Poseidon

“ Pallas.
For this Ilion's sake, Whereon we tread, I seek thee, and would make My hand as thine. Poseidon.
Hath that old hate and deep Failed, where she lieth in her ashen sleep? Thou pitiest her? Pallas.
Speak first; wilt thou be one In heart with me and hand till all be done? Poseidon.
Yea; but lay bare thy heart. For this land's sake Thou comest, not for Hellas? Pallas.
I would make Mine ancient enemies laugh for joy, and bring On these Greek ships a bitter homecoming. Poseidon.
Swift is thy spirit's path, and strange withal, And hot thy love and hate, where'er they fall. Pallas. ”

“ They gazed upon the loom where the goddess stood plying her task, and they saw shapes and images come to bloom out of the wondrous colors, as sunset clouds grow to be living creatures when we watch them. And they saw that the goddess, still merciful, was spinning; as a warning for Arachne, the pictures of her own triumph over reckless gods and mortals.
In one corner of the web she made a story of her conquest over the sea-god Poseidon. For the first king of Athens had promised to dedicate the city to that god who should bestow upon it the most useful gift. Poseidon gave the horse. ”

“ Poseidon, looking out from his golden palace beneath the sea, saw the vessel as it hastened on its errand; and he bade the waves be still and in no wise hinder its speed, for Apollo's business must not be delayed; and he called upon the breezes to blow steadily towards Ilios, that so the embassy of Menelaus might be happily performed.
"Surely the gods are all in league with us," said the captain of the ship one day, pleased with the delightful voyage. "To-morrow we shall doubtless sight the Lesbian coast, and from thence it is but a short sail to Ilios and Troy. ”

“ Yea, how should I forget divine Odysseus, who in understanding is beyond mortals and beyond all men hath done sacrifice to the deathless gods, who keep the wide heaven? Nay, but it is Poseidon, the girdler of the earth, that hath been wroth continually with quenchless anger for the Cyclops’ sake whom he blinded of his eye, even godlike Polyphemus whose power is mightiest amongst all the Cyclôpes. His mother was the nymph Thoösa, daughter of Phorcys, lord of the unharvested sea, and in the hollow caves she lay with Poseidon. ”

“ But when he smites the waters with the trident which he always carries in his hand, the waves roll mountain high, the lightnings flash, and the thunders peal, and the earth is shaken to its very core. Then it is that man bewails his own weakness, and prays to the powers above for help and succor."
"I have never seen the palace of Poseidon," said the helmsman, speaking slowly; "but once, when sailing to far-off Crete, our ship was overtaken by a storm, and for ten days we were buffeted by winds and waves, and driven into unknown seas. ”

“ Twelve gods with Zeus in the centre sat there, serious and dignified. Here stood Poseidon as he struck the rocks with his trident. There appeared the goddess herself, the divine artist, armed with shield and lance, her helmet on her head, the terrible ægis on her breast, teaching men for the first time the culture of the olive tree, and causing it to spring from the unfruitful earth with the point of her spear. Thus Athene wove her own victory in the web. In the four corners she worked four examples of human pride which have tragic results from the vengeance of the gods. ”

“ How cold the air is! Ah! it is raining over in the other island, and the brown fields grow like the yellow fields, melt into a mere white mist behind the slate-coloured sea. Here is one of the barbarians.
[Poseidon slowly appears at the top of the steps.]
Poseidon.
Ah, you here alone, Eros?
[Pg 9] Eros [aside] .
It is Poseidon! How old and bluff he looks! [To Poseidon.] My mother is within. [Smiling.] She was angry with you, Poseidon, but her anger is fallen.
Poseidon.
Adversity brings us all together. It was once I who burned with anger against her. Why was she angry? ”

“ Poseidon is a figure somewhat rare in archaic art as a whole, especially in statuary, but is more frequently seen on vases, mostly in groups of deities, or as a spectator of events taking place in or under the sea, his domain. Among subjects already discussed, he is present at the birth of Athena, [129] at the nuptials of Zeus and Hera, [130] and in assemblies of the Olympian gods, generally with his consort Amphitrite [131] ; he also takes part in the Gigantomachia and the reception of Herakles into Olympos. ”

“ Humanity defined upon the borderland of nature is the life of all Greek sculpture. Even the gods are films of fleshly form emergent on the surface of the elements. The circle of the sun dilates, and Phœbus grows into distinctness with the glory round him; out of the liquid ether gaze the divine eyes of Zeus; Poseidon rises breast-high from the mirrors of the sea. Man, for the first time conscious of his freedom, yet clinging still to the breasts that gave him suck, like a flower rooted to the kindly earth, expresses all his thought and feeling in the language of his own shape. ”

“ Then Polyphemus, stretching out his hands, and looking up with his sightless eye to the starry sky, called aloud to Poseidon, god of the sea, to punish Odysseus.
"If he ever reaches his own country," he cried, "let him come late and in an evil case, with all his own company lost, and in the ship of strangers, and let him find sorrows in his own house." ”

“ The maiden was growing up to womanhood when her father and mother died; Poseidon fell in love with her, and had intercourse with her; and, breaking the ground, enclosed the hill in which she dwelt all round, making alternate zones of sea and land, larger and smaller, encircling one another; there were two of land and three of water, which he turned as with a lathe out of the centre of the island, equidistant every way, so that no man could get to the island, for ships and voyages were not yet heard of. ”

“ And to them did Poseidon the earth-shaker open speech: “Father Zeus, is there now one mortal on the boundless earth, that will henceforth declare unto immortals his mind and purpose? Seest thou not that contrariwise the long-haired Achaeans have built a wall to guard their ships and driven a trench about it, and have not offered unto the gods fair sacrifice? Verily their wall shall be famed far as Dawn spreads her light; and that which I with Phoebus Apollo toiled to build for the hero Laomedon will men forget.” ”

“ Then, from his golden seat, rose the spokesman, Hermes, and his clear voice sounded over all the great council. "Listen," he said, "to the will of Zeus, who judges now between Poseidon and Athene. The city of Erechtheus shall bear the name of that god who shall bring forth out of the earth the best gift for the sons of men. If Poseidon do this, the city shall be called Poseidonia, but if Athene brings the higher gift it shall be called Athens." ”

“ Broad Ocean crisps his darkling face,
And mutters wrath divine;
The big waves rush with hissing crest,
And beat the shore with ample breast,
And shake the toppling cliff:
A wrathful god has roused the wave—
Vain is all pilot's skill to save,
And lo! a deep, black-throated grave
Ingulfs the reeling skiff."
Anon the flood less fiercely flows,
The rifted cloud blue ether shows,
The windy buffets cease;
Poseidon chafes his heart no more,
His voice constrains the billows' roar,
And men may sail in peace.
[Footnote: Pos-ei'don, another name for Neptune, the sea-god.] ”

“ After the handmaids had again resumed their places, all grew grave, for the time had come when Oltis was to deliver the speech eulogistic of Poseidon.
108He stood up high before them in front of the altar, and his haughty tones rang out:
“Gracious King, Gracious Queen, Priests, Nobles, People: another year hath brought plenty upon Atlantis. Another year have the gods smiled: another year have they breathed into our minds their will. And, this day, as a year since, yea, as thousands of years since, we meet to joy in the festival of our Father Poseidon, and to plead for his further favor. ”

“ Other characteristics of this trident-bearing sea-god are, according to the same authority [135] , that he is in form half human and half fish; that his wealth, consisting of all treasures lost in the sea, is so great that he sleeps on a couch of gold; and that he rides upon dolphins. Thus Poseidon, it appears, (or it may be Nereus,) has survived locally in the remembrance of the Greek people as a deity unconnected with Christianity. ”

“ There too is a temple of Poseidon under the name of the Flood-god—for Poseidon flooded most of the region, because Inachus and the other arbitrators decided that the land was Hera’s and not his. But Hera afterwards got Poseidon to draw the water off: and the Argives, at the place where the stream retired, built a temple to Poseidon the Flood-god. And as you go a little further is the tomb of Argos, who was reputed to be the son of Zeus [Pg 134] and Niobe the daughter of Phoroneus: and next is the temple of the Dioscuri. ”

“ As represented in art Poseidon resembles Zeus, but possesses less of his majestic calm, his muscles are more emphasized, and his hair is thicker and somewhat dishevelled. He is generally naked; his right leg rests on a rock or the prow of a ship; he carries a trident in his hand, and is gazing in front of him, apparently out to sea; sometimes he is standing on the water, swinging his trident, or riding in his chariot over the waves, accompanied by his wife Amphitrite, the Nereids and other inhabitants of the sea. It is in keeping with his restless character that he is rarely found sitting. ”

“ Poseidon/Neptune had come in more briskly, smelling of fish, his skin pale green and glistening wet, his fingers and toes webbed and his eyes bulging and wide. Phoebus Apollo had strolled in, looking authentically like a Greek God, face and figure unbelievably perfect, and a pleased, stupid smile spread all over his countenance. Hermes/Mercury, slim and wily, with a foxy face and quick movements, had slipped in silently. And all the others had been there, too. Mars looked grim, but when Forrester was formally proposed for Godhood, Mars made no objection. ”

“ Poseidon marked their course with a jealous eye, and he went to his brother, Zeus, and thus preferred his complaint: "Behold now this man hath reached home in safety and honour, and brought the oath to naught which I sware against him, when I vowed that he should return to Ithaca in evil plight! Is my power to be defied, and my worship slighted, by these Phæacians, who are of mine own race?"
"Thine honour is in thine own hands," answered Zeus. "Assert thy power, lift up thy hand and strike, that all men may fear to infringe thy privilege as lord of the sea." ”

“ In amaze, the people beheld them; and could not but show some reflection. One cried: “They will die well. Why cannot we?” Then he, being a singer, commenced a hymn to Amen. So magnetic were his tones that the people about him joined in; a moment more, and the multitude was swelling the refrain. To this music, the four ascended to the summit, there to kneel before the temple of Poseidon and Cleito.
But along by the palace was coming a horseman from the west, his horse smoking and foaming, for he had fairly flown over the country between Chimo and this place. ”

“ Poseidon plays a considerable part in Greek legend. In the Trojan War he takes the side of the Greeks, because he had been cheated of his reward by Laomedon, king of Troy, for whom he had built the walls of the city. The blinding of his son Polyphemus by Odysseus brings upon the hero the wrath of Poseidon, from which he is only protected by the united influence of the rest of the gods. He is famous for his numerous amours, especially with the nymphs of springs and fountains; his offspring were mostly wild and cruel, like the sea—the Laestrygones, Polyphemus, Antaeus, Procrustes and the like. ”

“ Poseidon, the Latin Neptune; Apollo, who has retained always his Greek name; and Athena, the Latin Minerva. Each of these are descended from, or changed from, more ancient, and therefore more mystic, deities of the earth and heaven, and of a finer element of æther supposed to be beyond the heavens;* but at this time we find the four quite definite, both in their kingdoms and in their personalities. They are the rulers of the earth that we tread upon, and the air that we breathe; and are with us closely, in their vivid humanity, as the dust that they animate, and the winds that they bridle. ”

“ But while he was yet sending them, there appeared in the air above his head the goddess Athene, who spake, saying, "Cease, King Thoas, from pursuing this man and his companions; for he hath come hither on this errand by the command of Apollo; and I have persuaded Poseidon that he make the sea smooth for him to depart."
And King Thoas answered, "It shall be as thou wilt, O goddess; and though Orestes hath borne away his sister and the image, I dismiss my anger, for who can fight against the gods?" ”

“ Tell us also of thy land and thy city, that our ships may shape their course to take thee thither. For these are not as the ships of other men, that have steersmen and rudders. They have an understanding of their own, and know all the cities of men, and they pass over the deep, covered with cloud, and have no fear of wreck. But my father was wont to say that Poseidon bore a grudge against us because we carry all men safely to their homes; and that one day he would smite a ship of ours as it came home from such an errand, changing it to a rock that should overshadow our city. ”