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Mythos Atlas

Greek Pantheon

Poseidon

Ποσειδῶν(Poseidon)

Also known as Neptune

Illustration of Poseidon, a deity of the Greek Pantheon
Illustrative imageIllustration of Poseidon. Generated with an AI image model; not a historical artifact. About our images
  • sea
  • earthquakes
  • horses
  • storms

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

About Poseidon

Lord of the Seas

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.

Contest for Athens

Poseidon competed with Athena for the patronage of Athens. He struck the Acropolis with his trident, creating a salt spring. Athena planted an olive tree. The people chose the olive tree, and Poseidon, enraged, flooded the Thriasian plain.

A God Of Boundaries And Storms

Greek myth uses Poseidon whenever a story crosses unstable ground or dangerous water. He breaks ships, sends monsters, fathers island dynasties, and reminds mortals that civilization depends on forces it cannot fully control. That wider role makes him more than a sea god: he is a divine power behind coastal trade, colonization, horses, and sudden catastrophe.

Across traditions

Parallel figures

Figures who play a role like Poseidon's in other traditions.

Worship and cult

Temples, festivals, and practices recorded for Poseidon

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.

Sacred sites

  • Sanctuary of Poseidon at Isthmia
  • Temple of Poseidon at Sounion
  • Onchestos in Boeotia

Festivals

  • Isthmian Games
  • Posideia

Family

Parents
CronusRRhea
Poseidon
Siblings
Zeus

Relationship sources

  1. Theogony — Zeus sibling of Poseidon

    Hesiod · H. G. Evelyn-White, Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns and Homerica (1914), Loeb Classical Library 57; Theoi transcription · Theogony 453–458

  2. Theogony — Cronus parent of Poseidon

    Hesiod · Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns and Homerica (1914), Project Gutenberg #348 · Theogony 453–491

  3. Theogony — Rhea parent of Poseidon

    Hesiod · Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Hesiod, the Homeric Hymns and Homerica (1914), Project Gutenberg #348 · Theogony 453–491

Questions about Poseidon's family
Who are Poseidon's parents?
The atlas's kinship records name 2 parents of Poseidon: Cronus and Rhea. Ancient accounts do not always agree on divine parentage.
Who are Poseidon's siblings?
Siblings of Poseidon recorded in the atlas: Zeus.

In the atlas

Where Poseidon appears

In the museums

Poseidon in art

Real objects in public collections, released into the public domain by the museums that hold them. Dates refer to when each object was made. Objects made within the tradition come first, later depictions after.

  • Bronze statuette of a striding god, possibly Poseidon. Photograph: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. (opens the museum record)

    Ancient object

    Bronze statuette of a god, possibly Poseidon (opens the museum record)

    Greek · 3rd–2nd century BCE · Bronze

    A Hellenistic bronze statuette the museum identifies as possibly depicting Poseidon, shown in a striding pose that would originally have held an attribute such as a trident. The tentative identification reflects how sea deities and river gods shared similar iconography.

    The Metropolitan Museum of Art · 26.60.65 · Public Domain (museum record)

  • Terracotta hydria with a painted scene of Poseidon and seahorses. Photograph: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. (opens the museum record)

    Ancient object

    Terracotta hydria: kalpis (water jar) (opens the museum record)

    Greek, Attic · 1st quarter of the 4th century BCE · Terracotta

    An Attic water jar painted with a scene the museum tags as showing Poseidon among seahorses. The imagery reflects his domain over the sea on a vessel shape used for carrying water.

    The Metropolitan Museum of Art · 21.88.162 · Public Domain (museum record)

  • Terracotta kylix with a painted battle scene including Poseidon. Photograph: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. (opens the museum record)

    Ancient object

    Terracotta kylix (drinking cup) (opens the museum record)

    Greek, Attic · ca. 540 BCE · Terracotta

    An Archaic Attic drinking cup painted with a battle scene the museum tags as including Poseidon among warriors, horses, and an Iliad-related subject. Poseidon's involvement in the Trojan War appears throughout the Iliad.

    The Metropolitan Museum of Art · 1989.281.62 · Public Domain (museum record)

Sources and further reading

Ancient sources

Quotations, paraphrases and verification notes. Each passage states what has been checked.

Direct quotation

“Forthwith then he went down from the rugged mount, striding forth with swift footsteps, and the high mountains trembled and the woodland beneath the immortal feet of Poseidon as he went.”

Homer, Iliad · 13.17–19

Translation: A. T. Murray

1924; Theoi transcription. English transcription checked 2026-09-23. Replaces prior unverified wording; no original-language text is supplied or certified.

Read source

Source notes

These references are recorded in the catalog. Their passage wording and translation have not been checked, so quotations are not displayed here.

  • Homer, Odyssey

    Catalog date: c. 725 BCE

Appears in

Ancient and classical works featuring this figure.

  • OdysseyHomer

    pursues Odysseus in anger over the blinding of his son Polyphemus (Books 1-13)

About this entry

By Elizabeth Stein for Mythos Atlas. . Editorial notes are grounded in the site's cited sources and can be challenged through the contact page.

Parallels are editorial comparisons across traditions: a shared role does not, by itself, establish a shared origin.

Family relationships come from the atlas's kinship records. Ancient sources often disagree on divine genealogy.

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Genealogy

Family tree

Poseidon's parents, consorts, children and rivals, as recorded in the atlas.

Open the full tree