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Classical Greek Mythology

The Greek Pantheon and the Olympians

What was Poseidon’s role?

To his powerful brother Poseidon, Zeus assigned the sea. Poseidon was vengeful and violent; he created earthquakes and terrible storms at sea. It was Poseidon who, in a pique, kept poor Odysseus away from home for so long. Poseidon carried the three-pronged long-handled fork, the trident. His other symbols were the bull and the horse. Like his brother, Zeus, Poseidon had a strong sexual appetite. Ovid says that he raped Medusa in a temple of his rival and niece, Athene, causing the goddess to turn Medusa into a monstrous Gorgon. It was believed by many that he fathered the hero Theseus by taking advantage of Princess Aethra of Troezen while her husband was drunk and asleep.



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