Poseidon

Character

Volatile as the sea he rules, Poseidon can be a sailor's steady ally or the storm that ends the voyage, and the difference often comes down to whether he was shown proper respect before the ship left harbor.

Earning Favor

Poseidon favors sailors who honor the sea's danger rather than presume to master it, horse-breeders, and those who make proper offering before a voyage. He despises being taken for granted, and debts owed to him compound rather than fade.

Notable Relationships

• Siblings — Zeus, Hades, Demeter, Hestia, Hera
• Notable children — Theseus (by some accounts), Polyphemus the Cyclops
• Rival — Athena, over the patronage of Athens

Anecdote

Poseidon and Athena once competed for the patronage of a new city, each offering a gift to its people: Poseidon struck the acropolis with his trident and brought forth a spring of seawater, useless for drinking. Athena planted an olive tree, offering food, oil, and wood at once. The city chose Athena's gift and named itself Athens — a slight Poseidon never fully forgave, and one the region's occasional floods are still blamed on.

Emblem & Companions

The trident, capable of shattering rock and calling storms, and a chariot drawn by hippocampi across the surface of the waves.

Real-World Sites

The Isthmus of Corinth, where the Isthmian Games honored him; and Cape Sounion, where his cliffside temple still watches the Aegean.

Appears In

• The Atlantean TollRepresented by his Clerk of the Blue Tithe; his true seal is the session's core maguffin.