Poseidon was son of Kronus and Rhea, and brother of Zeus. After the war with the Titans, he became the mighty¹ and majestic² god of the sea, ruling all the water saround the earth. He was considered to have the greatest power next to Zeus. Poseidon ruled his kingdom with cold shaking. He could call up all the big winds and stir up or calm down the stormy oceans. With a trident（三叉戟） in his hand, he flew across the waves in a carriage drawn³ by horses with bronze hoofs⁴ and golden hairs. Although he had a seat on Olympus, he lived, most of the time, in his shining golden palace in the deeps of the oceans. 

 

Poseidon was ambitious⁵ and aggressive. Unhappy with the part of power given to him, he planned to throw down Zeus from his high position. The plan did not come off, and he was sent away to serve a human being on earth. With the help of Apollo he built the famous walls of Troy for king Laomed on. On one occasion he argued with Athena over the naming of the new city Athens and was forced to give in to the goddess of wisdom. On another he entered into a bitter dispute with Apollo over the king of Corinth and won the case in the end. 

 

Poseidon's loves produced strange children. His wife bore him the children who were half man and half-fish in form. When Demeter did not like his attention and changed herself into a horse, shameless Poseidon turned himself into a horse to continue his seeking. Out of their love a wonderful horse, Arion byname, was born. This horse had the power of speech and was sure to win all the car riageraces in Greece. Poseidon robbed The ophane, a beautiful maiden⁶, and taking her to an island, changed her into a sheep and himself into a ram⁷. As a result the golden-fleeced ram came into being. 

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