Poseidon was one of the twelve Olympians of ancient Greek religion and mythology, the god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses. In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was worshiped as the supreme deity of Pylos and Thebes. He also had the cult title "Earth Shaker". In isolated Arcadian mythology, Poseidon is associated with Demeter and Persephone and was worshiped as a horse, though he seemed to have originally been a god of water. His Roman equivalent is Neptune. If the existing Linear B clay tablets are reliable, the name po-se-da-wo-ne ("Poseidon") is used more often than di-u-ja ("Zeus"). A female variant, po-se-de-ia, has also been discovered, effectively showing the possible lost spouse Goddess counterpart, an ancestor of Amphitrite. The archaic and local myths of the stallion Poseidon and mare Demeter in the isolated conservative Arcadia was said to have been forgotten by Pausanias (2nd century C.E.). Poseidon the stallion, pursued the mare Demeter, and from the union she gives birth to a horse Arion and a daughter (Despoina), apparently in the shape of a mare as well. The violated Demeter was Demeter Erinys (furious). Arcadia mythology seems to be related to the first Greek speakers to arrive in the area during the Bronze Age. (Linear B stands for archaic Greek dialect). Their religious beliefs were mixed with indigenous beliefs. The Greeks may not have brought in any other gods, except Zeus, Eos and the Dioskouroi. The horse (Numina) was associated with the liquid element and the underworld. Poseidon appears as an animal (horse) that is the river spirit of the underworld as is commonly found in northern-European folklore but is uncommon in Greece. Poseidon was a major civic god of several cities: in Athens, he was second only to Athena in importance, while in Corinth and many cities of Magna Graecia he was the chief god of the polis. The early importance of Poseidon is found in Homer's Odyssey. [Credit: Poseidon, Wikipedia]
Greek Mythology
