Kymopoleia and Charybdis, Despoina, Aithousa, (daughters)

### Residence

Olympus
Atlantis

## Physical Description

### Species

God

**Poseidon** is the Greek god of the sea, storms, earthquakes, droughts, floods and horses. He is the son of the Titans Kronos and Rhea, as well as one of the Big Three. His Roman counterpart is **Neptune**. He is also the patron god of Corinth and his cabin in Camp Half-Blood.

## History

### Birth and Rescue

Poseidon was the second male and fifth child of Kronos, the Titan King of Mount Othrys, and his sister-wife Rhea, born after his sisters Hestia, Demeter, and Hera, and his elder brother Hades. Since Poseidon was a god (a member of a more beautiful and powerful race of immortals than the Titans), Kronos, fearing that Poseidon would one day overpower him, quickly proceeded to swallow him whole as well. Poseidon, thus, spent his childhood undigested in his father's stomach along with his sisters, and elder brother. As a result, Kronos became known as "King Cannibal." Rhea pleaded with Kronos to spare their children but with no success, since even Kronos' great love for Rhea was not enough to overpower his selfish and evil nature. However, Rhea soon gave birth to her final child, Zeus, who she secretly raised on Crete, far away from Mount Othrys.

After growing up, Zeus successfully infiltrated Kronos' Palace on Mount Othrys as the Titan King's royal cupbearer. Poseidon was finally released by Zeus during the final drinking competition that Kronos had with his Titanic brothers and nephews. Zeus poured an extremely powerful emetic (made from nectar mixed with mustard) into Kronos' goblet, which caused the Titan King to gorge all of the contents of his stomach, in reverse order of swallowing: first the boulder, then Poseidon, followed by Hades, Hera, Demeter, and Hestia. All of them had been growing undigested in Kronos's stomach, being gods. He also used powerful knockout potions on the rest of the titans so that they would not wake up before the gods could escape.

Zeus quickly introduced himself to his elder siblings, and all of them (including Poseidon) promptly escaped Mount Othrys, before their Titanic uncles and cousins came to their senses. In Zeus' Cave, at the base of Mount Ida, Poseidon happily reunited with his beloved mother Rhea, who tearfully embraced him. Shortly thereafter, Poseidon and the other gods accepted Zeus as their leader and reached a unanimous consensus on declaring war against their tyrannical father. However, since the Titans were well-armed, and the gods still had no weapons or experience, Poseidon agreed to help Zeus release their Elder Cyclopes and Hekatonkheire uncles from Tartarus first.

### Rescuing the Elder Cyclopes and Hekatonkheires

Poseidon's elder brother Hades, who was very skilled in navigating under the earth, was able to lead them all into Tartarus (through a network of Underworld tunnels). There, imprisoned in the maximum-security zone, surrounded by huge bronze walls, and a lava moat, guarded against fierce demons, were the Elder Cyclopes and Hekatonkheires. Their guardian, Kampê, was the most ferocious and fearsome monster in all of Tartarus, and even Poseidon, Hades, and Zeus initially shuddered with horror when they saw the infernal monster for the first time. However, the gods overcame their fear and were able to sneak in. Zeus managed to talk to the Cyclopes, Brontes and convinced him to forge powerful weapons for him and his siblings behind Kampê's back. The three Elder Cyclopes forged three incredibly powerful weapons: the Master Bolt (for Zeus), the Trident (for Poseidon), and the Helm of Darkness (for Hades). With these new weapons, Zeus destroyed Kampê, and Poseidon shattered the chains of the Elder Cyclopes and Hekatonkheires, releasing them. Afterwards, Hades safely guided his siblings and uncles back out of Tartarus. In return, for their release, all six of Poseidon's uncles agreed to fight on his side in the upcoming war with the Titans.

### The First Titanomachy

Shortly after their return from Tartarus, Poseidon and his siblings officially declared war on Kronos and the other Titans, which resulted in the terrifying 10-year-long Titanomachy. The Titans initially had the upper hand, since they were much more experienced warriors while the gods had very little experience fighting. However, as the years of the War passed, the gods quickly became skilled warriors as well, and with the help of their new extremely powerful weapons, as well as the aid of the Elder Cyclopes and Hekatonkheires, the gods finally prevailed. Poseidon himself proved to be a very dangerous and ferocious warrior and greatly contributed to the ultimate downfall of Kronos and his Titanic followers.

While preparing for the final battle of the War, Poseidon and his siblings ascended to Mount Olympus (the tallest mountain in Greece after Mount Orthys). During the final battle, Zeus used his Master Bolt to shear off the top of Mount Othrys, and hurl Kronos from his Black Throne, defeating the Titan King. Shortly thereafter, the gods invaded the ruins of Mount Orthys, and finally overwhelmed Atlas, Hyperion, Iapetus, Krios, and Koios.

In the aftermath of the battle, the Elder Cyclopes chained up all of the defeated Titans, while the Hekatonkheires forced them to kneel before Poseidon, Zeus, and Hades. Zeus took his father's scythe, and sliced Kronos into a thousand pieces, before casting him into Tartarus, along with the rest of his followers (except for General Atlas, who was forced to hold the Sky).

### Gaining the Oceans and Seas

The gods chose Mount Olympus as their official residence, and the Elder Cyclopes built magnificent palaces there for them all. As a result, the gods started to call themselves the Olympians. Shortly thereafter, Poseidon had a private meeting with his brothers Hades and Zeus, and the three brothers agreed to divide the world between themselves. Although it was Hades' birthright (as Kronos' eldest son) to be named his father's successor, he agreed to divide the Titan King's former domain with his brothers. Hades received the Underworld, Poseidon seized the seas, and Zeus claimed the heavens as his domain. Shortly after this division, the three mighty sons of Kronos came to be known as "The Big Three." However, Zeus' authority was still recognized as superior to that of his brothers, due to him releasing them from Kronos, and he, therefore, became the King of Mount Olympus as well as the Olympians.

Even then, it was evident that there was tension between Poseidon and Zeus, for though the former tried to follow the latter's orders, he still found the latter to be a constant annoyance. All the other gods were also extremely wary whenever Poseidon (the sea) and Zeus (the sky) started arguing, for a fight between them could be catastrophic to the world. Hence, shortly after the new generation of gods established their respective domains, Rhea suggested that Poseidon take his leave of Olympus to explore his new domain of the seas, sending him to live with the Telekhines.

Hence, Poseidon spent much time with the Telekhines, who educated him not only in the ways of the ocean but also to achieve a higher level of skill over his Trident. After he had learned all that he could from them, Poseidon decided to build his palace, and soon had the Elder Cyclopes construct Atlantis (his official underwater residence) for him at the bottom of the Aegean Sea. Oceanus, the Titan of the sea, not wishing to seek a fight, moved to more parts of the ocean.

### Marriage to Amphitrite

Early in his reign, Poseidon began searching for a wife. His attention soon turned to the most beautiful Nereid, Amphitrite, but she rejected his proposal and fled. As a result, Poseidon became extremely depressed and pointlessly wandered about his palace, bellowing "louder than a humpback whale", giving many whales and giant squids terrible migraines.

Fortunately for him, Delphin, the dolphin god and Poseidon's lieutenant, was sent in pursuit and managed to persuade the goddess into reconsidering the offer. Overjoyed, after his grandiose wedding, Poseidon gratefully awarded his lieutenant by creating a constellation in his honour. He would father three children by Amphitrite, including a son named Triton. Like Zeus, Poseidon also went on to sire children by various goddesses and mortal women. His most famous demigod children of all are Theseus and Bellerophon. Neither Amphitrite nor Persephone acted with hostility toward their respective husbands' children when they were shown infidelity (unlike Hera).

### Relationship with Demeter

A couple of years after Persephone's birth, Demeter had decided to take a walk on the beach and was noticed by her brother Poseidon. The god of the seas appeared before her, wearing magnificent flowing green robes, and a crown of shining seashells. Demeter was frightened, transformed herself into a white mare, and attempted to hide among a nearby herd of wild horses. Poseidon, however, being "The Father of Horses", quickly transformed into a mighty white stallion himself, and galloped after her. He quickly caught up with the herd, and made the horses part before him and surround Demeter, after which he successfully seduced her. Shortly thereafter, Demeter gave birth to twins: Despoina (a goddess), and Arion (an immortal stallion). Despoina would later become a minor goddess of fertility, and would often look after Demeter's temples as a high priestess. Her twin brother Arion, however, was far more prominent, and would often come to the aid of demigod heroes (such as Hercules).

### Rivalry with Athena

Athena and Poseidon had a rivalry between them since the two of them both wanted to be the patron of the city Attica, as it was named at the time. It was soon renamed Athens (the current capital of Greece), after Athena. The people of the city petitioned the two gods to each create a gift for the city, and whichever gift was favoured the most, that God would be the city's patron. Athena gave the people an olive tree and Poseidon made them a salt-water spring and created horses. At first, the people of Attica thought Poseidon's gift was the more amazing, that is until they tasted the water and realized it was saltwater. Because they couldn't drink the water, they chose Athena's gift of an olive tree and the city's king Kekrops made her the patron goddess of the city because they could use the olives for food and oil. As a show of appreciation to Athena, they named the city Athens after her and they turned the symbol of the city to an owl on an olive branch. They also had people build her the Parthenon in her honour.

Another version says that Poseidon created a spring during his entrance and offered horses as a gift. The people of Attica chose Athena's gift due to the potential of monetary gain from the olive trees. That version was presented in *Percy Jackson's Greek Gods.*

Another time that marks a conflict between the two Olympians was when Athena transformed Koroneis, whom Poseidon was trying to seduce, into a raven as a response to her prayer for help. As a result, a furious Poseidon longed for revenge. Hence, he took Medusa, his new lover, into Athena's temple. Furious with Poseidon and Medusa, Athena turned Medusa and her two sisters who had helped her sneak into the temple (although *Percy Jackson's Greek Gods* say Poseidon did it by himself) into the three fearsome Gorgons. She additionally cursed Medusa, so that whenever anyone looked into her eyes, they would be turned to stone forcing the 3 gorgons to flee. As revealed in *Percy Jackson's Greek Gods*, Poseidon encouraged Hephaestus to try to seduce Athena. Yet another time both of them were at odds with Odysseus. While Poseidon was furious with him for blinding his son Polyphemus, Athena favoured him above all other mortals and was always willing to aid Odysseus when he needed it most.

Despite their long-term mutual animosity, there were times when Athena and Poseidon worked together. They were responsible for inventing the chariot, which combined their creations. Athena came up with the idea for the shape and design of the chariot, while Poseidon supplied the horses to pull it. Furthermore, both Athena and Poseidon were on the same side during the Trojan War, supporting the Greeks.

### Olympian Murder Trial

After Poseidon's son, Halirrhothius, attempted to rape Ares' daughter, Alcippe, she summoned her father for help. The infuriated god of war quickly arrived and brutally slew Halirrhothius. An outraged Poseidon demanded that Ares be put on trial for the murder of his son, to which Zeus agreed. The first-ever Olympian murder trial took place on the Areopagus Hill in Athens. Zeus, as the god of honour and justice, was the Chief Justice, while the other ten Olympians served as members of the jury. In the end, Zeus justly acquitted Ares, since the latter was defending his daughter's honour.

### Olympian Riot, and Poseidon's Punishment

Hera, enraged at her husband's infidelity, decided to start the first (and last) Olympian riot against Zeus. Hera managed to gain the support of Poseidon, as well as Apollo, and Athena. That evening, Poseidon, Apollo, and Athena hid in the hall adjacent to Zeus' royal chambers, awaiting Hera's signal. As soon as Zeus had fallen asleep, all four of them quickly tightly bound the King of Olympus with unbreakable and tightening golden chains. Even chained up and completely immobilized, an infuriated Zeus looked very intimidating. Finally, Poseidon attempted to reason with his brother and demanded that Zeus be a better ruler in return for them releasing him. Zeus refused, which prompted Hera to advocate leaving him chained up in his chambers until he agreed. Shortly thereafter, the four Olympians departed for the Throne Room for the first (and last) democratic meeting of the Olympian Council, which proved to be a very cumbersome task. Fortunately, the violently trashing and bellowing King of Olympus was found by the Nereid Thetis. After convincing Zeus to be merciful towards the rioting Olympians, Thetis managed to find the Hekatonkheire Briares by the seashore. He was more than happy to save Zeus, recalling that he owes his freedom from Tartarus and Kampê to him. Briares quickly unchained Zeus, after which the latter seized his Master Bolt, and barged into the Throne Room, violently ending the meeting. Zeus remained true to his word and was merciful towards the rioters, but he still punished them all accordingly.

Poseidon and Apollo were temporarily forced to serve Laomedon, the mortal King of Troy, without their divinity or godly powers, which Zeus temporarily stripped away. Laomedon ordered Poseidon to build huge new walls around the city of Troy with his bare hands. The former god of the seas was outraged at the prospect, but Laomedon promised to greatly reward Poseidon after his work is finished. Even without his powers and divinity, Poseidon's strength still far surpassed that of any mortal, and he could easily carry six massive stone blocks simultaneously while building the mighty walls. The famous Walls of Troy came to be extremely durable, and would later keep the Greek forces at bay for 10 long years in the Trojan War. Several years later, after finally accomplishing his mission, Poseidon finally returned to the king and demanded the reward. However, Laomedon claimed that setting him free is the best reward that Poseidon could hope for. An infuriated Poseidon returned to Olympus, where Zeus finally restored his brother's powers and divinity. However, due to Poseidon's riot, Zeus would gain a strong and lasting distrust for Poseidon.

Poseidon, still furious with King Laomedon, made it his mission to sink many Trojan ships, and sent a bloodthirsty sea serpent to terrorize the Trojans. Also, in the subsequent and bloody Trojan War, Poseidon supported the Greeks.

## Abilities

*Main article: Hydrokinesis*
As one of the Big Three, Poseidon is extremely powerful and has the ultimate powers a god can possess, and is rivalled only by his brothers, Zeus and Hades, although Zeus believes he is more powerful than both his brothers. Poseidon did once have these powers temporarily stripped by Zeus, due to the former's involvement in the Olympian riot, but they were ultimately restored.

* **Massive Strength**: Poseidon has incredible physical prowess, and in *Percy Jackson's Greek Gods*, he is mentioned as being able to submerge entire islands and hurl mountains at his enemies. Even when Zeus temporarily stripped him of his powers and divinity, Poseidon's physical strength still far surpassed that of any demigod, and he could easily carry six massive stone blocks simultaneously while building a mighty wall around Troy.
* **Powerful Roar**: In *Percy Jackson's Greek Gods*, when Poseidon becomes extremely depressed about his inability to woo Amphitrite, Poseidon bellows "louder than a humpback whale", giving many whales and giant squids terrible migraines. In *The Last Olympian*, when Poseidon attacks Typhon, his voice is so loud that Percy was uncertain if he was hearing it from the smoke image, or from across town.
* **Hydrokinesis**: As the Lord of the Sea, Poseidon has absolute control and divine authority over water in all forms and states of matter, and has the same hydrokinetic powers as Percy, only to an infinitely superior level.
	+ **Tsunamis and Tidal Waves**: He can unleash gigantic tsunamis and tidal waves, as seen during his battles with Oceanus in *The Last Olympian*.
	+ **Water Funnel Clouds**: He can create gigantic water funnel clouds. In *The Last Olympian*, Poseidon was able to make one around Typhon, which wrapped him up "like a cocoon", and took him to Tartarus.
	+ **Hydrogenesis**: Poseidon can create water from his power, generating it out of nothing.
	+ **Water Propulsion**: He can control the water around him to propel himself through the water at incredible speeds.
	+ **Water Solidification**: He can harden water into an almost solid shape, and can use this power to walk on water, by increasing the surface tension of the water to the point where it is solid enough for him and other objects to stand on. As his son Percy did in *The Last Olympian* and *The Son of Neptune*, Poseidon can create extremely durable water shields and huge solid constructs that obey his will.
	+ **Water Blasts**: In *The Blood of Olympus*, Poseidon sprayed the Giants Otis and Ephialtes out of the Athenian Parthenon with a high-powered water blast in the shape of wild horses.
	+ **Floods and Droughts**: He can bring about both floods and droughts. This is shown in *Percy Jackson's Greek Gods* when Poseidon (angered that Hera is made the city's patron goddess) floods the city of Argos. However, when implored by Hera, Poseidon takes the floodwater away, along with the rest of the city's fresh water supply. He later helped Zeus bring about a global flood by rapidly raising the water levels of the seas.
	+ **Watery Appearance**: As seen in *Percy Jackson's Greek Gods*, Poseidon can appear in a "massive geyser of twisting water and salt."
	+ **Water Pressure Immunity**: He can withstand any amount of water pressure.
	+ **Water Creation**: He can generate water from his body and create water springs.
	+ **Water Transportation**: He can use sea waves as a form of high-speed transportation.
	+ **Underwater Breathing**: He can naturally breathe underwater.
	+ **Water Cushioning**: As seen in *Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes*, Poseidon cushioned the impact that his son Theseus had with the surface of the sea after diving into it from a great height.
	+ **Heat Resistance**: He has extreme resistance to heat and burns, inferior only to that of his nephew Hephaestus.
	+ **Enhancing Healing**: In *the Crown of Ptolemy*, Percy theorizes that Poseidon enhanced Percy's healing abilities when he fell into New York Harbor with Setne given how fast the saltwater healed him. This indicates that Poseidon at least possesses this ability even if he didn't use it on Percy as he theorized.
	+ **Cryokinesis**: Like with Percy, Poseidon can control/manipulate sea ice since he has a greater level of control over water than Percy does.
* **Aquatic Lordship**: Poseidon has absolute control and divine authority over all sea creatures, as well as many fearsome monsters native to the sea. In *Percy Jackson's Greek Gods*, Poseidon summoned a colossal and bloodthirsty sea serpent to terrorize Cassiopeia's kingdom, which Perseus would later slay in *Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes*.
* **Horses**: As the god who initially created horses, Poseidon has divine authority and control over them. In *Percy Jackson's Greek Gods*, this is shown when Poseidon makes a herd of horses part before him, and surround Demeter.
* **Geokinesis**: Being the God of Earthquakes, Poseidon can generate earthquakes. Due to this, Poseidon is frequently referred to as "The Earthshaker".
* **Atmokinesis** (limited): Due to his control of the weather over the seas, Poseidon is also known as the God of Storms, being able to create fierce hurricanes as well as clear skies for sailors as he wished to. Hence, he is frequently referred to as "The Stormbringer". However, as the God of the Sea, it is unknown as to how far Poseidon's power of atmokinesis extends over land.
	+ **Electrokinesis**: Being the god of violent storms, it is likely that Poseidon can control lightning though not to the same extent as his brother, Zeus.
* **Building Skills**: In *Percy Jackson's Greek Gods*, while stripped of his godhood and powers, Poseidon constructed the famous Walls of Troy, which were extremely durable, and kept the Greek forces (which Poseidon, ironically, supported) at bay for 10 long years.
* **Power Granting**: Poseidon gifted his grandson Periclymenus with the power of shapeshifting, something that Periclymenus' descendants would also inherit. This was a unique gift given to Periclymenus as Poseidon didn't grant this power to his other children or descendants. It is a power that his demigod and legacy family members don't naturally inherit from the god.
* **Powers Restriction**: Poseidon frequently restricts the destructive powers of his daughter Kymopoleia, something she complains about in *The Blood of Olympus*.
* **Shapeshifting**: As seen in *Percy Jackson's Greek Gods*, Poseidon is quite skilled at shapeshifting, much like his brother Zeus. He has transformed into an eagle (while escaping from Kronos' palace), a bat (while sneaking into Tartarus' maximum-security zone with his siblings), a white stallion (while wooing Demeter), and a ram (while wooing Theophane).
* **Leadership Abilities**: Poseidon led the armies of Atlantis against Oceanus' army of ancient sea gods and sea spirits as well as countless sea monsters. Eventually, after a discussion with Percy, Poseidon re-routes his forces and leads the Cyclops army to provide aid to the other Olympians who were making their last stand. The assistance tips the tide of battle and causes Typhon to be defeated and sent to Tartarus.

## Attributes

* Dolphin (animal)
* Horse (animal)
* Ram (animal)
* Bull (animal)
* Trident (weapon)
* Ash and White Pine (trees)

## Attendants

Poseidon had many loyal attendants including the 50 Nereids, his wife Amphitrite and their three children (Triton, Rhode, and Kymopleia).

## Family

Poseidon is married to Amphitrite and has four children by her, but he is also the father of a diversity of children.

### Immortal Children

 Numerous Nymphs
 Amphitrite
 Demeter
 Gaea
 Medusa
 Aphrodite
 Salamis

## Trivia

* In certain regions of Mycenaean, Greece Poseidon was the king of the gods while Zeus wasn't all that of an important god (it should be noted that the Myths of ancient Greece are set in Mycenaean Greece).
* Poseidon and Apollo are the only two major Olympians who have temporarily been stripped of their divinity and godly powers (by Zeus). Apollo, however, is the only one to whom this has happened twice.
* Poseidon is also referred to as "The Earthshaker", "The Stormbringer", and "The Father of Horses."
* Neptune, the eighth and last official planet from the Sun, is named after Poseidon's Roman counterpart.
* Poseidon is one of the few Greek gods shown to have legacies in the modern-day, the other being Dionysus.
* Kronos seems to have a particularly strong hatred for his son Poseidon, whom he describes as "too changeable, and too unpredictable."
* After many competitions with other Olympians, Poseidon finally became the patron god of Corinth and Mantinea.
* His only half-blood child shares his gender.
* Poseidon was the fifth child swallowed by Kronos, but the first one to be vomited out.
* Poseidon's Norse counterparts would be Aegir and Njord.
* Poseidon has no actual Egyptian counterpart, though he shares some attributes in common with Sobek.
* Additionally, his Egyptian counterpart could be Nephtyhs or Hapi, due to the connection with water.