155-460: In Greek mythology , the Golden Fleece ( Ancient Greek : Χρυσόμαλλον δέρας , romanized : Khrysómallon déras , lit. 'Golden-haired pelt') is the fleece of the golden -woolled, winged ram , Chrysomallos , that rescued Phrixus and brought him to Colchis , where Phrixus then sacrificed it to Zeus . Phrixus gave the fleece to King Aeëtes who kept it in
310-469: A Homeric hymn . In Plato 's Timaeus and Critias , the legendary island of Atlantis was Poseidon's domain. Poseidon is famous for his contests with other deities for winning the patronage of the city. According to legend, Athena became the patron goddess of the city of Athens after a competition with Poseidon, though he remained on the Acropolis in the form of his surrogate, Erechtheus . After
465-579: A pederastic light . Alexandrian poets at first, then more generally literary mythographers in the early Roman Empire, often re-adapted stories of Greek mythological characters in this fashion. The achievement of epic poetry was to create story-cycles and, as a result, to develop a new sense of mythological chronology. Thus, Greek mythology unfolds as a phase in the development of the world and of humans. While self-contradictions in these stories make an absolute timeline impossible, an approximate chronology may be discerned. The resulting mythological "history of
620-464: A "foot-bond" (ποσίδεσμον), or he "knew many things" (πολλά εἰδότος or πολλά εἰδῶν). Beekes suggests that the word has probably a Pre-Greek origin. The original form was probably the Mycenean Greek Ποτ(σ)ειδάϝων ( Pot(s)eidawōn ). "The inervocalic aspiration suggests a Pre Greek (Pelasgian) origin rather than an Indoeuropean one". If surviving Linear B clay tablets can be trusted,
775-677: A Christian moralizing perspective. The discovery of the Mycenaean civilization by the German amateur archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann in the nineteenth century, and the discovery of the Minoan civilization in Crete by the British archaeologist Arthur Evans in the twentieth century, helped to explain many existing questions about Homer's epics and provided archaeological evidence for many of
930-416: A bull. In Greece the river god Acheloos is represented like a bull or a man-bull. Many people when sacrificed to Demeter should make a premilinary sacrifice to Acheloos At Phigalia Demeter had a sanctuary in a cavern and she was given the surname Melaina (black). The goddess was related to the black undeworld. In a similar myth Poseidon appears as horse and Demeter gives birth to a daughter whose name
1085-585: A collection of epic poems , starts with the events leading up to the war: Eris and the golden apple of Kallisti , the Judgement of Paris , the abduction of Helen , the sacrifice of Iphigenia at Aulis . To recover Helen, the Greeks launched a great expedition under the overall command of Menelaus 's brother, Agamemnon, king of Argos, or Mycenae , but the Trojans refused to return Helen. The Iliad , which
1240-492: A combination of their name and epithets , that identify them by these distinctions from other manifestations of themselves (e.g., Apollo Musagetes is " Apollo , [as] leader of the Muses "). Alternatively, the epithet may identify a particular and localized aspect of the god, sometimes thought to be already ancient during the classical epoch of Greece. Most gods were associated with specific aspects of life. For example, Aphrodite
1395-525: A convenient framework into which to fit their own courtly and chivalric ideals. Twelfth-century authors, such as Benoît de Sainte-Maure ( Roman de Troie [Romance of Troy, 1154–60]) and Joseph of Exeter ( De Bello Troiano [On the Trojan War, 1183]) describe the war while rewriting the standard version they found in Dictys and Dares . They thus follow Horace 's advice and Virgil's example: they rewrite
1550-469: A ewe so that he could have his way with her among the flocks. There Theophane's other suitors could not distinguish the ram-god and his consort. Nephele's children escaped on the yellow ram over the sea, but Helle fell off and drowned in the strait now named after her, the Hellespont . The ram spoke to Phrixus, encouraging him, and took the boy safely to Colchis (modern-day south-east coastal region of
1705-489: A flat disk afloat on the river of Oceanus and overlooked by a hemispherical sky with sun, moon, and stars. The Sun ( Helios ) traversed the heavens as a charioteer and sailed around the Earth in a golden bowl at night. Sun, earth, heaven, rivers, and winds could be addressed in prayers and called to witness oaths. Natural fissures were popularly regarded as entrances to the subterranean house of Hades and his predecessors, home of
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#17327655375601860-558: A god "greater than he", Zeus swallowed her. She was already pregnant with Athena , however, and she burst forth from his head—fully-grown and dressed for war. The earliest Greek thought about poetry considered the theogonies to be the prototypical poetic genre—the prototypical mythos —and imputed almost magical powers to it. Orpheus , the archetypal poet, also was the archetypal singer of theogonies, which he uses to calm seas and storms in Apollonius' Argonautica , and to move
2015-1035: A god of the Minyans . However it is possible that Poseidon, like Zeus , was a common god of all Greeks from the beginning. The earliest attested occurrence of the name, written in Linear B , is 𐀡𐀮𐀅𐀃 Po-se-da-o or 𐀡𐀮𐀅𐀺𐀚 Po-se-da-wo-ne , which correspond to Ποσειδάων ( Poseidaōn ) and Ποσειδάϝoνος ( Poseidawοnos ) in Mycenean Greek ; in Homeric Greek it appears as Ποσιδάων ( Posidaōn ); in Aeolic as Ποτε(ι)δάων ( Pote(i)daōn ); in Doric as Ποτειδάν ( Poteidan ) and Ποτειδᾶς ( Poteidas ); in Arcadic as Ποσoιδᾱν ( Posoidan ). In inscriptions with Laconic style from Tainaron , Helos and Thuria as Ποhoιδᾱν ( Pohoidan ), indicating that
2170-529: A horse and mating with Demeter was not localized in Arcadia. At Haliartos in Boeotia near Thebes Poseidon appears as stallion. He mates with Erinys near the spring of Tilpousa and she gives birth to the faboulous horse Arion . At Tilpusa we have a very old cult of the chthonic deities Erinys and Poseidon. The water-god Poseidon appears as a horse which seems to represent the water-spirit and Erinys
2325-569: A horse, and gave him a foal to swallow instead of the child. In the Homeric Hymn Demeter puts a dark mourning robe around her shoulders as a sign of her sorrow. Demeter's mare-form was worshipped into historical times. The xoanon of Melaina at Phigalia shows how the local cult interpreted her, as goddess of nature. A Medusa type with a horse's head with snaky hair, holding a dove and a dolphin, probably representing her power over air and water. The myth of Poseidon appearing as
2480-513: A limited number of gods, who were the focus of large pan-Hellenic cults. It was, however, common for individual regions and villages to devote their own cults to minor gods. Many cities also honored the more well-known gods with unusual local rites and associated strange myths with them that were unknown elsewhere. During the heroic age, the cult of heroes (or demigods) supplemented that of the gods. "The origins of humanity [were] ascribed to various figures, including Zeus and Prometheus ." Bridging
2635-399: A magnificent temple upon a hill, Pontomedon ( Ποντομέδων ), " lord of the sea" ( Pindar , Aeschylus ) and Kymothales ( Κυμοθαλής ), "abounding with waves", indicate that Poseidon was regarded as holding sway over the sea. Other epithets that relate him with the sea are, Porthmios ( Πόρθμιος ), "of strait, narrow sea" at Karpathos , Epactaeus ( Ἐπακταῖος ) "god worshipped on
2790-478: A mare to avoid Poseidon. Poseidon took the form of a stallion and after their mating she gave birth to a daughter whose name was not allowed to be told to the unitiated and a horse called Arion (very swift). Her daughter obviously had the shape of a mare too. At first Demeter became angry and she was given the surname Erinys (fury) by the Thelpusians. The Erinyes were deities of vangeance, and Erinys had
2945-405: A musical contest with Apollo . Ian Morris considers Prometheus' adventures as "a place between the history of the gods and that of man." An anonymous papyrus fragment, dated to the third century, vividly portrays Dionysus ' punishment of the king of Thrace , Lycurgus , whose recognition of the new god came too late, resulting in horrific penalties that extended into the afterlife. The story of
3100-458: A number of local legends became attached. The story of Medea , in particular, caught the imagination of the tragic poets. In between the Argo and the Trojan War, there was a generation known chiefly for its horrific crimes. This includes the doings of Atreus and Thyestes at Argos. Behind the myth of the house of Atreus (one of the two principal heroic dynasties with the house of Labdacus ) lies
3255-519: A poem of Troy instead of telling something completely new. Poseidon Poseidon ( / p ə ˈ s aɪ d ən , p ɒ -, p oʊ -/ ; ‹See Tfd› Greek : Ποσειδῶν ) is one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and mythology , presiding over the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses. He was the protector of seafarers and the guardian of many Hellenic cities and colonies. In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece , Poseidon
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#17327655375603410-512: A sacred grove, whence Jason and the Argonauts stole it with the help of Medea , Aeëtes' daughter. The fleece is a symbol of authority and kingship. In the historical account, the hero Jason and his crew of Argonauts set out on a quest for the fleece by order of King Pelias in order to place Jason rightfully on the throne of Iolcus in Thessaly . Through the help of Medea , they acquire
3565-622: A sacrifice; in this way, according to a fragmentary papyrus , Alexander the Great paused at the Syrian seashore before the climactic battle of Issus , and resorted to prayers, "invoking Poseidon the sea-god, for whom he ordered a four-horse chariot to be cast into the waves". According to Pausanias , Poseidon was one of the caretakers of the oracle at Delphi before Olympian Apollo took it over. Apollo and Poseidon worked closely in many realms: in colonization, for example, Delphic Apollo provided
3720-407: A similar function with the goddess Dike (Justice). In the very old myth of Thelpusa Demeter-Erinys and Poseidon are divinities of the underworld in a pre-mythic period. Poseidon appears as a horse. In Greek folklore the horses had chthonic associations and it was believed that they could create springs. In European folklore the water-creatures or water-spirits appear with the shape of a horse or
3875-507: A spirit to every aspect of nature. Eventually, these vague spirits assumed human forms and entered the local mythology as gods. When tribes from the north of the Balkan Peninsula invaded, they brought with them a new pantheon of gods, based on conquest, force, prowess in battle, and violent heroism. Other older gods of the agricultural world fused with those of the more powerful invaders or else faded into insignificance. After
4030-492: A temple at Tainaron . Pausanias describes a sanctuary of Poseidon near Sparta beside the shrine of Alcon, where he had the surname Domatites ( Δωματίτης ), "of the house" Homer uses for Poseidon the title Kyanochaites ( Κυανοχαίτης ), "dark-haired, dark blue of the sea". Epithets like Pelagios ( Πελάγιος ) "of the open sea", Aegeus ( Αἰγαίος ), "of the high sea" in the town of Aegae in Euboea , where he had
4185-630: Is a separate deity from the oldest Greek god of the sea Pontus . In Athens his name is superimposed οn the name of the non-Greek god Erechtheus Ἑρεχθεύς ( Poseidon Erechtheus ). In the Iliad , he is the lord of the sea and his golden palace is built in Aegai, in the depth of the sea. His significance is indicated by his titles Eurykreion ( Εὐρυκρείων ) "wide-ruling", an epithet also applied to Agamemnon and Helikonios anax ( Ἑλικώνιος ἂναξ ), "lord of Helicon or Helike " In Helike of Achaia he
4340-773: Is an epithet of Demeter . It is possible that Demeter appears as Da-ma-te in a Linear B inscription (PN EN 609), however the interpretation is still under dispute. Si-to Po-tini-ja is probably related with Demeter as goddess of grain. Tablets from Pylos record sacrificial goods destined for "the Two ladies and the Lord" (or "to the Two Queens and the King": wa-na-soi , wa-na-ka-te ). Wa-na-ssoi may be related with Demeter and Persephone , or their precursors, goddesses who were not associated with Poseidon in later periods. During
4495-516: Is common in Indoeuropean grammar (usually for chthonic deities like the Erinyes ) and the duality was used for Demeter and Persephone in classical Greece (the double named goddesses). Potnia and wanassa refer to identical deities or two aspects of the same deity. E-ri-nu ( Erinys ) is attested in the inscriptions. In some ancient cults Erinys is related to Poseidon and her name
4650-454: Is identified in Linear B, as 𐀁𐀚𐀯𐀅𐀃𐀚 , E-ne-si-da-o-ne . Other epithets that relate him with the earthquakes are Gaieochos ( Γαιήοχος ) and Seisichthon ( Σεισίχθων ) The god who causes the earthquakes is also the protector against them, and he had the epithets Themeliouchos ( Θεμελιούχος ) "upholding the foundations", Asphaleios ( Ἀσφάλειος ) "securer, protector" with
4805-458: Is natural and occurs frequently in literature. The following are the chief among the various interpretations of the fleece, with notes on sources and major critical discussions: Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks , and a genre of ancient Greek folklore , today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology . These stories concern
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4960-461: Is portrayed as a sacrificer, mentioned as a founder of altars, and imagined as a voracious eater himself; it is in this role that he appears in comedy. While his tragic end provided much material for tragedy— Heracles is regarded by Thalia Papadopoulou as "a play of great significance in examination of other Euripidean dramas." In art and literature, Heracles was represented as an enormously strong man of moderate height; his characteristic weapon
5115-463: Is possible that the Greeks did not bring with them other gods except Zeus , Eos , and the Dioskouroi . The Pelasgian god probably represented the fertilising power of water, and then he was he was considered god of the sea . As the sea encircles and holds the earth in its position, Poseidon is the god who holds the earth and who has the ability to shake the earth. The primeval water who encircled
5270-653: Is possible that the name of Poseidon Helikonios in Boeotia whose fest included horseracing derives from the mountain Helikon . The Minyans had trade contacts with Mycenean Pylos and the Achaeans adopted the cult of Poseidon Helikonios . The cult spread in Peloponnese and then to Ionia when the Achaeans migrated to Asia Minor . Nilsson suggested that Poseidon was probably a common god of all Greeks from
5425-509: Is probably the personification of a revenging earth-spirit. From earlier times at Delphi Poseidon was joined in a religious union with the earth-goddess Ge . She is represented as a snake which is a form of the earth-spirit. In the Theogony of Hesiod Poseidon once slept with the monstrous Medousa near the mountain Helikon . She conceived the winged horse Pegasus who sprang out of her body when Perseus cut off her head. Pegasus stuck
5580-619: Is set in the tenth year of the war, tells of the quarrel between Agamemnon and Achilles, who was the finest Greek warrior, and the consequent deaths in battle of Achilles' beloved comrade Patroclus and Priam 's eldest son, Hector . After Hector's death, the Trojans were joined by two exotic allies, Penthesilea , queen of the Amazons , and Memnon , king of the Ethiopians and son of the dawn-goddess, Eos . Achilles killed both of these, but Paris then managed to kill Achilles with an arrow in
5735-528: Is that "the Greek gods are persons, not abstractions, ideas or concepts." Regardless of their underlying forms, the Ancient Greek gods have many fantastic abilities; most significantly, the gods are not affected by disease and can be wounded only under highly unusual circumstances. The Greeks considered immortality as the distinctive characteristic of their gods; this immortality, as well as unfading youth,
5890-531: Is the Argonautica of Apollonius of Rhodes , composed in the mid-third century BC Alexandria , recasting early sources that have not survived. Another, much less-known Argonautica, using the same body of myth, was composed in Latin by Valerius Flaccus during the time of Vespasian . Where the written sources fail, through accidents of history, sometimes the continuity of a mythic tradition can be found among
6045-513: The Arcadian myth Poseidon Hippios (horse) is mating with the mare-Demeter. At Thelpousa Demeter- Erinys gives birth to the horse Arion and to an unnamable daughter who has the shape of a mare. In some neighbour cults the daughter was called Despoina (mistress), which is another name of Persephone . The theriomorphic form of gods seems to be local in Arcadia in an old religion associated with xoana . According to some theories Poseidon
6200-531: The Chimera and Medusa . Bellerophon's adventures are commonplace types, similar to the adventures of Heracles and Theseus. Sending a hero to his presumed death is also a recurrent theme of this early heroic tradition, used in the cases of Perseus and Bellerophon. The only surviving Hellenistic epic, the Argonautica of Apollonius of Rhodes (epic poet, scholar, and director of the Library of Alexandria ) tells
6355-476: The Derveni Papyrus now proves that at least in the fifth-century BC a theogonic-cosmogonic poem of Orpheus was in existence. The first philosophical cosmologists reacted against, or sometimes built upon, popular mythical conceptions that had existed in the Greek world for some time. Some of these popular conceptions can be gleaned from the poetry of Homer and Hesiod. In Homer, the Earth was viewed as
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6510-592: The Dorians took the name from the older population. The form Ποτειδάϝων ( Poteidawōn ) appears in Corinth. The origins of the name "Poseidon" are unclear and the possible etymologies are contradictive among the scholars. One theory breaks it down into an element meaning "husband" or "lord" (Greek πόσις ( posis ), from PIE *pótis ) and another element meaning "earth" ( δᾶ ( da ), Doric for γῆ ( gē )), producing something like lord or spouse of Da , i.e. of
6665-520: The Geometric period from c. 900 BC to c. 800 BC onward. In fact, literary and archaeological sources integrate, sometimes mutually supportive and sometimes in conflict; however, in many cases, the existence of this corpus of data is an indication that many elements of Greek mythology have strong factual and historical roots. Mythical narration plays an important role in nearly every genre of Greek literature. Nevertheless,
6820-539: The Hellenistic and Roman ages was primarily composed as a literary rather than cultic exercise. Nevertheless, it contains many important details that would otherwise be lost. This category includes the works of: Prose writers from the same periods who make reference to myths include Apuleius , Petronius , Lollianus , and Heliodorus . Two other important non-poetical sources are the Fabulae and Astronomica of
6975-599: The Mycenean period, the ancestral male gods of the Myceneans were probably not represented in human forms, and the information given by the tablets found at Pylos and Knossos is insufficient. Poseidon was the chief deity at Pylos and Thebes . He is identified with Anax and he carried the title "Master of the Underworld". Anax had probably a cult associated with the protection of the palace. In Acrocorinth he
7130-584: The Orphic Hymn . Persephone is sometimes depicted with her head emerging from the ground. During the Mycenean period Poseidon was worshipped in several regions in Greece. At Pylos and some other cities he was a god of the underworld (Lord of the Underworld) and his cult was related to the protection of the palace. He carried the title anax , king or protector. His consort potnia , lady or mistress,
7285-598: The Parthenon depicting the sack of Troy); this artistic preference for themes deriving from the Trojan Cycle indicates its importance to the Ancient Greek civilization. The same mythological cycle also inspired a series of posterior European literary writings. For instance, Trojan Medieval European writers, unacquainted with Homer at first hand, found in the Troy legend a rich source of heroic and romantic storytelling and
7440-692: The Peloponnesian kingdoms of Mycenae , Sparta and Argos , claiming, according to legend, a right to rule them through their ancestor. Their rise to dominance is frequently called the " Dorian invasion ". The Lydian and later the Macedonian kings, as rulers of the same rank, also became Heracleidae. Other members of this earliest generation of heroes such as Perseus, Deucalion , Theseus and Bellerophon , have many traits in common with Heracles. Like him, their exploits are solitary, fantastic and border on fairy tale , as they slay monsters such as
7595-537: The Roman culture because of the story of Aeneas , a Trojan hero whose journey from Troy led to the founding of the city that would one day become Rome, as recounted in Virgil's Aeneid (Book II of Virgil's Aeneid contains the best-known account of the sack of Troy). Finally there are two pseudo-chronicles written in Latin that passed under the names of Dictys Cretensis and Dares Phrygius . The Trojan War cycle ,
7750-464: The Twelve Olympians . The fleece was guarded by a never-sleeping dragon with teeth that could become soldiers when planted in the ground. The dragon was at the foot of the tree on which the fleece was placed. In some versions of the story, Jason attempts to put the guard serpent to sleep. Pindar employed the quest for the Golden Fleece in his Fourth Pythian Ode (written in 462 BC), though
7905-548: The ancient Greek religion 's view of the origin and nature of the world ; the lives and activities of deities , heroes , and mythological creatures ; and the origins and significance of the ancient Greeks' cult and ritual practices. Modern scholars study the myths to shed light on the religious and political institutions of ancient Greece, and to better understand the nature of mythmaking itself. The Greek myths were initially propagated in an oral-poetic tradition most likely by Minoan and Mycenaean singers starting in
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#17327655375608060-488: The maenads , Poseidon also caused certain forms of mental disturbance. A Hippocratic text of ca 400 BC, On the Sacred Disease says that he was blamed for certain types of epilepsy. Poseidon is still worshipped today in modern Hellenic religion, among other Greek gods. The worship of Greek gods has been recognized by the Greek government since 2017. Poseidon had a variety of roles, duties and attributes. He
8215-570: The names po-se-da-wo-ne and Po-se-da-o ("Poseidon") occurs with greater frequency than does di-u-ja ("Zeus"). A feminine variant, po-se-de-ia , is also found, indicating a lost consort goddess, in effect the precursor of Amphitrite . Poseidon was the chief god at Pylos . The title wa-na-ka appears in the inscriptions. Poseidon was identified with wanax from the Homeric era to classical Greece. ( anax ). The title didn't mean only king, but also protector. Wanax had chthonic aspects, and he
8370-469: The polis . Many fests of Poseidon included athletic competitions and horseracing. In Corinth his cult was related to the Isthmian games . In Arcadia his cult was related to the games "Hippocrateia" and at Sparta he had a temple near an Hippodrome . In Onchestos of Boeotia horseracing was a part of the athletic games in honour of the god. Poseidon was considered a symbol of unity. The Panionia
8525-693: The 18th century BC; eventually the myths of the heroes of the Trojan War and its aftermath became part of the oral tradition of Homer 's epic poems , the Iliad and the Odyssey . Two poems by Homer's near contemporary Hesiod , the Theogony and the Works and Days , contain accounts of the genesis of the world, the succession of divine rulers, the succession of human ages, the origin of human woes, and
8680-458: The 20th century, some scholars suggested that the story of the Golden Fleece signified the bringing of sheep husbandry to Greece from the east; in other readings, scholars theorized it referred to golden grain, or to the Sun. A more widespread interpretation relates the myth of the fleece to a method of washing gold from streams, which was well attested (but only from c. 5th century BC ) in
8835-473: The Ancient Greek pantheon, poets composed the Homeric Hymns (a group of thirty-three songs). Gregory Nagy (1992) regards "the larger Homeric Hymns as simple preludes (compared with Theogony ), each of which invokes one god." The gods of Greek mythology are described as having essentially corporeal but ideal bodies. According to Walter Burkert , the defining characteristic of Greek anthropomorphism
8990-510: The Black Sea), on the easternmost shore of the Euxine (Black) Sea . There the ram was sacrificed to gods. In essence, this act returned the ram to the god Poseidon, and the ram became the constellation Aries . Phrixus settled in the house of Aeëtes , son of Helios the sun god. He hung the Golden Fleece preserved from the ram on an oak in a grove sacred to Ares , the god of war and one of
9145-541: The Golden Fleece. The story is of great antiquity and was current in the time of Homer (eighth century BC). It survives in various forms, among which the details vary. Nowadays, the heraldic variations of the Golden Fleece are featured frequently in Georgia , especially for Coats of Arms and Flags associated with Western Georgian (Historical Colchis) municipalities and cities, including the Coats of Arms of City of Kutaisi ,
9300-406: The Greek language). His Roman equivalent is Neptune . Homer and Hesiod suggest that Poseidon became lord of the sea when, following the overthrow of his father Cronus , the world was divided by lot among Cronus' three sons; Zeus was given the sky, Hades the underworld, and Poseidon the sea, with the Earth and Mount Olympus belonging to all three. In Homer 's Iliad , Poseidon supports
9455-610: The Greek leaders (including the wanderings of Odysseus and Aeneas (the Aeneid ), and the murder of Agamemnon) were told in two epics, the Returns (the lost Nostoi ) and Homer's Odyssey . The Trojan cycle also includes the adventures of the children of the Trojan generation (e.g., Orestes and Telemachus ). The Trojan War provided a variety of themes and became a main source of inspiration for Ancient Greek artists (e.g. metopes on
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#17327655375609610-472: The Greek world and noted the stories they heard, supplied numerous local myths and legends, often giving little-known alternative versions. Herodotus in particular, searched the various traditions he encountered and found the historical or mythological roots in the confrontation between Greece and the East. Herodotus attempted to reconcile origins and the blending of differing cultural concepts. The poetry of
9765-527: The Greeks against the Trojans during the Trojan War ; in the Odyssey , during the sea-voyage from Troy back home to Ithaca , the Greek hero Odysseus provokes Poseidon's fury by blinding his son, the Cyclops Polyphemus , resulting in Poseidon punishing him with storms, causing the complete loss of his ship and companions, and delaying his return by ten years. Poseidon is also the subject of
9920-499: The Olympians, the Greeks worshipped various gods of the countryside, the satyr-god Pan , Nymphs (spirits of rivers), Naiads (who dwelled in springs), Dryads (who were spirits of the trees), Nereids (who inhabited the sea), river gods, Satyrs , and others. In addition, there were the dark powers of the underworld, such as the Erinyes (or Furies), said to pursue those guilty of crimes against blood-relatives. In order to honor
10075-441: The Roman writer styled as Pseudo- Hyginus , the Imagines of Philostratus the Elder and Philostratus the Younger , and the Descriptions of Callistratus . Finally, several Byzantine Greek writers provide important details of myth, much derived from earlier now lost Greek works. These preservers of myth include Arnobius , Hesychius , the author of the Suda , John Tzetzes , and Eustathius . They often treat mythology from
10230-464: The Trojan cycle, as well as the adventures of Heracles. These visual representations of myths are important for two reasons. Firstly, many Greek myths are attested on vases earlier than in literary sources: of the twelve labors of Heracles, for example, only the Cerberus adventure occurs in a contemporary literary text. Secondly, visual sources sometimes represent myths or mythical scenes that are not attested in any extant literary source. In some cases,
10385-456: The age when gods lived alone and the age when divine interference in human affairs was limited was a transitional age in which gods and mortals moved together. These were the early days of the world when the groups mingled more freely than they did later. Most of these tales were later told by Ovid's Metamorphoses and they are often divided into two thematic groups: tales of love, and tales of punishment. Tales of love often involve incest, or
10540-464: The ancient capital city of Colchis. Athamas the founder of Thessaly, but also king of the city of Orchomenus in Boeotia (a region of southeastern Greece ), took the goddess Nephele as his first wife. They had two children, the boy Phrixus (whose name means "curly", as in the texture of the ram's fleece) and the girl Helle . Later Athamas became enamored of and married Ino , the daughter of Cadmus . When Nephele left in anger, drought came upon
10695-425: The appropriation or invention of some important cultural artifact, as when Prometheus steals fire from the gods, when Tantalus steals nectar and ambrosia from Zeus' table and gives it to his subjects—revealing to them the secrets of the gods, when Prometheus or Lycaon invents sacrifice, when Demeter teaches agriculture and the Mysteries to Triptolemus , or when Marsyas invents the aulos and enters into
10850-446: The army of the dead." Another important difference between the hero cult and the cult of gods is that the hero becomes the centre of local group identity. The monumental events of Heracles are regarded as the dawn of the age of heroes. To the Heroic Age are also ascribed three great events: the Argonautic expedition, the Theban Cycle , and the Trojan War . Some scholars believe that behind Heracles' complicated mythology there
11005-401: The arrival of Dionysus to establish his cult in Thrace was also the subject of an Aeschylean trilogy. In another tragedy, Euripides' The Bacchae , the king of Thebes , Pentheus , is punished by Dionysus, because he disrespected the god and spied on his Maenads , the female worshippers of the god. In another story, based on an old folktale-motif, and echoing a similar theme, Demeter
11160-474: The authorization to go out and settle, while Poseidon watched over the colonists on their way, and provided the lustral water for the foundation-sacrifice. At one time Delphi belonged to him in common with Ge, but Apollo gave him the psychopompeion Kalaureia as a compensation for it. Xenophon 's Anabasis describes a group of Spartan soldiers in 400–399 BC singing to Poseidon a paean —a kind of hymn normally sung for Apollo. Like Dionysus , who inflamed
11315-590: The basis for the collection; however, the "Library" discusses events that occurred long after his death, hence the name Pseudo-Apollodorus. Among the earliest literary sources are Homer 's two epic poems, the Iliad and the Odyssey . Other poets completed the Epic Cycle , but these later and lesser poems now are lost almost entirely. Despite their traditional name, the Homeric Hymns have no direct connection with Homer. The oldest are choral hymns from
11470-562: The beginning. The Greeks occupied Thessaly , Boeotia and Peloponnese during the Bronze Age. In all these regions Poseidon was the god of the horses. The origin of his cult was Peloponnese and he was the inland god of the Achaeans , the god of the "horses" and the "earthquakes". When the Achaeans migrated to Ionia there was a transition to regarding Poseidon as the god of the sea because the Ionians were sea-dependent. With no doubt he
11625-409: The beginnings of the universe in human language. The most widely accepted version at the time, although a philosophical account of the beginning of things, is reported by Hesiod , in his Theogony . He begins with Chaos , a yawning nothingness. Next comes Gaia (Earth), "the ever-sure foundation of all", and then Tartarus , "in the depth of the wide-pathed Earth", and Eros (Love), "fairest among
11780-512: The composition of the story of the Argonauts is earlier than Odyssey , which shows familiarity with the exploits of Jason (the wandering of Odysseus may have been partly founded on it). In ancient times, the expedition was regarded as a historical fact, an incident in the opening up of the Black Sea to Greek commerce and colonization. It was also extremely popular, forming a cycle to which
11935-451: The concept and ritual. The age in which the heroes lived is known as the Heroic age . The epic and genealogical poetry created cycles of stories clustered around particular heroes or events and established the family relationships between the heroes of different stories; they thus arranged the stories in sequence. According to Ken Dowden (1992), "there is even a saga effect: We can follow
12090-400: The culture, arts, and literature of Western civilization and remains part of Western heritage and language. Poets and artists from ancient times to the present have derived inspiration from Greek mythology and have discovered contemporary significance and relevance in the themes. Greek mythology is known today primarily from Greek literature and representations on visual media dating from
12245-461: The dead. Influences from other cultures always afforded new themes. According to Classical-era mythology, after the overthrow of the Titans, the new pantheon of gods and goddesses was confirmed. Among the principal Greek gods were the Olympians, residing on Mount Olympus under the eye of Zeus. (The limitation of their number to twelve seems to have been a comparatively modern idea.) Besides
12400-514: The deathless gods". Without male assistance, Gaia gave birth to Uranus (the Sky) who then fertilized her. From that union were born first the Titans —six males: Coeus , Crius , Cronus , Hyperion , Iapetus , and Oceanus ; and six females: Mnemosyne , Phoebe , Rhea , Theia , Themis , and Tethys . After Cronus was born, Gaia and Uranus decreed no more Titans were to be born. They were followed by
12555-473: The decoration of votive gifts and many other artifacts. Geometric designs on pottery of the eighth century BC depict scenes from the Epic Cycle as well as the adventures of Heracles . In the succeeding Archaic , Classical , and Hellenistic periods, Homeric and various other mythological scenes appear, supplementing the existing literary evidence. Greek mythology has had an extensive influence on
12710-456: The divine child. Potnia was the Mycenean goddess of nature and she was the consort of Poseidon at Pylos. She is mentioned together with bucrania in decorated jugs and he was associated with the animals and especially to the bull. In Athens Poseidon was an inland god who created the salt-sea Erecthēιs ( Ερεχθηίς ), "sea of Erechtheus". In Acropolis his cult was superimposed on the cult of
12865-624: The divine-focused Theogony and Homeric Hymns in both size and popularity. Under the influence of Homer the "hero cult" leads to a restructuring in spiritual life, expressed in the separation of the realm of the gods from the realm of the dead (heroes), of the Chthonic from the Olympian. In the Works and Days , Hesiod makes use of a scheme of Four Ages of Man (or Races): Golden, Silver, Bronze, and Iron. These races or ages are separate creations of
13020-480: The earlier part of the so-called Lyric age . Hesiod , a possible contemporary with Homer, offers in his Theogony ( Origin of the Gods ) the fullest account of the earliest Greek myths, dealing with the creation of the world, the origin of the gods, Titans , and Giants , as well as elaborate genealogies, folktales, and aetiological myths. Hesiod's Works and Days , a didactic poem about farming life, also includes
13175-724: The earth ( Oceanus ) is the origin of all rivers and springs. They are children of Oceanus and Tethys . Farnell suggested that Poseidon was originally the god of the Minyans who occupied Thessaly and Boeotia . There is a similarity between the Boeotian and Arcadian myths and especially between the myths which represent the god of the waters Poseidon as a horse. The mythical horse Arion appears in both regions. The offspring of Poseidon winged horse Pegasus creates famous springs near Helikon and at Troizen . Some springs of Poseidon have similar names in Boeotia and Peloponnese . It
13330-523: The earth; this would link him with Demeter , "Earth-mother". Burkert finds that "the second element δᾶ- remains hopelessly ambiguous" and finds a "husband of Earth" reading "quite impossible to prove". According to Beekes in Etymological Dictionary of Greek , "there is no indication that δᾶ means 'earth'", although the root da appears in the Linear B inscription E-ne-si-da-o-ne , "earth-shaker". Another, theory interprets
13485-470: The earthquakes. In some cults he was worshipped as the "bringer of safety" or "protector of the house and the foundations". The god was considered the creator of the first horse, and it was believed that he taught men the art of taming horses. He was depicted on horseback, or riding in a chariot drawn by two or four horses. He had a lot of temples in Arcadia , with the surname Hippios (of the horse) and he
13640-476: The evolution of their culture, of which mythology, both overtly and in its unspoken assumptions, is an index of the changes. In Greek mythology's surviving literary forms, as found mostly at the end of the progressive changes, it is inherently political, as Gilbert Cuthbertson (1975) has argued. The earlier inhabitants of the Balkan Peninsula were an agricultural people who, using animism , assigned
13795-405: The fates of some families in successive generations." After the rise of the hero cult, gods and heroes constitute the sacral sphere and are invoked together in oaths and prayers which are addressed to them. Burkert (2002) notes that "the roster of heroes, again in contrast to the gods, is never given fixed and final form. Great gods are no longer born, but new heroes can always be raised up from
13950-561: The festival of all Ionians near Mycale were celebrated in honour of Poseidon Helikonios and was the place of meeting of the Ionian League . He was the patron god of the Amphictiony of Kalaureia . At Onchestos of Boeotia he was worshipped as Poseidon Helikonios . His sanctuary became the place of meeting of the second Boeotian league . At Helike of Achaea there was the famous temple of Poseidon Helikonios , which
14105-515: The fight, Poseidon sent a monstrous flood to the Attic plain to punish the Athenians for not choosing him. In similar competitions with other deities in different cities, he causes devastating floods when he loses. Poseidon is a horrifying and avenging god and must be honoured even when he is not the patron deity of the city. Some scholars suggested that Poseidon was probably a Pelasgian god or
14260-509: The first known representation of a myth in geometric art predates its first known representation in late archaic poetry, by several centuries. In the Archaic ( c. 750 – c. 500 BC ), Classical ( c. 480 –323 BC), and Hellenistic (323–146 BC) periods, Homeric and various other mythological scenes appear, supplementing the existing literary evidence. Greek mythology has changed over time to accommodate
14415-467: The fleece is not in the foreground. When Aeëtes challenges Jason to yoke the fire-breathing bulls, the fleece is the prize: "Let the King do this, the captain of the ship! Let him do this, I say, and have for his own the immortal coverlet, the fleece, glowing with matted skeins of gold". In later versions of the story, the ram is said to have been the offspring of the sea god Poseidon and Themisto (less often, Nephele or Theophane ). The classic telling
14570-457: The folk belief. In the Greek legends Arethusa and the river Alpheus traversed underground under the sea and reappeared at Ortygia . In any case, the early importance of Poseidon can still be glimpsed in Homer 's Odyssey , where Poseidon rather than Zeus is the major mover of events. In Homer, Poseidon is the master of the sea. He is described as a majestic, scary, and avenging monarch of
14725-472: The gods, the Golden Age belonging to the reign of Cronos, the subsequent races to the creation of Zeus . The presence of evil was explained by the myth of Pandora , when all of the best of human capabilities, save hope, had been spilled out of her overturned jar. In Metamorphoses , Ovid follows Hesiod's concept of the four ages. "Myths of origin" or " creation myths " represent an attempt to explain
14880-428: The ground with his hoof and created the famous spring Hippocrene near Helikon. Praxidicai were female deities of judicial punishment worshipped in the region of Haliartos in the historical times. Ttheir origin is probably the same with Erinys . Their images depicted only the heads of the goddesses probably a representation of the earth goddess emerging from the ground. Praxidice is and epithet of Persephone in
15035-541: The heel. Achilles' heel was the only part of his body which was not invulnerable to damage by human weaponry. Before they could take Troy, the Greeks had to steal from the citadel the wooden image of Pallas Athena (the Palladium ). Finally, with Athena's help, they built the Trojan Horse . Despite the warnings of Priam's daughter Cassandra , the Trojans were persuaded by Sinon , a Greek who feigned desertion, to take
15190-670: The highest social prestige through his appointment as official ancestor of the Dorian kings. This probably served as a legitimation for the Dorian migrations into the Peloponnese . Hyllus , the eponymous hero of one Dorian phyle , became the son of Heracles and one of the Heracleidae or Heraclids (the numerous descendants of Heracles, especially the descendants of Hyllus —other Heracleidae included Macaria , Lamos, Manto , Bianor , Tlepolemus , and Telephus ). These Heraclids conquered
15345-420: The horse inside the walls of Troy as an offering to Athena; the priest Laocoon, who tried to have the horse destroyed, was killed by sea-serpents. At night the Greek fleet returned, and the Greeks from the horse opened the gates of Troy. In the total sack that followed, Priam and his remaining sons were slaughtered; the Trojan women passed into slavery in various cities of Greece. The adventurous homeward voyages of
15500-460: The introduction of the horse and war-chariot from Anatolia to Greece around 1600 BC. In the Boeotian myth Poseidon is the water-god and Erinys is a goddess of the underworld. She is probably the personification of a revenging earth spirit and it seems that she had a similar function with the goddess Dike (Justice). At the spring "Tilpousa" she gives birth to the fabulous horse Arion . In
15655-571: The islands of the Aegean and in the cities of Asia Minor . At Lesbos and Epidauros the month was called Poseidios . During this month Poseidon was worshipped as the "master of the sea" in a bright cult. 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 Ionia and Magna Graecia he was the chief god of
15810-496: The land. Ino was jealous of her stepchildren and plotted their deaths; in some versions, she persuaded Athamas that sacrificing Phrixus was the only way to end the drought. Nephele, or her spirit, appeared to the children with a winged ram whose fleece was of gold . The ram had been sired by Poseidon in his primitive ram-form upon Theophane , a nymph and the granddaughter of Helios , the sun-god. According to Hyginus , Poseidon carried Theophane to an island where he made her into
15965-533: The liquid element and the underworld. In Greek folklore the horse is associated with the underworld and it was believed that it had the ability to create springs. In the European folklore the water-spirit appears with the shape of a horse or a bull. In Greece the river god Acheloos is represented as a bull or a man-bull. Burkert suggests that the Hellenic cult of Poseidon as a horse god may be connected to
16120-409: The local ancestral figure Erechtheus . In Athens and Asine he was worshipped in the house of the king during the Mycenean period. The bull was the favourite animal for sacrifices and it seems that horses were rarely used during the burial of the Mycenean leaders. In the Arcadian myths, Poseidon is related to Demeter and Despoina (another name of Kore- Persephone ) and he was worshipped with
16275-576: The middle of the Archaic period, myths about relationships between male gods and male heroes became more and more frequent, indicating the parallel development of pedagogic pederasty ( παιδικὸς ἔρως , eros paidikos ), thought to have been introduced around 630 BC. By the end of the fifth-century BC, poets had assigned at least one eromenos , an adolescent boy who was their sexual companion, to every important god except Ares and many legendary figures. Previously existing myths, such as those of Achilles and Patroclus , also then were cast in
16430-631: The mouth of the dragon, a detail that does not fit easily into the literary sources; behind the dragon, the fleece hangs from an apple tree. Jason's helper in the Athenian vase-paintings is not Medea — who had a history in Athens as the opponent of Theseus —but Athena . A long time ago, fleeces were considered very important. Several euhemeristic attempts to interpret the Golden Fleece "realistically" as reflecting some physical cultural object or alleged historical practice have been made. For example, in
16585-515: The myth of the voyage of Jason and the Argonauts to retrieve the Golden Fleece from the mythical land of Colchis . In the Argonautica , Jason is impelled on his quest by king Pelias , who receives a prophecy that a man with one sandal would be his nemesis . Jason loses a sandal in a river, arrives at the court of Pelias, and the epic is set in motion. Nearly every member of the next generation of heroes, as well as Heracles, went with Jason in
16740-427: The mythological details about gods and heroes. The evidence about myths and rituals at Mycenaean and Minoan sites is entirely monumental, as the Linear B script (an ancient form of Greek found in both Crete and mainland Greece) was used mainly to record inventories, although certain names of gods and heroes have been tentatively identified. Geometric designs on pottery of the eighth-century BC depict scenes from
16895-530: The myths of Prometheus , Pandora , and the Five Ages . The poet advises on the best way to succeed in a dangerous world, rendered yet more dangerous by its gods. Lyrical poets often took their subjects from myth, but their treatment became gradually less narrative and more allusive. Greek lyric poets, including Pindar , Bacchylides and Simonides , and bucolic poets such as Theocritus and Bion , relate individual mythological incidents. Additionally, myth
17050-581: The name of a Greek colony at the Syrian coast. In Ionia his cult was introduced by Achaean colonists from Greece in the 11th century BC. Traditionally the colonists came from Pylos where Poseidon was the principal god of the city. The god had a famous temple near the mountain Mycale . The month Poseidaon is the month of the winter-storms. The name of the month was used in Ionic territories, in Athens , in
17205-416: The oldest Greek myths appear in Boeotia . In ancient cults Poseidon was worshipped as a horse. The mythical horse Arion was a sire of Poseidon-horse with Erinys and the winged horse Pegasus a sire of Poseidon foaled by Medousa. At Onchestos he had an old famous festival which included horseracing. However it is possible that Poseidon like Zeus was a common god of all Greeks from the beginning. It
17360-492: The one-eyed Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires or Hundred-Handed Ones, who were both thrown into Tartarus by Uranus. This made Gaia furious. Cronus ("the wily, youngest and most terrible of Gaia 's children") was convinced by Gaia to castrate his father. He did this and became the ruler of the Titans with his sister-wife, Rhea, as his consort, and the other Titans became his court. A motif of father-against-son conflict
17515-473: The only general mythographical handbook to survive from Greek antiquity was the Library of Pseudo-Apollodorus. This work attempts to reconcile the contradictory tales of the poets and provides a grand summary of traditional Greek mythology and heroic legends. Apollodorus of Athens lived from c. 180 BC to c. 125 BC and wrote on many of these topics. His writings may have formed
17670-697: The origin of sacrificial practices. Myths are also preserved in the Homeric Hymns , in fragments of epic poems of the Epic Cycle , in lyric poems , in the works of the tragedians and comedians of the fifth century BC, in writings of scholars and poets of the Hellenistic Age , and in texts from the time of the Roman Empire by writers such as Plutarch and Pausanias . Aside from this narrative deposit in ancient Greek literature , pictorial representations of gods, heroes, and mythic episodes featured prominently in ancient vase paintings and
17825-459: The problem of the devolution of power and of the mode of accession to sovereignty. The twins Atreus and Thyestes with their descendants played the leading role in the tragedy of the devolution of power in Mycenae. The Theban Cycle deals with events associated especially with Cadmus , the city's founder, and later with the doings of Laius and Oedipus at Thebes; a series of stories that lead to
17980-512: The region of Georgia to the east of the Black Sea. Sheep fleeces, sometimes stretched over a wooden frame, would be submerged in the stream, and gold flecks borne down from upstream placer deposits would collect in them. The fleeces would be hung in trees to dry before the gold was shaken or combed out. Alternatively, the fleeces would be used on washing tables in alluvial mining of gold or on washing tables at deep gold mines . Judging by
18135-411: The rocks of Tempe with his trident. In Greek folklore the horse can also create springs . As god of the sea Poseidon was also god of fishing and especially of sea-fishing. Tuna was offered to him by the fishermen during the festal meal for the protection of the nets . Tuna and later dolphin was his attribute. He was worshipped in many islands and cities by the coast. At Corcyra a roaring bull near
18290-458: The same name as the western Iberians , from the gold mines in both countries. Another interpretation is based on the references in some versions to purple or purple-dyed cloth. The purple dye extracted from the purple dye murex snail and related species was highly prized in ancient times. Clothing made of cloth dyed with Tyrian purple was a mark of great wealth and high station (hence the phrase "royal purple"). The association of gold with purple
18445-435: The sea-shore quaranteed a good fishing. The devastating storm of Poseidon is related to fishermen and they poured drink offerings to Poseidon - savior into the sea. The god of inland waters is very close to vegetation and Poseidon was worshipped in many cities as god of vegetation. Haloa in Athens was a fest of vegetation. The Protrygaia , a wine-fest seem to belong to Dionysus and Poseidon. In several cities Poseidon
18600-402: The sea. In the primitive Boeotian and Arcadian myths Poseidon, the god of the underworld, appears as a horse and he is mating with the earth goddess. The earth goddess is called Erinys or Demeter and she gives birth to the fabulous horse Arion and the unnamed daughter Despoina , which is another name of Persephone . The horse represents the divine spirit ( numen ) and is related to
18755-599: The sea. The worship of Poseidon was extended all over Greece and southern Italy , but he was specially honoured in Peloponnese which is called "the residence of Poseidon" and in the Ionic cities. The significance of his cult is indicated by the names of cities like Poteidaia in the Chalkidiki peninsula and Poseidonia ( Paestum ), a Greek colony in Italy. Poseidion is a frequent Greek placename along coastlines and
18910-482: The sea. Boars and rams were also used and in Argolis horses were thrown into a well as a sacrifice to him. In his benign aspect, Poseidon was seen as creating new islands and offering calm seas. When offended or ignored, he supposedly struck the ground with his trident and caused chaotic springs, earthquakes , drownings and shipwrecks . Sailors prayed to Poseidon for a safe voyage, sometimes drowning horses as
19065-441: The second element as related to the (presumed) Doric word *δᾶϝον dâwon , "water", Proto-Indo-European *dah₂- "water" or *dʰenh₂- "to run, flow", Sanskrit दन् dā́-nu- "fluid, drop, dew" and names of rivers such as Danube (< *Danuvius ) or Don . This would make * Posei-dawōn into the master of waters. Plato in his dialogue Cratylus gives two traditional etymologies: either the sea restrained Poseidon when walking as
19220-510: The seduction or rape of a mortal woman by a male god, resulting in heroic offspring. The stories generally suggest that relationships between gods and mortals are something to avoid; even consenting relationships rarely have happy endings. In a few cases, a female divinity mates with a mortal man, as in the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite , where the goddess lies with Anchises to produce Aeneas . The second type (tales of punishment) involves
19375-530: The ship Argo to fetch the Golden Fleece. This generation also included Theseus , who went to Crete to slay the Minotaur ; Atalanta , the female heroine, and Meleager , who once had an epic cycle of his own to rival the Iliad and Odyssey . Pindar , Apollonius and the Bibliotheca endeavor to give full lists of the Argonauts. Although Apollonius wrote his poem in the 3rd century BC,
19530-483: The society while the beliefs were held. After they ceased to become religious beliefs, few would have known the rites and rituals. Allusions often existed, however, to aspects that were quite public. Images existed on pottery and religious artwork that were interpreted and more likely, misinterpreted in many diverse myths and tales. A few fragments of these works survive in quotations by Neoplatonist philosophers and recently unearthed papyrus scraps. One of these scraps,
19685-615: The stone, which had been sitting in Cronus's stomach all this time. Zeus then challenged Cronus to war for the kingship of the gods. At last, with the help of the Cyclopes (whom Zeus freed from Tartarus), Zeus and his siblings were victorious, while Cronus and the Titans were hurled down to imprisonment in Tartarus . Zeus was plagued by the same concern, and after a prophecy that the offspring of his first wife, Metis , would give birth to
19840-406: The stony hearts of the underworld gods in his descent to Hades . When Hermes invents the lyre in the Homeric Hymn to Hermes , the first thing he does is sing about the birth of the gods. Hesiod's Theogony is not only the fullest surviving account of the gods but also the fullest surviving account of the archaic poet's function, with its long preliminary invocation to the Muses . Theogony also
19995-416: The surname Hippios in many Arcadian cities. At Thelpusa and Phigalia there were sister worships which are very important for the study of primitive religions. In these cults Demeter and Poseidon were chthonic divinities of the underworld. Near Thelpusa the river Ladon descended to the sunctuary of Demeter Erinys (Demeter-Fury). During her wandering in search of her daughter Demeter changed into
20150-422: The tale known to us through tragedy (e.g. Sophocles' Oedipus Rex ) and later mythological accounts. Greek mythology culminates in the Trojan War, fought between Greece and Troy , and its aftermath. In Homer's works, such as the Iliad , the chief stories have already taken shape and substance, and individual themes were elaborated later, especially in Greek drama. The Trojan War also elicited great interest in
20305-579: The vase-painters. The story of the Golden Fleece appeared to have little resonance for Athenians of the Classic age, for only two representations of it on Attic-painted wares of the fifth century have been identified: a krater at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and a kylix in the Vatican collections. In the kylix painted by Douris, c. 480 –470, Jason is being disgorged from
20460-425: The very early gold objects from a range of cultures, washing for gold is a very old human activity. Strabo describes the way in which gold could be washed: It is said that in their country gold is carried down by the mountain torrents, and that the barbarians obtain it by means of perforated troughs and fleecy skins, and that this is the origin of the myth of the golden fleece—unless they call them Iberians , by
20615-577: The war of the Seven against Thebes and the eventual pillage of that city at the hands of the Epigoni . (It is not known whether the Seven figured in early epic.) As far as Oedipus is concerned, early epic accounts seem to have him continuing to rule at Thebes after the revelation that Iokaste was his mother, and subsequently marrying a second wife who becomes the mother of his children—markedly different from
20770-434: The world" may be divided into three or four broader periods: While the age of gods often has been of more interest to contemporary students of myth, the Greek authors of the archaic and classical eras had a clear preference for the age of heroes, establishing a chronology and record of human accomplishments after the questions of how the world came into being were explained. For example, the heroic Iliad and Odyssey dwarfed
20925-399: Was a Pelasgian god or a god of the Minyans . Traditionally the Minyans are considered Pelasgians and they lived in Thessaly and Boeotia . In Thessaly ( Pelasgiotis ) there was a close relation to the horses. Poseidon created the first horse Skyphios hitting a rock with his trident and managed in the same way to drain the valley of Tempe. The Thessalians were famous charioteers. Some of
21080-491: Was a title which accompanied female goddesses. The goddess of nature survived in the Eleusinian cult , where the following words were uttered: "Mighty Potnia bore a strong son". In the heavily sea-dependent Mycenaean culture, there is not sufficient evidence that Poseidon was connected with the sea; it is unclear whether "Posedeia" was a sea-goddess. The Greeks invaders came from far inland and they were not familiarized with
21235-401: Was also transformed into a horse to seduce Demeter . Being the god of waters, Poseidon is related to the primeval water which encircles the earth ( Oceanus ), who is the father of all rivers and springs. He can create springs with the strike of his trident. He was worshipped as "ruler of the springs" and "leader of the nymphs" In Thessaly it was believed that he drained the area cutting
21390-598: Was central to classical Athenian drama . The tragic playwrights Aeschylus , Sophocles , and Euripides took most of their plots from myths of the age of heroes and the Trojan War. Many of the great tragic stories (e.g. Agamemnon and his children, Oedipus , Jason , Medea , etc.) took on their classic form in these tragedies. The comic playwright Aristophanes also used myths, in The Birds and The Frogs . Historians Herodotus and Diodorus Siculus , and geographers Pausanias and Strabo , who traveled throughout
21545-498: Was closely associated with Poseidon, who had the title "Lord of the Underworld". The chthonic nature of Poseidon is also indicated by his title E-ne-si-da-o-ne (Earth-shaker) in Mycenean Knossos and Pylos . Through Homer the epithet was also used in classical Greece. (ennosigaios, ennosidas). Po-tini-ja ( potnia : lady or mistress) was the chief goddess at Pylos and she was closely associated with Poseidon. She
21700-478: Was insured by the constant use of nectar and ambrosia , by which the divine blood was renewed in their veins. Each god descends from his or her own genealogy, pursues differing interests, has a certain area of expertise, and is governed by a unique personality; however, these descriptions arise from a multiplicity of archaic local variants, which do not always agree with one another. When these gods are called upon in poetry, prayer, or cult, they are referred to by
21855-573: Was not allowed to be told to the unitiated (At Lycosura her daughter was called Despoina ). Demeter angry with Poseidon put on a black dressing and shut herself in the cavern. When the fruits of the earth were perished, Zeus sent the Moirai to Demeter who listened to them and led aside her wrath. In this cult we have traces of a very old cult of Demeter and Poseidon as deities of the underworld. In another Arcadian myth when Rhea had given birth to Poseidon, she told Cronus that she had given birth to
22010-406: Was originally the god of the waters. The Greeks believed that the cause of the earthquakes was the erosion of the rocks by the waters, by the rivers in Peloponnese which they saw to disappear into the earth and then to burst out again. The god of the waters became the "earth-shaker". This is what the natural philosophers Thales Anaximenes and Aristotle believed and could not be different from
22165-592: Was probably a real man, perhaps a chieftain-vassal of the kingdom of Argos . Some scholars suggest the story of Heracles is an allegory for the sun's yearly passage through the twelve constellations of the zodiac. Others point to earlier myths from other cultures, showing the story of Heracles as a local adaptation of hero myths already well established. Traditionally, Heracles was the son of Zeus and Alcmene , granddaughter of Perseus . His fantastic solitary exploits, with their many folk-tale themes, provided much material for popular legend. According to Burkert (2002), "He
22320-511: Was repeated when Cronus was confronted by his son, Zeus . Because Cronus had betrayed his father, he feared that his offspring would do the same, and so each time Rhea gave birth, he snatched up the child and ate it. Rhea hated this and tricked him by hiding Zeus and wrapping a stone in a baby's blanket, which Cronus ate. When Zeus was full-grown, he fed Cronus a drugged drink which caused him to vomit, throwing up Rhea's other children, including Poseidon , Hades , Hestia , Demeter , and Hera , and
22475-540: Was searching for her daughter, Persephone , having taken the form of an old woman called Doso, and received a hospitable welcome from Celeus , the King of Eleusis in Attica . As a gift to Celeus, because of his hospitality, Demeter planned to make his son Demophon a god, but she was unable to complete the ritual because his mother Metanira walked in and saw her son in the fire and screamed in fright, which angered Demeter, who lamented that foolish mortals do not understand
22630-598: Was specially honoured. Anax is identified in Mycenaean Greek ( Linear B ) as wa-na-ka , a title of Poseidon as king of the underworld. Aeschylus uses also the epithet anax and Pindar the epithet Eurymedon ( Εὐρυμέδων ) "widely ruling". Some of the epithets (or adjectives) applied to him like Enosigaios ( Ἐνοσίγαιος ), Enosichthon ( Ἐνοσίχθων ) ( Homer ) and Ennosidas ( Ἐννοσίδας ) ( Pindar ), mean "earth shaker". These epithets indicate his chthonic nature, and have an older evidence of use, as it
22785-408: Was the Mycenean goddess of nature and Poseidon— Wanax is one from the gods who may be considered her "male paredros". The earth shaker received offerings in the cave of the goddess of childbirth Eileithyia at Amnisos in Crete . Poseidon is allied with Potnia and the divine child. Wa-na-ssa ( anassa :queen or lady) appears in the inscriptions usually in plural. (Wa-na-ssoi). The dual number
22940-414: Was the Mycenean goddess of nature. Her main aspects were birth and vegetation. Poseidon had the title "Enesidaon" (earth-shaker) and in Crete he was associated with the goddess of childbirth Eleithyia . Through Homer the Mycenean titles were also used in classical Greece with similar meaning. He was identified with anax and he carried the epithets "Ennosigaios" and "Ennosidas" (earth-shaker). Potnia
23095-575: Was the bow but frequently also the club. Vase paintings demonstrate the unparalleled popularity of Heracles, his fight with the lion being depicted many hundreds of times. Heracles also entered Etruscan and Roman mythology and cult, and the exclamation "mehercule" became as familiar to the Romans as "Herakleis" was to the Greeks. In Italy he was worshipped as a god of merchants and traders, although others also prayed to him for his characteristic gifts of good luck or rescue from danger. Heracles attained
23250-431: Was the goddess of love and beauty, Ares was the god of war, Hades the ruler of the underworld, and Athena the goddess of wisdom and courage. Some gods, such as Apollo and Dionysus , revealed complex personalities and mixtures of functions, while others, such as Hestia (literally "hearth") and Helios (literally "sun"), were little more than personifications. The most impressive temples tended to be dedicated to
23405-463: Was the place of meeting of the Achaean League . The "master of the sea" creates clouds and storms, but he is also the protector of the sailors. He has the ability to calm the sea for a good voyage and save those who are in danger. He was worshipped with the surname "savior" as the protector of the seafarers and the fishermen. He is the "earthshaker", however he is also the protector against
23560-503: Was the subject of many lost poems, including those attributed to Orpheus, Musaeus , Epimenides , Abaris , and other legendary seers, which were used in private ritual purifications and mystery-rites . There are indications that Plato was familiar with some version of the Orphic theogony. A silence would have been expected about religious rites and beliefs, however, and that nature of the culture would not have been reported by members of
23715-439: Was venerated as a chief deity at Pylos and Thebes , with the cult title "earth shaker"; in the myths of isolated Arcadia , he is related to Demeter and Persephone and was venerated as a horse, and as a god of the waters. Poseidon maintained both associations among most Greeks: he was regarded as the tamer or father of horses, who, with a strike of his trident, created springs (the terms for horses and springs are related in
23870-456: Was worshipped as Poseidon Anax during the Mycenean age. In the city there was the famous spring Peirene which in a myth is related to the winged horse Pegasus . In Attica there was a cult of Anax heroes who was connected to Poseidon. A cult title of Poseidon was "earth-shaker" and in Knossos he was worshipped together with the goddess Eleithyia who was related to the annual birth of
24025-475: Was worshipped in relation to the genealogy and the phratry . At Tinos he was worshipped as a healer-god, probably a forerunner of the famous Evangelistria . The bull is related to Poseidon mainly in Ionia. The sacrifice of a bull offered to Poseidon is mentioned by Homer in an Ionic festival. ( Panionia ) The sacrifices offered to Poseidon consisted of black and white bulls which were killed or thrown into
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