King of the Sea, God of Earthquakes and Horses
The middle brother, who drew the sea when the world was divided. He carries a trident — a stamp of his foot is an earthquake, a scowl is a tidal wave. His temper is harder to predict than the ocean, and the sailors and cities that crossed him paid dearly: Odysseus drifted at sea for ten years thanks to him.
Competing for the patronage of a new city, Poseidon struck the ground and produced a saltwater spring; Athena planted an olive tree. The citizens chose the more useful olive, and named the city Athens. The defeated sea god flooded the surrounding plains in his rage.
Odysseus blinded Poseidon’s son, the Cyclops Polyphemus — and then boasted his real name. From then on Poseidon threw obstacle after obstacle in his path, stretching a homecoming of a few weeks into ten years and drowning every one of his companions.
King Minos of Crete vowed to sacrifice a white bull risen from the sea, then greedily kept it. So Poseidon made the queen fall in love with the bull; she bore the bull-headed Minotaur — later shut away in the labyrinth built by Daedalus.
Below are how modern works borrow or reinterpret this name or story — not the original material. The two differ, so keep them apart.
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