Poseidon

Poseidon was the Olympian god of the sea, storms, earthquakes, droughts, floods and horses. He was the son of Cronus and Rhea, and the brother of Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades and Zeus. He was the husband of the Oceanid Amphitrite.

Poseidon, like most of the Olympians, was killed by Deicidia. He was later reincarnated as Pherone in the city of Thessaly.

Birth and Rescue
Poseidon was the second male and fifth child of Cronus, 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), Cronus, 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, Cronus became known as "King Cannibal." Rhea pleaded with Cronus to spare their children but with no success, since even Cronus' 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 Cronus' Palace on Mount Othrys as the Titan King's royal cup bearer. Poseidon was finally released by Zeus during the final drinking competition that Cronus had with his Titanic brothers and nephews. Zeus poured an extremely powerful emetic (made from nectar mixed with mustard) into Cronus' 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 Cronus'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 Hekatonkeries 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 fierce demons, were the Elder Cyclopes and Hekatonkeries. 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 Hekatonkeries, 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 Cronus 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 Hekatonkeries, the gods finally prevailed. Poseidon himself proved to be a very dangerous and ferocious warrior, and greatly contributed to the ultimate downfall of Cronus 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 Othrys). During the final battle, Zeus used his Master Bolt to shear off the top of Mount Othrys, and hurl Cronus from his Black Throne, defeating the Titan King. Shortly thereafter, the gods invaded the ruins of Mount Othrys, and finally overwhelmed Atlas, Hyperion, Iapetus, Crius, and Coeus.

In the aftermath of the battle, the Elder Cyclopes chained up all of the defeated Titans, while the Hekatonkeries forced them to kneel before Poseidon, Zeus, and Hades. Zeus took his father's scythe, and sliced Cronus into a thousand pieces, before casting him into Tartarus, along with the rest of his followers (except for 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 Cronus' 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 Cronus 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 Cronus, 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 own 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 deeper 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 Nereids, 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 honor. He would father four 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 showed 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, and transformed herself into a white mare, and attempted to hide herself 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 Heracles).

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 into 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 favored 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 salt-water. 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 honor.

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.

Another time which 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 The Dungeon Master’s Theogony says 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 ‘’The Dungeon Master’s Theogony'', Poseidon encouraged Hephaestus to try to seduce Athena. Yet another time both of them were at odds about Odysseus. While Poseidon was furious with him for blinding his son Polyphemus, Athena favored 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 slayed 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 honor 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 honor.

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 themselves 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 Hekatonkerie Briares by the sea shore. He was more than happy to save Zeus, recalling that he owes his own 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 was 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. A number of 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.