POSEIDON, pa-si'd6n, in Greek mythology the lord of the sea, identified by the Romans with the Italian deity Neptune. He was a son of Cronus and Rhea, and hence a brother of Zeus, Hades, Hera, Hestia and Demeter. His usual residence was in the depths of the sea near /Ega, in Eubma, where he had a palace, and kept his horses, with brazen hoofs and golden manes. He is called the earth-holder or earth encompasser, as the sea surrounds the earth, and the earth-shaker, as the earth is shaken by the waves of the sea beating on the shore. He is the ruler of all other marine deities and of all animals that live in the sea. He gathers clouds and raises storms and allays them. In several myths he is represented as contending with some land divinity for the possession of particular spots of earth. The horse, and more particularly the war-horse, was sacred to Poseidon, and one of the symbols of his power. The other well-known symbol of his power is the trident, or three-pronged scep tre. During the Trojan War Poseidon was the constant enemy of Troy. The cause of this
enmity was the ingratitude shown him by Laomedon, the second king of Troy, and the builder of the walls of the city. Poseidon had numerous offspring by mothers divine and human. The worship of Poseidon was con mon throughout Greece and the Greek colonies, but especially prevailed, as is natural, in the maritime towns. The animals sacrificed to him were horses and bulls, sometimes also wild boars and rams. The Isthmian games, and the Panionia or festival of all the Ionians, cele brated near Mycale, were held in his honor. In works of art Poseidon is represented with features resembling those of Zeus, but he has not the calm majesty of the supreme god, al though he is more powerfully built. When rep resented standing, he always bears the trident in his right hand and a dolphin in his left. (See NEPTUNE) . Consult Farnell, L. R., of the Greek States) (Vol. IV, 1907).