Quick summary
- Poseidon is the Greek god of the sea, earthquakes and horses; he won the sea when the sons of Cronus divided the world by lot.
- Older sea powers came first: Pontus, the sea itself, the Titan Oceanus, and Nereus, the truthful Old Man of the Sea.
- His court includes his queen Amphitrite, his son Triton and the shape-shifter Proteus. His Roman counterpart is Neptune.
The Greek god of the sea is Poseidon, brother of Zeus and one of the twelve Olympians. He also shakes the earth and gave humans the horse, and the Romans called him Neptune. He was not the first power of the waters, though. Hesiod's Theogony fills the sea with older gods: Pontus, the sea itself, the Titan Oceanus and Nereus, the Old Man of the Sea, along with a court of sea nymphs and messengers.
Amphitrite
A Nereid, Poseidon's wife and queen of the sea.
Triton
Son of Poseidon and Amphitrite, who lives in a golden house under the sea.
Pontus
The sea itself, born from Gaia without a father.
Oceanus
Titan of the great river that circles the world.
Nereus
The Old Man of the Sea, truthful father of the fifty Nereids.
Proteus
Shape-shifting sea god whom Menelaus wrestles in the Odyssey.
Who is the Greek god of the sea?
Poseidon. In Homer's Iliad, he explains that Zeus, Hades and he divided the world by lot after defeating the Titans, and his lot was the grey sea. Homer calls him the Earth-shaker, and his anger drives much of the Odyssey: Odysseus blinds his son, the Cyclops Polyphemus, and Poseidon keeps him from home for years. His trident was made for him by the Cyclopes, according to Apollodorus.
Who was the god of the sea before Poseidon?
Several powers, depending on what you mean by the sea:
- Pontus, the sea as a physical thing, is born from Gaia alone near the very start of Hesiod's Theogony.
- Oceanus, a Titan, is the river that flows around the whole world. With his sister Tethys he fathers the rivers and three thousand Oceanid nymphs.
- Nereus, a son of Pontus, is the Old Man of the Sea. Hesiod praises him as truthful and gentle. He and the Oceanid Doris have fifty daughters, the Nereids.
These older gods never vanish. Poseidon rules the sea, but they go on living in it.
Who is Poseidon's wife?
Amphitrite, one of Nereus's fifty daughters. In the Theogony, she and Poseidon have a son, Triton, who lives with them in a golden house in the depths. In Ovid's Metamorphoses, Triton blows his conch shell to call back the waters of the great flood.
Who is Proteus?
A sea god who knows everything and will tell no one unless forced. In Odyssey Book 4, Menelaus, stranded in Egypt, ambushes him on the island of Pharos and holds on while Proteus turns into a lion, a serpent, a leopard, a boar, running water and a tree. When the god gives up, he tells Menelaus how to get home. Nereus plays the same role for Heracles in Apollodorus, who has the hero wrestle him to learn the way to the golden apples of the Hesperides.
Who are the Nereids?
The fifty daughters of Nereus and Doris, sea nymphs who live in their father's halls. Hesiod lists them by name. The most famous are Amphitrite, Poseidon's queen, and Thetis, the mother of Achilles. Zeus and Poseidon both wanted to marry Thetis until they heard a prophecy that her son would be greater than his father.
What is the Roman god of the sea?
Neptune, an old Italian god of water who took on Poseidon's myths. All the matching pairs are in Greek vs Roman gods.
In the sources
- Hesiod, Theogony — Pontus, Oceanus and Tethys, Nereus and the Nereids, Amphitrite and Triton.
- Homer, Iliad — the division of the world by lot.
- Homer, Odyssey — Poseidon's anger at Odysseus and Menelaus's struggle with Proteus.
- Apollodorus, Library — Poseidon's trident and Heracles wrestling Nereus.
- Ovid, Metamorphoses — Triton's conch and the flood.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the Greek god of the sea?
Poseidon, brother of Zeus and Hades, who won the sea when the three divided the world by lot. The Romans called him Neptune.
Who was the first god of the sea?
In Hesiod's Theogony, Pontus, the sea itself, born from Gaia. The Titan Oceanus and Nereus, the Old Man of the Sea, are also older than Poseidon.
Who is Poseidon's wife?
Amphitrite, a Nereid. Their son is Triton, a sea god who lives with them in a golden house beneath the waves.
Is Oceanus a god of the sea?
Oceanus is a Titan, the great river that circles the world in Greek myth, and father of the rivers and the Oceanid nymphs.
Who is the Greek goddess of the sea?
Amphitrite is the queen of the sea. Tethys, Thetis and the Nereids are also sea goddesses.
What are Poseidon's powers?
He rules the sea and storms, causes earthquakes with his trident and is the god of horses.
Keep exploring
Read the full story of Poseidon, follow the hero he punished in Odysseus, meet the Gorgon who bore his children in Medusa, or see all twelve gods in The Olympian gods.