What do Neptune and Poseidon have in common?

Both hold sea, earthquakes, horses.

Which traditions do they belong to?

Neptune belongs to the Roman Pantheon; Poseidon belongs to the Greek Pantheon.

Side by side

Neptune vs Poseidon

Neptune is the direct Roman equivalent, ruling the seas with the same trident and temperament

At a glance

Roman Pantheon

tradition

Greek Pantheon

sea, earthquakes, horses, freshwater

domains

sea, earthquakes, horses, storms

trident, horse, dolphin

symbols

trident, horse, dolphin, bull

Neptunus

also called

Neptune

Where they meet

Both are gods of sea, earthquakes, horses.

shared symbolstridenthorsedolphin

Where they part

Neptune alone

freshwater

Poseidon alone

storms

Why they are compared

Neptune is the direct Roman equivalent, ruling the seas with the same trident and temperament
Neptune is the direct Greek equivalent, ruling the seas with the same trident (Poseidon already lists Neptune)

How each was worshipped

Neptune

Cult sites: Temple of Neptune in the Circus Flaminius, Campus Martius cult of Neptune Equester, close to the later circus and to horse-racing ground.

Festivals: Neptunalia (23 July).

In the July heat Romans built leaf shelters (umbrae) and kept the Neptunalia as a thirsty outdoor feast. Neptune's Roman life is water, horses, and the fear of drought more than a Greek-style sea epic. State sacrifice used a bull.

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.

Neptune

Roman Pantheon

God of the sea, earthquakes, and horses. Brother of Jupiter and Pluto, ruler of all waters. Also associated with freshwater springs and patronage of horse racing.

Neptune rules waters in Roman religion, including the sea the poets borrowed from Greek Poseidon. Older Italian cult, though, ties him as closely to freshwater and to horses as to the open Mediterranean. The **Neptunalia** in July was a festival of midsummer drought, when Romans built leaf shelters and remembered the god who could give or withhold water.

Read the full Neptune entry

Poseidon

Greek Pantheon

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

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How each was worshipped

Neptune

Cult sites: Temple of Neptune in the Circus Flaminius, Campus Martius cult of Neptune Equester, close to the later circus and to horse-racing ground.

Festivals: Neptunalia (23 July).

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.