Ever wonder why Poseidon, god of the seas, was said to have such an unpredictable temper? Maybe the Greeks just simply chose to make him that way to make their myths filled with more drama, or maybe his personality is based on the element that he reigns over. Either way, since Poseidon ruled over the sea in Greek myth, he was the sole figure responsible for the sea’s natural events and their unpredictability. Knowing that myths accounted for natural events in ways like Poseidon’s personification of the seas is important because it gives some insight on how the people of Greece would explain such strange phenomena, for example, the changing seasons. With that in mind, one should know that the awe-inspiring, physical nature of our world is key …show more content…
According to the authors of our text, Apollo’s personification of the sun is illustrated by his blazing chariot that journeys through the sky daily (Harris and Platzner 41). Without knowledge of Apollo or any other godlike figure owning the responsibility for the sun’s strange actions throughout a normal day, a normal Greek citizen could possible go mad trying to explain it himself. So, a benefit that the people of Greece were lucky to have is that Greek myth helped ease the minds of Greek citizens of the unknown by explaining the unknown phenomena that they faced daily. Another personification that Greek myth used to explain the crazy, but natural phenomena of our world is the god Zeus and his rule over the skies. Thunderstorms, to the those who don’t have an explanation for them, would seem magical and frightening as they are loud, booming noises coming from the skies for no apparent reason. The explanation that Greek myth had for such a strange phenomenon is that Greek mythology’s most powerful god, Zeus, was responsible for the thunderstorms as he used them to achieve universal obedience from his subjects. Yet another natural event that Zeus’ has reign over is rain, a byproduct of his storms. Stephens and Platzner contend that the rain of his can be seen as his own semen coming from his phallic weapons that fertilize the earth it falls upon (171). Thinking of rain in that way helped the Greeks understand what rain was and how it worked to help them keep
...so associated with clouds, rivers, and oceans. Known to be omnipotent and omniscient, there was great respect for Varuna as believers thought the god kept watch over the entire universe. Because this god controlled the environment and flow of waters, it is believed that Varuna was responsible for upholding world order. Varuna is depicted on a chariot led by seven swans with an umbrella placed overhead. He has four arms in which he holds a lotus, a noose, a conch, and a vessel of gems. Ruler of waters in Greek mythology, is Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea and rivers. He became ruler of the sea after he and his brothers defeated the elder gods in a divine war. Poseidon is usually seen as an older man with long curly hair and a long beard. In his hand he holds a trident and in most cases is depicted wearing a crown while standing is amidst water or water creatures.
So Poseidon stated to attack the wonderful city . He attack everyone how was fish, on a boat, and turned the fish against the city.
All these things considered, the validity of Odysseus’s actions remain fair. Because of his denial of the power of the gods, Poseidon forced Odysseus to the raging sea. For these years that he was apart from Penelope and Telemachus he...
My research paper will investigate the Greek God Apollo. The reason I chose Apollo was I have never had a chance to look into other Gods or Goddess’ other than Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. The next seven paragraphs are paraphrased depictions, stories and relational information directly related to the god Apollo The information was compiled by author: Atsma, Aaron J., on the website: Theoi.com. Theoi Project Copyright © 2000 – 2011. 12 May 2014. Each paragraph is a separate encyclopedia reference and is noted in the following footnotes reference.
Even though there are more better people is the Odyssey, by Homer, Darth Vader is the best because he is strong, powerful, and aggressive. Is it more heroic to see someone have the force or for someone to a god in a book the Odyssey?A villain is defined as someone that is evil and that has a lot of power. Even Though literature is filled with hero, the two main ones are Poseidon and Darth Vader. Even though Poseidon is strong, but Darth Vader is even more stronger and powerful.
In the article “Stories of the Trojan War,” it talks about how the gods are raged by the disobedience of the mortals which caused uproar during the time (Peabody). One of the gods that seemed to have a raging authority was Poseidon, god of the sea. He made the journey of Odysseus very hard. For instance, Poseidon would make the sea’s rage, blew Odysseus and his crew off track, and last he strikes them with thunder. That ultimately destroys the crew; except for Odysseus who is left stranded until found by Calypso (Puchner). The actual cause of Poseidon’s anger was due to the fact that Odysseus had killed Poseidon’s son, Polyphemus in a horrific manner. Also, because Odysseus was not appreciative of the fact that Poseidon helped keep his secret of his plot to invade with the
Mythology was critical to Greek people’s everyday life, just like how religion is in our modern day in age. Everyday events, such as a thunderstorm, could be linked to a god or goddess. For example, when an earthquake would happen, it would be Poseidon crashing his tritan on the ground. People’s lives revolved around the whole ideology and it served as a way to explain the unexplained and to help them in times of need. All of the stories of these great gods and goddesses were passed down generation through generation each time getting more extreme and distorted. People idolized these beings and built stunning life like sculptures of them. Zeus was the most important of all the Greek gods and also king of Mount Olympus. He became a king after
Greek mythology has always been a very fascinating subject to talk about. The belief that gods and goddesses once ruled the Earth is an interesting idea. To think that the land and sea were once looked upon by one of the strongest and fiercest gods that ever lived. Poseidon or Neptune was known to be one of the strongest gods that ever walked on the planet. Poseidon is best known for protecting and watching over the ocean.
...jor problem to ancient Greek because the Poseidon controls the sea it can cause destruction and death.
Poseidon, the god of the sea, is angered by the death of his son, the Cyclops. When Odysseus and his crew stopped off at the Cyclopes island on their way home from war, the cyclops, Polyphemus, begins terrorizing Odysseus’ men. Odysseus blinded him and boasted about the event. He sends storms against Odysseus and tries to wreak his ship in Book 5. While shipwrecked at sea, on a raft – which was aided by Athena – Poseidon sends another storm, washing Odysseus up on shore. Eventually, Odysseus is on another ship gifted to him by the Phaeacians, Poseidon turns the ship to stone and sinks while pulling into the harbor at Scheria. The idea that “a bad storm” can affect a well-trained
Poseidon was relied upon by sailors for a safe voyage on the sea. Many men drowned horses in sacrifice of his honor. He lived on the ocean floor in a palace made of coral and gems, and drove a chariot pulled by horses. However, Poseidon was a very moody divinity, and his temperament could sometimes result in violence. When he was in a good mood, Poseidon created new lands in the water and a calm sea. In contrast, when he was in a bad mood, Poseidon would strike the ground with a trident and cause unruly springs and earthquakes, ship wrecks, and drownings.
A long time ago, the king of Athens, Cecrops was searching for a god to be the patron of Athens. There were two gods who had shown interest in filling this role, Athena and Poseidon and consequently each was invited to Athens for a competition that would select who was to become the patron of Athens. The competition they would partake in would be one of gifts, each was to bring one wonderful gift to the city of Athens; when the day came, they each came forward with their gifts. Poseidon presented his first, and holding aloft his trident he struck the ground from which sprung a magnificent spring which widened into a lake. Seeing his beautiful gift, the people of Athens grew excited at the allure of this beautiful lake, however, upon touching the water to their lips they were disgusted for the lake was made of salt water and therefore could not be drawn from. Next Athena presented Cecrops with a simple olive tree which she then planted into the ground, exclaiming that it would grow large and bear olives to eat and even for oil to fuel their lamps with. Upon seeing the two gifts the people made their decision, picking Athena as her gift was clearly the superior. In a rage, Poseidon retreated back into the sea, and in a fit of retaliation, he mustered a massive wave which flooded the Thriasian Plain (“Athena and Poseidon's Contest for Athens”). In
Ancient sailors and warriors would pray and offer tributes to the great Poseidon prior to undertaking a sea journey. In turn, Poseidon could be cruel and hostile to those who displeased him, such as the hero of the Trojan War, Odysseus, who suffered great tribulations at the hands of Poseidon while embarked on his Odyssey back home.
Zeus is the god of law, justice, morals, thunder, lightning, and rain. It was his job to oversee and make sure laws were being kept. He was worshipped originally as a weather god. He was depicted as a middle-aged man with a youthful appearance; he was regale and was almost always shown ready to throw a lightning bolt (pantheon/zeus).
Throughout studying many myths, I came up with many new observations. Many questions came into my mind about these myths. Greek mythology takes us back to a time when people had a connection with nature and when nature played a major role in people’s lives. The religious beliefs of the people who wrote the myths are found in the background of these myths; however, they are not to be read like religious texts. The myths try to offer explanations of “how”, which makes us think deeply about the purpose of these myths and the questions they draw to our minds. According to the myths we studied in class, the world created the gods, not the other way around. The gods were always created in the image of man, which shows how much men were important in their society. Furthermore, many of these Greek myths show us the difference between the views of the Greek then and our view towards many aspects of the society, including nature. Monsters appear in Greek myths and have different representations and roles. Greek mythology reflects a view of the Greeks towards the world and how certain aspects of their lives are similar and different to modern society.