What was poseidon worshipped for

As the cause of earthquakes, the bringer of floors, and the father of horses, nearly everyone in the Greek world had a reason to worship Poseidon.

Poseidon was the Greek god of the sea. Because the people of the Greek world lived along the Mediterranean coast, this meant he was one of the most central gods in their pantheon. Cities throughout Greece had temples to Poseidon. Many held him to be their patron god, making him particularly important there. One of his greatest shrines was in the city of Corinth. Local legend said that Poseidon and the sun god Helios had competed for the patronage of the city, with Poseidon winning the low-lying isthmus and Helios becoming the chief god of the highlands that surrounded it.

Like the Olympic Games, these were one of four Pan -Hellenic athletic festivals that attracted both competitors and audiences from throughout Greece.

At Olympia, for example, statues of Poseidon were erected along the chariot course. This is because Poseidon was the god of horses, and some believed that he had invented both the animal and the chariot. Anyone who worked with horses, in this case the charioteers who competed with one another at the Pan-Hellenic games, would pray to Poseidon. Even far from the coast, it was important to give sacrifices to Poseidon to avert this danger.

Another danger associated with the god of the sea was flooding. In Argolis, Poseidon the Flooder was prayed to in the hopes of averting a common natural disaster on the local plains. The fishermen and sailors of Greece prayed to Poseidon consistently for their own safety and fortune.

Sailors prayed for his favor to avoid rough seas. In many places he was worshipped as Poseidon Asphaleius, a name that referenced him as the god who gave safety to ports. This not only meant that he protected the ports themselves, but also that he guided ships safely into harbor.

Closer to shore, fishermen also prayed to the god of the sea. They hope the sea god would drive away dolphins and swordfish that could tear their homemade nets and release the fish they hoped to catch instead. The fact that Poseidon was worshipped in such a wide variety of circumstances points to his importance in the ancient Greek world. Modern Greece has over 13, km of coastline, and the ancient Greek would would have also contained many additional coastal colonies and islands.

Most cities were near the sea, and even most inland locations would have been under km from the Mediterannean. While Hermes protected the roads of Greece, the rugged terrain meant that travel by sea was often safer and more direct. Especially when moving large amounts of goods or people, ships were more efficient than carts or caravans. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. Read more on our privacy policy here.

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The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". When Laomedon failed to pay him for building the walls of Troy, Poseidon sent a sea monster to ravage the Troad and years later vengefully assisted the Greeks in the Trojan War.

His grudge against Odysseus is one of the themes of the Odyssey. He was the husband of Amphitrite, who bore him Triton, and by others he fathered many more sons, who usually turned out to be strong, brutal men like Orion or monsters like Polyphemus. The Romans identified him with Neptune.