How Did Zeus Poseidon And Hades Draw Lots

Surf and Turf: The Brothers of Zeus

Though non equally powerful as their younger brother, Poseidon and Hades could claim to equal his condition. For just as Zeus ruled the sky, Poseidon was lord of the seas and Hades the supreme authorisation in the dark Underworld.

Turf Wars

Poseidon, who won the right to rule the seas, was also the god of horses and of earthquakes. Poseidon's domain actually extended beyond the oceans to include freshwater rivers, even though the river gods were the sons of Oceanus and Tethys.

Mythmakers often depicted Poseidon every bit gruff and quick to acrimony. He sometimes resented the greater dominion of Zeus. Perhaps for this reason, Poseidon lived non in Olympus, but in an underwater palace off the eastern declension of Greece.

His subordinate position to Zeus fabricated him sensitive about his other rights. Poseidon argued more over city patronage than any other Olympian. He contested the patronage of Argos with Hera and the patronage of Corinth with Helius. Poseidon lost both disputes and had to settle for the patronage of various islands and seaports.

The most famous of these patronage disputes was the fight over Athens. Poseidon claimed the country by plunging his trident into the ground of the Acropolis and creating a table salt-water spring. Simply Athena later planted the start olive tree beside this well and claimed the city every bit her own. Poseidon challenged her to combat, just Zeus intervened and put the affair before a divine tribunal. Wishing to remain neutral and above the fray, Zeus did not vote. That left four other gods, all of whom voted for Poseidon. (Hades, as was his custom, did not nourish the Olympian hearing.) The five goddesses, nonetheless, all sided with Athena, giving her the right to the land by virtue of her greater souvenir to the city.

In a fury, Poseidon flooded the Cranium manifestly. The Athenians adopted several measures to appease Poseidon'south wrath. The city denied the women of Athens the right to vote. It concluded the practice of men conveying on their mothers' names. And all Athenians continued to honor both Poseidon and Athena on the Acropolis.

Beastly Couplings, Beastly Children

Poseidon courted Amphitrite, one of the Nereids (daughters of Nereus, the One-time Man of the Body of water). Even so Amphitrite scorned the god's advances and fled to the Atlas Mountains. Poseidon refused to requite up, sending messengers later on her to plead his instance. One of these, Delphinus, argued then persuasively for his main that he bankrupt down Amphitrite's resistance. She agreed to marry Poseidon. (The god afterward showed his gratitude by placing his messenger'due south image in the sky as a constellation: the Dolphin.)

Similar his brother Zeus, Poseidon was not exactly the poster boy for fidelity. He, too, had numerous diplomacy with goddesses, nymphs, and mortals. Like most sea gods, Poseidon had the power to transform his shape, and frequently did so in order to complete a seduction:

• He appeared to the maiden Medusa as a bird. Unfortunately, he chose as the setting for this seduction i of Athena'due south temples. The enraged goddess punished Medusa by turning her into a Gorgon (see The Model Hero: Perseus).
• To mate with Theophane, whom he had changed into a ewe in order to hide her from her many suitors, he transformed himself into a ram.
• When Demeter, overwhelmed past the loss of her girl Persephone, attempted to escape her brother'south attentions by condign a mare, Poseidon was not fooled. He changed himself into a stallion and mated with her in an Arcadian pasture.

What a Life!

Otus and Ephialtes, already 50 feet tall at age nine, literally moved mountains. Only because they could, they heaped Pelion, Ossa, and Olympus on height of one another, nearly reaching sky itself. The twin giants afterwards killed each other in a hunting ?accident? orchestrated by Artemis and Apollo (see The A Squad: Olympians All).

Poseidon also mated in the shape of a dolphin and a balderdash. These many transformations had a powerful influence on his offspring, also:

• Medusa's children were the winged horse Pegasus and the behemothic warrior Chrysaor.
• His union with Theophane produced the famous Golden-Fleeced ram (see Crimes of Passion: Jason, Medea, and the Argonauts).
• Demeter had two children by him: the nymph Despoena and a wild horse named Arion.
• Many of his children were giants, including Chrysaor, the Cyclops Polyphemus, and the problem-making brothers Otus and Ephialtes.

As a male parent, Poseidon was very protective, not only toward his three children by Amphitrite, but toward the children of his many mistresses, as well. Poseidon made his son Cycnus invulnerable to weapons. He helped Theseus bear witness his parentage in a bragging contest with King Minos of Crete (see Lucky in War, Unlucky in Honey: Theseus). And he avenged the blinding of Polyphemus past tormenting Odysseus for 10 years (see Take the Long Way Home: Odysseus).

Perhaps because he mated with a goddess in that course, the horse became sacred to Poseidon. Some storytellers insisted he invented the horse past nifty his trident down upon a rock. In whatever case, it is said that he invented horse racing and possibly the bridle as well. Wherever he went, he rode in a gold chariot drawn past two magnificent white horses with golden manes and brass hooves.

The Prince of Darkness

Hades, who by risk won dominion over the Underworld, soon came to prefer the darkness of his own domain to any other place on Earth or in sky. For the most part, he remained out of touch with both Olympus and Earth, learning of events at that place but when someone invoked his name in oaths or curses. He seldom met with the other gods and goddesses on Olympus. And unless moved by lust, he rarely left the Underworld for the mutual basis of Globe.

Hades became as absolute an authority in the Underworld as Zeus was in the heaven. Fiercely protective of his ain rights, he claimed ownership of all metals and gems below the surface of the earth.

Logos

Hades was originally the proper noun only of the ruler of the Underworld, rather than the place itself. Homer, among others, began referring to the Underworld as the ?Firm of Hades.? In time, the ?house? was omitted and the Underworld itself became known equally Hades.

The well-nigh private of all the gods, Hades did non welcome ?visitors? and rarely let anyone who entered the Underworld exit again. Cerberus, a vicious, three-headed watchdog, stood guard at the locked gate, making sure the dead remained in the Underworld.

For this reason, men feared and loathed the fierce lord of the Underworld. Indeed, he became so closely associated with the darkness and horror of the Underworld that the place itself eventually came to be called simply Hades.

Yet Hades, though cold and grim, was neither vicious nor evil. True, he oversaw all punishments of the dead mandated past the gods, simply nearly of these tortures were carried out by the Erinyes (Furies). In lording over the expressionless, he was simply doing his chore. Nonetheless, mortals were reluctant to speak his name (or his somewhat longer title, Aidoneus, the ?Unseen One?) for fearfulness of attracting his attending.

Excerpted from The Complete Idiot's Guide to Classical Mythology 2004 by Kevin Osborn and Dana L. Burgess, Ph.D.. All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Used by organization with Alpha Books, a fellow member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

To order this book directly from the publisher, visit the Penguin USA website or call 1-800-253-6476. You tin can also purchase this book at Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.

Source: https://www.infoplease.com/culture-entertainment/mythology-folklore/classical-mythology-surf-and-turf-brothers-zeus

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