Which traditions do they belong to?

Chalchiuhtlicue belongs to the Mesoamerican Pantheon, and Poseidon to the Greek Pantheon.

Side by sideParallel across traditions

Chalchiuhtlicue vs Poseidon

Q: What do Chalchiuhtlicue and Poseidon have in common?

They share no domain in this atlas: Chalchiuhtlicue is associated with water, rivers, lakes, fertility, and childbirth, and Poseidon with sea, earthquakes, horses, and storms.

Both rule over waterways, though Chalchiuhtlicue focuses on freshwater.

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At a glance

Chalchiuhtlicue and Poseidon compared
	Chalchiuhtlicue	Poseidon
Tradition	Mesoamerican Pantheon	Greek Pantheon
Domains	water, rivers, lakes, fertility, childbirth	sea, earthquakes, horses, storms
Symbols	jade, flowing water, water lily, blue-green dress	trident, horse, dolphin, bull
Also called	She of the Jade Skirt, Matlalcueye	Neptune

Where they meet

The atlas records no domain or symbol that Chalchiuhtlicue and Poseidon share.

They are compared for the part each plays in their own tradition rather than for any attribute in common.

Where they part

Only Chalchiuhtlicue

Associated with water, rivers, lakes, fertility, and childbirth.

Only Poseidon

Associated with sea, earthquakes, horses, and storms.

How each was worshipped

Chalchiuhtlicue

Cult sites: Water shrines; sister-wife of Tlaloc at Templo Mayor
Festivals: Atlcahualo and other water months

Jade-her-skirt. Standing water, birth, and drowning. Infants and lakes belong to her. The cult is wet, not solar.

Poseidon

Cult sites: Sanctuary of Poseidon at Isthmia; Temple of Poseidon at Sounion; Onchestos in Boeotia
Festivals: Isthmian Games; Posideia

Horses, earthquakes, and the drowned coast are his working signs. Isthmia held games under his name. A bull often went to the sea. Inland Boeotia kept him as a horse god, not only a sailor's patron.

The two figures

Mesoamerican Pantheon

Chalchiuhtlicue

The Aztec goddess of flowing water, rivers, and lakes. Consort of Tlaloc, Chalchiuhtlicue presided over the Fourth Sun before its destruction by flood. She is the patron of newborns and purification.

Chalchiuhtlicue was among the primordial deities who participated in the creation. She became consort of Tlaloc and ruled over the Fourth Sun until its destruction.

Chalchiuhtlicue ("She of the Jade Skirt") is the Aztec goddess of **flowing water**: rivers, streams, lakes, and seas. While **Tlaloc** rules rain from the sky, Chalchiuhtlicue governs water upon the earth.

Read the full Chalchiuhtlicue entry

Greek Pantheon

Poseidon

God of the sea, earthquakes, and horses. Brother of Zeus and Hades, ruler of the oceans and all waters.

Poseidon rules the vast oceans, earthquakes ("Earth-Shaker"), and horses. He is a moody and tempestuous god, much like the sea itself. Sailors prayed to him for safe passage, often sacrificing horses or bulls to appease his wrath.

Read the full Poseidon entry

About this comparison

Comparisons pair figures that play a similar role across traditions, or that the myths connect within one. A shared role does not, by itself, establish a shared origin.