The Symbolism Of Poseidon's Role In Greek Mythology

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Dave Zabriskie once declared, “He’s aggressive. He’s a fit of rage. He’s full of fury, and he should be one of the favorites”(“Quotes”). Poseidon struck fear into many people, and he was considered the greediest and moodiest, most bad-tempered of the Olympian gods. His family, symbols, myths, and his worship are reflections of people’s reactions to his rage.
The family of Poseidon dates back to the B.C. era. Poseidon’s mother and father were Cronus and Rhea, who were Titans. His siblings were Hestia, Hera, Zeus, Hades, and Demeter. After the gods defeated the Titans, the world was divided into three parts; Zeus was given the skies, Poseidon received the seas, and Hades inherited the underworld (“Poseidon”). Poseidon’s wife was Amphitrite, a sea nymph. His children were Theseus, Triton, Polyphemus, Belus, Agenor, Neleus, and Atlas. Poseidon had many affairs with sea nymphs and others.
The symbols of Poseidon mostly related to his bad temper. His symbols are the trident, fish, dolphin, earthquakes, horse, and bull (“Poseidon”). Poseidon’s trident is a three-pronged spear that can create waves, foam,tsunamis, and can calm the sea. He also caused earthquakes with his trident if he struck the earth with it in wrath. This upset Hades because it shook the roof of his underworld. Poseidon is credited …show more content…

One time, Poseidon chained Zeus up with the aid of Hera, Zeus’s wife, because he was thought of as an unruly god. Another myth is that Poseidon mated with Medusa to create Pegasus, the winged horse. A naval power that offended Poseidon was Crete. When its ruler, King Minos, asked the sea god for a sign, a white bull emerged from the waves. A religious custom required King Minos to sacrifice the bull, but he did not. The result of this was that his wife ended up falling in love with the bull, creating the Minotaur, a bull-headed man (Cotterell). In all the myths, Poseidon wanted to show his might and, as a god, he won in most of