The type and attributes of the god Poseidon. - Sea monsters of Greek myths. - Death of Hippolytus. - Horses of the god Poseidon. - Dolphins in mythology. - God Poseidon and the giants. - Poseidon and Amphitrite. - Nereids. - Newts.

The type and attributes of the god Poseidon

Water was personified in the myths of ancient Greece by many deities. In addition to the Ocean, the father of all rivers, there were also the gods of salt and fresh waters.

Poseidon(in ancient Greek), or Neptune(in Latin), the son of Kronos, brother of Zeus, was considered the god of the sea kingdom.

God Poseidon (Neptune) inspired everyone with great fear, because Poseidon was credited with all the vibrations of the soil, and when the earthquake began, sacrifices were made to the god Poseidon. It was enough for Poseidon to hit the ground with a trident for it to open up and hesitate.

Poseidon (Neptune) was recognized and revered as a mighty and strong god by all seafarers and merchants who erected altars to him and turned to him with prayers so that the god Poseidon would grant their ships a happy journey without storms and patronize the success of their trade.

One Orphic hymn (that is, attributed to Orpheus) praises Poseidon and his power in such terms: “Hear me, Poseidon, whose hair is wet with the salty waves of the sea, Poseidon, armed with a sharp trident, attracted by swift horses, you, forever dwelling in immeasurable depths of the sea, king of the waters, you, surrounding and crowding the earth with rustling waters, you throwing sea foam into the distance, you ruling among the waves with your swift quadriga (chariot drawn by four), you, the azure god, appointed by fate to rule the sea kingdom, you who loves his herds covered with scales and the salty waters of the ocean, stop at the shore, grant a fair wind to our ships and add to it peace, security and the golden gifts of wealth for us ”(Orpheus).

By its type, the sea god Poseidon (Neptune) differs from Zeus (Jupiter) by the restlessness of movements, disheveled hair and a wild look, more consistent with the wildness and storminess of the sea. The trident, the main attribute of the god Poseidon, is nothing more than a harpoon used to catch sharks and whales. Therefore, the god Poseidon was considered the patron saint of fishermen.

The antique figurine depicts the god Poseidon with a trident in one hand and a dolphin in the other.

Sea monsters of Greek myths

On many ancient bas-reliefs, the god Poseidon appears, accompanied by a whole retinue of mythological sea monsters.

The decorative art of recent centuries often depicts the god Neptune in fountains. Raphael portrayed Neptune in a chariot drawn by sea horses.

At the bottom of the sea, according to ancient mythology, there were sea monsters who obeyed the god Poseidon and appeared on the surface of the sea waves at his command.

Death of Hippolytus

At the request of the hero Theseus, the god Poseidon summoned the monster, which caused the death of Hippolytus.

The youth Hippolytus was the son of Theseus and the queen of the Amazons. Gloomy by nature, Hippolytus loved nothing but hunting, and loudly expressed his contempt for women, never worshiped the goddess Aphrodite and brought all his sacrifices to the altar of the goddess Artemis. An angry Aphrodite decided to take revenge for such neglect. The goddess Aphrodite instilled in her stepmother Hippolytus Phaedra an insane love for Hippolytus. But Hippolytus turned away with disgust from his stepmother, who for this slandered Hippolytus in front of his father. Believing him guilty, Theseus called upon him the anger of the god Poseidon, and Poseidon ordered the sea monster to appear on the surface of the water, while Hippolytus drove up to the sea in a chariot. Frightened by the monster, the horses overturned the chariot, and Hippolytus died.

This ancient Greek myth was the subject of one of Racine's most famous tragedies, Phaedra.

Horses of the god Poseidon

The usual residence of the god Poseidon is his sea palace in the Aegean Sea. There are also Poseidon's fast-footed sea horses, and as soon as the god Poseidon wants to appear on the surface of the water, he sits in his quadriga, harnessed by four horses with fish tails covered with scales.

The animals dedicated to the god Poseidon were the horse and the dolphin.

Dolphins in mythology

The dolphin rendered a great service to the sea god, for which he was honored to serve in ancient mythology as one of the distinctive attributes of the god Poseidon (Neptune). Once, when the god Poseidon, seduced by the beautiful Amphitrite, one of the Nereids, chased her, she hid from him to the Ocean's palace, and the dolphin opened to the enamored Poseidon the place where this palace was located, and Poseidon kidnapped Amphitrite, who became his wife and ruler of the seas ...

Dolphins are depicted on many monuments of art of antiquity and modern times. Dolphins always participate in the retinue of Amphitrite and Aphrodite, as well as in the triumph of Galatea.

God Poseidon and the giants

According to the myths of ancient Greece, the god Poseidon greatly helped Zeus in the fight against the giants (Giants). Poseidon destroyed the giants, throwing whole rocks at them.

An antique vase depicts the death of Ephialtes, one of the giants: Ephialtes falls, slain by Poseidon, who threw a huge rock on him.

Poseidon and Amphitrite

Many antique bas-reliefs depict the triumphal procession of Amphitrite, who became the queen of the seas. Usually they show Nereids sitting on sea monsters in the form of tigresses, gigantic rams and sea bulls.

Amphitrite herself, surrounded by this retinue, sits on a bull, whose body ends in a fish's tail, which makes it different from the bull of Europe. On one antique cameo, Amphitrite is accompanied by winged cupids.

The same antique plot served as the theme for numerous paintings, of which the paintings of Titian, Rubens, Lemoine and Natuar are better known.

Nereids

Nereids- the daughter of Nereus, who personified the Aegean Sea. The main duty of the Nereids was that they accompanied the shadows of the dead to the islands of Grace, which is why their images are often found on sarcophagi and other tombstones, and the Nereids, like Poseidon, have the gift of divination.

Newts

From the union of the god Poseidon (eptune) with Amphitrite, the Tritons and Tritonids were born. These are deities whose torso with a human head ends in a forked fish tail. Mythological Tritons are depicted very often sitting on blue horses, which have claws instead of hooves.

In recent works of art, Tritons are usually depicted as blowing instead of pipes into huge sea shells.

Later artists often confused Tritonides with Sirens. According to mythology, they differ sharply from one another: in the Sirens, the female body ends in a bird's tail, and in the Tritonids it ends in a fish tail.

ZAUMNIK.RU, Egor A. Polikarpov - scientific editing, scientific proofreading, design, selection of illustrations, additions, explanations, translations from Latin and Ancient Greek; all rights reserved.

God Poseidon

Poseidon. Roman marble copy after a Greek original 2nd floor. 4 c. BC. Vatican Museums.

In ancient Greek mythology, the god of the underwater kingdom. Poseidon was considered the lord of the seas and oceans.

The underwater king was born from the marriage of the earth goddess Rhea and the titan Kronos, and immediately after birth, he was swallowed by his father, who was afraid that they would take away his power over the world, together with his brothers and sisters. All of them were subsequently freed by Zeus.

Poseidon lived in an underwater palace, among the host of gods obedient to him. Among them were his son Triton, the Nereids, the sisters of Amphitrite and many others. The god of the seas was equal in beauty to Zeus himself. On the sea, he moved in a chariot, which was harnessed to marvelous horses.

With the help of a magic trident, Poseidon controlled the depths of the sea: if there was a storm on the sea, as soon as he stretched the trident in front of him, the enraged sea calmed down.

The ancient Greeks revered this deity very much and, in order to reach his location, brought many sacrifices to the underwater ruler, throwing them into the sea. This was very important for the inhabitants of Greece, since their well-being depended on whether merchant ships passed by sea. Therefore, before going to sea, the travelers threw a sacrifice into the water to Poseidon.

Poseidon (Neptune) - the son of and Rhea, the god of the sea.

Poseidon was one of the three most powerful Greek gods: he ruled the vast sea kingdom as autocratic as his older brother (Hades) - the underworld, and his younger brother in heaven and on earth. All sea deities were subject to him, he was the lord of all sea animals, and all events at sea and at sea took place at his will. With his trident, Poseidon could “drill the sea and raise a storm”, but he could also tame the most violent waves. Poseidon was also called the “earth shaker”, as he caused an earthquake by hitting the ground with a trident. His character was fierce and fickle, similar to the elements he commanded. Therefore, it is not surprising that he was most feared and revered accordingly by sailors and residents of the coastal countries of the entire Greek world.

Power over the sea element went to Poseidon by origin and lot. Like all the children of Crohn, Poseidon was swallowed by his father immediately after birth and continued to live in his womb until all of them were freed by the younger son (see). After defeating, he agreed with Poseidon to share power over the world by lot - and Poseidon got the sea. Therefore, in disputes, Poseidon constantly emphasized that he was equal in rights, and if he obeyed him, then of his own free will, but not as a subject.

From his magnificent palace at Aegis (on the west coast of Euboea or on the north coast of Achaea) Poseidon rode out in a sea chariot drawn by golden-maned horses, heading to Olympus, to inspect his vast domains or to any other place where he wanted to visit; his horses rushed along the sea surface like dry land. Usually, Poseidon was accompanied by sea deities and animals, and sea monsters got out of their lairs on his way, knowing that he might need them. Poseidon used them as instruments of his revenge (see articles ’’ ”,’ ’Hesiona), but sometimes he took revenge with his own hand. For example, he twice destroyed the walls of Troy with his trident (although the second time he did it not too thoroughly, since in 1871 Heinrich Schliemann found them in good condition). He personally pursued Odysseus, taking revenge on him for blinding the son of Polyphemus. For ten years, Poseidon did not allow Odysseus to return to his homeland, until he finished his odyssey, taking advantage of Poseidon's oversight.

In his kingdom, Poseidon was a sovereign ruler, but in disputes with other gods, he did not always achieve his goal. So, he unsuccessfully challenged power over Attica, from - Corinth, from - Naxos, from - Delphi, from Hera - Argos, from - Aegina. In all these disputes, the gods managed to force him to yield.

The wife of Poseidon was, the daughter of the sea god Nereus, and the beloved son of the sea god. In general, Poseidon had many descendants, and not all of them were born in union with his lawful wife, but in myths this is not uncommon. So, the nymph Foos gave birth to him the one-eyed Cyclops Polyphemus, the oceanid Livy (Libya) - the Sidonian king, the nymph Naida - the sea god, the goddess of the earth - the giant, etc. Amik or the same Polyphemus). The son of Poseidon was also, born of Ephra, the wife of the Athenian king Aegeus.

The Greeks have venerated Poseidon since ancient times. His name is already found on the tablets of the Crete-Mycenaean letter “B” (14th - 13th centuries BC). He was especially revered by sailors and horsemen. From animals, a dolphin, a horse and a bull were dedicated to him, from trees - a pine. A number of coastal cities were named after him; every two years the Isthmian Games were held in his honor, second only to the Olympic and Delphic (Pythian) Games. Magnificent temples dedicated to Poseidon were built, in particular, on Isthma near Corinth, in Asia Minor Priene, on the island of Poros and in Attica at Cape Sunius. (However, as the latest research shows, the largest and best-preserved Greek temple west of Athens - in ancient Poseidonia (present-day Paestum) - was dedicated not to Poseidon, but to the goddess Hera.) The Romans adopted Poseidon from the Greeks practically unchanged and approximately in 5 c. BC NS. identified him with their god Neptune.

A large number of highly artistic sculptural images of Poseidon have survived: "Poseidon with a Trident" - a Roman copy of a Greek original of the 4th century. BC e., "Poseidon of Melos" - the original of the 2nd century. BC e., large "Poseidon" early AD. e., discovered in 1946 in the agora in Smyrna (present Izmir), Roman copies of "Poseidon" by Lysippos. "Poseidon with Apollo and Artemis" from the eastern frieze of the Parthenon, created in the 5th century, has come down to us in good condition. BC NS. under the leadership or with the participation of Phidias and taken away in the 19th century. in London.

In modern times, Poseidon (usually under the name of Neptune) has become a favorite decorative figure in fountains. The most famous of them: "Fountain of Neptune" Ammanati (1563-1575) in Florence, the eponymous fountain by Montorsoli in Messina (1557) and the work of Giambologna in Bologna (1566), "Neptune" Arnoldi in Petrodvorets near St. Petersburg (1716 ) and "The Triumph of Neptune and Amphitrite" by L. S. and N. S. Adamov in the park at Versailles (1740).

There are a lot of pictures with Neptune in galleries and collections of the world, first of all it should be noted the works of Garofalo, Mabus, Veronese. Rubens and Boucher, in the Czech Republic - the painting "Neptune with Naiads" Poseidon (Neptune) - the son of Kronos and Rhea, the god of the sea. da Cortona (mid-17th century .. Moravian Gallery in Brno) and the fresco "Poseidon, god of the sea, floating on a shell" by Bianco (1625 - 1630, Wallenstein Palace in Prague). Although my country cannot be called seaside, the god of the sea of ​​the ancient Greeks and Romans settled here in many baroque palaces and parks. However, his best statues by Giambologna (1560) and A. de Vries (1626) were taken to Sweden during the Thirty Years' War of 1618-1648.

Poseidon is the god of the seas in ancient Greek mythology, the ruler of all earthly waters. Poseidon was the son of Kronos and Rhea, brother of the Olympian god of thunder Zeus (Jupiter). The ancient Romans called Poseidon Neptune, therefore the god of the seas in ancient Rome was Neptune.

The patron saint of oceans and seas was presented as a formidable deity with an unbridled, stormy disposition, whose anger could cause an earthquake. The lord of the sea waters, the god of the seas, is irritable, strict and even cruel. Fluttering hair, sharp movements and a wild look distinguished Poseidon (Neptune) from Zeus. The ground split open with one blow from his trident. To appease Poseidon, the ancient Greeks and Romans made sacrifices.

The god of the seas was revered by all fishermen, sailors and merchants. It is no coincidence that the main attribute of Poseidon (Neptune) was a trident - a harpoon, with which sharks and whales were killed. With a light sweep, he could calm the raging waves and hurricane. In the name of God, altars were erected, merchants turned to Poseidon (Neptune) with a prayer for a successful voyage and profitable deals.

Ancient greek sea monsters

According to ancient ideas, on the bas-reliefs the god of the seas - Poseidon (Neptune) was always depicted surrounded by a whole retinue of sea monsters. These mythological creatures obeyed the formidable god and appeared on the surface of the waters at his command. In modern times, the image of Poseidon (Neptune) was often used to decorate fountains.

The death of Hippolytus

Hippolytus is the son of the hero Theseus and the queen of the Amazons, Antiope. Hippolyte was a gloomy, silent child from birth. Hunting became his favorite pastime. Hippolytus did not recognize the power of Aphrodite and brought all the sacrifices only to Artemis. The goddess of love was very angry with Hippolytus for such a disdainful attitude and decided to take cruel revenge.

Aphrodite inspired Phaedra, Hippolyta's stepmother, with an insane passion for her adopted son. Hippolytus rejected Phaedra's love with disgust, for which she slandered him before Theseus. The father decided to punish the treacherous son and asked Poseidon (Neptune) to punish Hippolytus. When he approached the sea in his chariot, the sea god commanded the sea monster to appear on the surface of the waters. Horses from fright carried and turned the chariot, and Hippolytus crashed on the rocks.

Magic horses of Poseidon

In the Aegean Sea there is the palace of Poseidon (Neptune): it was in it that the god of the sea stayed most of the time. When he wants to rise to the surface, he harnesses four of his sea horses to the quadriga. Their appearance is very unusual: they are covered with scales and have fish tails.

Poseidon was the patron saint of horse breeding. The god of the seas, glorified in the summer, was also called by the nickname Hippias, which means "equestrian". In his honor, the ancient Greeks staged the Isthmian games, and white horses were selected for sacrifices to the formidable god. Dolphin and bull are considered other sacred animals of Poseidon (Neptune).

Dolphins and the sea lord

Dolphin is an animal dedicated to the god of the seas. He rendered a great service to Poseidon (Neptune), for which he received a special role in ancient mythology. Poseidon once got carried away by one of the Nereids - the lovely Amphitrite - and wanted to catch her, but did not have time. Amphitrite took refuge in the Ocean Palace. It was Dolphin who showed Poseidon (Neptune) the place where the palace was located. The Olympic god was able to kidnap his beloved: Amphitrite became the mistress of sea waters and the wife of Poseidon (Neptune). Many monuments of ancient and modern art are decorated with images of dolphins. These animals are indispensable companions in the retinue of Aphrodite and Amphitrite.

Patron of the deep sea and giants

Poseidon (Neptune) helped his brother Zeus defeat the giants by throwing huge rocks on them. According to one ancient Greek myth, this is how the sea god killed his son, the giant Ephialtos. This plot is depicted on an antique vase.

Poseidon and Amphitrite

Amphitrite is the daughter of Nereus, the wife of Poseidon (Neptune), the wise mistress of the depths of the sea. Amphitrite was often revered on a par with the god of the seas: temples were built in her honor, statues were created. Her image was often adorned with antique bas-reliefs. Usually Amphitrite was presented surrounded by Nereids, sitting on sea monsters in the form of bulls, tigers and rams. The bull on which Amphitrite sits has a fish tail. Sometimes in the images Amphitrite is accompanied by light-winged cupids. Such plots often became the subject of painting. Such great artists as Titian, Rubens, Lemoine, Natuar addressed this topic.

Nereids

The Nereids are the daughters of the wise old man, the patron saint of the quiet depths of the sea - Nereus and Doris. Resembling mermaids in appearance, Nereids inhabit the bottom of a large sea grotto. Their names symbolize the qualities of the sea. Nereids have the gift of divination and fulfill an important duty: they deliver the souls of dead people to the islands of Grace. Images of Nereids were adorned with sarcophagi and tombstones.

Newts

Tritons and Tritonids are the sons and daughters of Poseidon (Neptune) and Amphitrite. They have a human body and a forked fish tail. Newts are depicted sitting on blue horses with claws instead of hooves. Modern works of art often depict newts blowing into large sea shells.

Tritonides are sometimes confused with sirens - other mythological creatures who personified the deceitfulness of the sea water surface. Sirens and tritonids have a female body, but in the former it ends in a bird's tail, and in the latter it ends in a fish's.

Compared

If we compare the mythology of Ancient Rome, Ancient Greece with legends and myths about the pantheon of Egyptian gods, then the common thing is that they played a colossal role for the emergence and development of ancient Egyptian society, had a significant impact on the development of architecture and art. It is impossible to determine with striking categorization which of them was more powerful - the gods of Ancient Greece or the gods of Egypt. The god of the sea in Ancient Egypt - Nun Chaos (ancient Egyptian. "Water", "water") - the primordial ocean, according to legend, it was he who was the progenitor of the powerful Ra and one of the main gods in the ancient Egyptian pantheon.

Poseidon (myth of ancient Greece)

Deep at the very bottom of the sea, the brother of the mighty Zeus, Poseidon, now lives in his luxurious palace. After that great battle, when the young gods defeated the old ones, the sons of Cronus threw lots, and Poseidon got the power over all the sea elements. He went down to the bottom of the sea, and remained there to live forever. But every day Poseidon rises to the surface of the sea to go around his endless possessions.

Majestic and beautiful, he rides on his mighty green-maned horses, and the obedient waves part before their master. Zeus himself is not inferior to Poseidon in power. Still would! After all, as soon as he waved his formidable trident, a violent storm rises to the sea, huge waves rise to the sky and with a deafening roar crash down into the abyss itself.
The mighty Poseidon is terrible in anger, and woe to those who find themselves at such a time on the sea. Like weightless splinters, huge ships rush along the raging waves, until, completely broken and twisted, they collapse into the depths of the sea. Even marine life - fish and dolphins - are trying to get deeper into the sea to wait out there safely the wrath of Poseidon.
But now his anger passes, he majestically raises his sparkling trident, and the sea calms down. Unprecedented fish rise from the depths of the sea, attach themselves to the chariot of the great god from behind, merry dolphins rush after them. They tumble in the waves of the sea, entertaining their mighty master. The beautiful daughters of the sea elder Nereus are splashing in merry flocks in the coastal waves.
Once Poseidon, as always, raced across the sea in his fast-flying chariot and on the coast of the island of Naxos saw a beautiful goddess. It was Amphitrite, the daughter of the sea elder Nereus, who knows all the secrets of the future and gives wise advice. Together with her Nereid sisters, she rested in a green meadow. They ran and frolicked, holding hands, led merry round dances.
Poseidon immediately fell in love with the beautiful Amphitrite. He had already directed the mighty horses to the shore and wanted to take her away in his chariot. But Amphitrite was afraid of the frantic Poseidon and eluded him. She slowly made her way to the titan Atlanta, who holds the firmament on his powerful shoulders, and asked him to hide her somewhere. Atlas took pity on the beautiful Amphitrite and hid her in a deep cave at the bottom of the Ocean.
Poseidon was looking for Amphitrite for a long time and could not find her in any way. Like a fiery whirlwind he rushed across the sea; all this time the fierce storm did not subside at sea. All the inhabitants of the sea: fish, dolphins, and all underwater monsters - went in search of the beautiful Amphitrite to calm their raging master.
Finally, the dolphin managed to find her in one of the distant caves. He sailed quickly to Poseidon and showed him the refuge of Amphitrite. Poseidon rushed to the cave and took his beloved with him. He did not forget to thank the dolphin who helped him. He placed it among the constellations in the sky. Since then, the dolphin has been living there, and everyone knows that there is the constellation Dolphin in the sky, but not everyone knows how it turned out there.
And the beautiful Amphitrite became the wife of the powerful Poseidon and happily lived with him in his luxurious underwater castle. Since then, fierce storms rarely occur at sea, because the gentle Amphitrite is very good at taming the anger of her powerful spouse.
The time has come, and the divine beauty Amphitrite and the ruler of the seas Poseidon had a son - the handsome Triton. How beautiful is the son of the ruler of the seas, so playful. As soon as he blows into the sink, the sea will immediately overflow, the waves will rustle, a formidable storm will fall on the unlucky sailors. But Poseidon, seeing the pranks of his son, immediately raises his trident, and the waves, as if by magic, subside and, gently whispering, serenely splash, caressing the transparent, clean sea sand on the shore.
Elder of the sea Nereus often visits his daughter, and her cheerful sisters also come to her. Sometimes Amphitrite goes with them to play on the seashore, and Poseidon no longer worries. He knows that she will no longer hide from him and will definitely return to their wonderful underwater palace.