At one point he desired Demeter. To put him off Demeter asked him to make the most beautiful animal that the world had ever seen. So to impress her Poseidon created the first horse. In some accounts his first attempts were unsucessful and created a varity of other animals in his quest. By the time the horse was created his passion for Demeter had cooled.
His weapon is a trident, which can shake the earth, and shatter any object. He is second only to Zeus in power amongst the gods. He has a difficult quarrelsome personality. He was greedy. He had a series of disputes with other gods when he tried to take over their cities.
Associations
December 1 is known as The
festival of Poseidon
Ash Tree
February - 12th month of
the Roman Year
Herbs olive, pine, ash
Element of Water
Color Blue
Animal is the Horse
About Poseidon, the Great
God, I start to sing,
of Earth the mover, and
of the unfruitful sea,
Aquatic, He who holds
wide Aegae, Helicon.
Earth-Shaker; double
roles the Gods allotted Thee:
to be a Tamer of Horses,
and a Savior of Ships.
So hail, Poseidon, Earth-upholding,
Dark-haired One,
And, Blest One, with
a kindly heart help those who sail.
Preliminary Invocation
Rise and fall, each tumbler
turns over
Each wave strikes shore,
stolen the earth
Poseidon hear my cry!
Through the blackened waters,
the fearful deep
Swallows the light
and my gaze, ended, I stare
even yet
hear my voice!
answer my call!
from the deepest depths,
the root of all waves
where nymphs at sport lure
down their loves,
from thy heavy throne, wrought
of the earth
the source of all tides,
the source of all storms
Poseidon I summon thee,
Invoke thy might
Lord of the realm, the sailor's
demise
greedy miser who hoards
their wealth
I call thee, summon thee
answer my cry!
Response
Listen about you, the roar
of waves
my voice is heard, in that
crushing wall
in the turn of the tide,
the brackish foam
my body lain, covers the
earth
what fools are these who
seek me out ?
they find me, embrace me
their faces vanish, as I
draw them under
never to breathe, to suckle
the air
left the light, when they
chose the wave
they are mine now
my might is shown in the
churning waters
is mine the realm in which
children play ?
a shimmering surface disguises
the depths
my kingdom filled with the
ruin of man
a million bodies, rocked
gently by waves
do a deathly dance, to please
their lord
and I sit among them, on
a watery throne
of the hardest stone, no
wave may move it
forever is mine, when man
has died,
I will sit on it yet
mine is the wave that rapes
the shore
mine is the wind that stirs
the sail
I bear the ship or drag
it down
you can hear me whisper
in the morning dews
or roar in the darkest night
tritons call summons you
near
the roar of the waters,
heralds my coming
the feel of the waters lapping
against you
as I take my first step
to land
Assumption
I am the waters of the land,
flown into the sea,
carried with me, this earthly
vessel
now a dominion of the tides
behold we are one!
I am the earth reever, the
watery scythe !
I form the land, and I destroy
it
this grainy harvest I reap
each day
my kingdom filled, with
the pulverized bones
of the earth, my mother
a light, cool dust, I bear
it down
molded by the current's
hands,
my watery fingers reform
them
and each man who has loved
and died
his body thrown to earth
they all meet my embrace,
for their body, wasted,
becomes the very dusts
I hoard so greedily
Final Invocation
what are these waters, the
clouds cast to earth ?
salty tears, fill the seas
the land bonds of sea farers,
you have broke
the icy waters,
the chillborne reflection
of your heart
never the less I welcome
thee
poseidon, the roar of the
waters
announces your call
and I raise my arms to meet
you
hail to thee, lord of the
waters!
Poseidon thee I invoke!