Poseidon liked to claim coastal cities as his own since he was god of the sea. Once, Poseidon and Athena went head to head over ownership of a city which would later be named after the victor. The story goes that Athena and Poseidon held a contest to see which one would be able to control the beautiful coastal city. Poseidon raised his hand and made a stream. When the people drank from the stream it turned out to be saltwater, not freshwater. The people spit it out; they didn 't like it at all. But, Athena made an Olive tree for the people and they loved it! They loved that it 's was food, it provided firewood and they could make oil from the fruit. It was