Poseidon

"Percy, lesser beings do many horrible things in the name of the gods. That does not mean we gods approve. The way our sons and daughters act in our names…well, it usually says more about them than it does about us. And you, Percy, are my favorite son."

- Poseidon

Poseidon is the Greek god of destruction, earthquakes, horses, hurricanes, oceans, seas, and storms. He is the son of the Titans, Kronos and Rhea, as well as one of the Big Three. His Roman counterpart is Neptune. He is portrayed by Kevin McKidd in The Lightning Thief film.

Titanomachy
Poseidon was born from Kronos and Rhea, rulers of the Titan race. Kronos feared that one of his children would seize his throne like what he did to his father, so he imprisoned the gods along with his elder siblings by swallowing them whole. Rhea managed to save Poseidon's youngest sibling Zeus and raise him secretly in order to free his captive brothers and sisters.

When reaching adulthood, Zeus managed to infiltrate his father's palace and trick him into ingesting a purgative, freeing Poseidon and the others. They soon joined their brother and waged a war of vengeance against Kronos and the Titans. It was during this war that Poseidon would gain the allegiance of the Telekhines and receive a powerful Trident that he would use to symbolize his authority among the gods. Poseidon proved to be a very dangerous and ferocious warrior with his Trident. After Kronos was destroyed and his followers were exiled; Poseidon, Zeus, and their brother between them and respectively claimed the Seas, Sky, and Underworld to rule. Sometime afterwards, Zeus imprisoned the Telekhines in Tartarus for using forbidden dark magic.

Marriage to Amphitrite
Early in his reign, Poseidon began searching for a wife. His attention soon turned to the Oceanid, Amphitrite but she rejected his proposal and fled. Delphin, the dolphin god, was sent in pursuit and managed to persuade the goddess into reconsidering the offer. Poseidon gratefully awarded his lieutenant by creating a constellation in his honor. He would father several children by Amphitrite, including a son named Triton. Like Zeus. he also went on to sire children by various goddesses and mortal women.

Rivalry with Athena
Athena and Poseidon had a rivalry between them since the two of them both wanted to be the patron of the city Attica, as it was named at the time. The people of the city petitioned the two gods to each create a gift for the city, and whichever gift was favored the most, that god would be the city's patron. Athena gave the people an olive tree and Poseidon made them a salt-water spring. At first, the people of Attica though Poseidon's gift was the more amazing, that is until they tasted the water and realized it was salt-water. Because they couldn't drink the water, they chose Athena's gift of an olive tree and made her the patron goddess of the city because they could use the olives for food and oil. As a show of appreciation to Athena, they named the city Athens after her and they turned the symbol of the city to an owl on an olive branch. They also had people build her the Parthenon in her honor.



Another time which marks a conflict between the two Olympians was when Athena transformed Coronis (whom Poseidon was trying to seduce) into a raven. As a result, a furious Poseidon longed for revenge. Hence, he took Medusa, his new lover, into Athena's temple. Furious with Poseidon and Medusa, Athena turned Medusa and her two sisters, who had helped her sneak into the temple, into the three Gorgons. She additionally cursed Medusa so that whenever anyone looked into her eyes, they would be turned to stone. As revealed in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Poseidon also encouraged Hephaestus to seduce Athena. Yet another time both of them were at odds about Odyssesus. While Poseidon was furious with him for blinding his son Polyphemus, Athena favored him above all other mortals, and was always willing to aid Odysseus when he needed it most.

Despite their mutual animosity, there were times Athena and Poseidon worked together. They were responsible for inventing the chariot which combined their creations. Athena came up with the idea for the shape and design of the chariot while Poseidon supplied the horses to pull it. Furthermore, both Athena and Poseidon were on the same side during the Trojan War, supporting the Greeks.

The Lightning Thief
After Percy survives the attack during his first game of Capture the Flag at camp, Poseidon claims him as his own. This causes discord among the gods of Olympus as it is proof that Poseidon had not honored the pact that was made between the Big Three after World War II. After Zeus' lightning bolt is discovered to be missing, Zeus immediately suspects Poseidon of having used Percy to steal it, and demands that it is returned by the Summer Solstice. Poseidon, in turn, wants an apology for being suspected by the same date.

A quest is eventually given to Percy to find the missing master bolt and return it by the Summer solstice in order to stop a war amongst the gods. Percy succeeds, and Poseidon gets to meet his son formally. Poseidon tells Zeus that he admits his wrongdoing, and Percy feels as if he is just a mistake, and not actually Poseidon's son. Poseidon feels very sorry for Percy, because heroes typically meet tragic ends. Percy tells his father he isn't sorry for being who he is, and Poseidon in turn tells him he is a true Son of the Sea God.

The Sea of Monsters


Poseidon does not make an appearance, but he is said to have sent his Cyclops son Tyson to the same school as Percy, in order to get them to know each other. After Poseidon claims Tyson, Percy temporarily begins to feel that being a son of Poseidon is a joke and is teased by many other campers. Tyson later tells Percy that he had asked for a companion, a brother to Poseidon, and his wish was granted, which means that Poseidon does care for him. Poseidon also sends the Hippocampi to help Percy and his friends. Percy also gets a letter from Poseidon near the end of the book telling him to "Brace yourself." Even though he was only 13 at the time, the letter could mean something about the Great Prophecy. It could also refer to Thalia's resurrection at the end of the book.

The Titan's Curse
After completing their quest to save Artemis, Percy, Thalia Grace, and Annabeth Chase arrive to the Winter Solstice meeting. Athena suggests the gods kill Percy because he is meant to be the child of the Great Prophecy, since Thalia pledged herself to Artemis, meaning she would never reach the age of sixteen. Poseidon places faith in Percy and claims he can be trusted, giving the other gods his word. Fortunately, the majority of the gods vote in Percy's favor. Poseidon also vouches for Bessie the Ophiotaurus. He suggests the gods keep it on Mount Olympus. After the meeting, a party is held and Poseidon has a private talk with Percy.

The Battle of the Labyrinth
Poseidon visits Percy, Sally Jackson, and Tyson at their apartment. Sally is embarrassed at seeing her old boyfriend again. Percy and Tyson greet him, and Poseidon is introduced to Sally's boyfriend, Paul Blofis, who Poseidon at first mistakenly calls "Blowfish." Poseidon then tells Percy of the war he is having in his underwater kingdom, and gives him a birthday present, a Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thiefd Percy thinks that his arrival was the best gift in its self.

The Last Olympian
When Percy meets Poseidon in his kingdom, he looks aged and weak, unlike the man Percy once knew. Poseidon is busy fighting the Titan of the sea, Oceanus, who is constantly attacking his kingdom. Poseidon had been fighting so hard, his strength has deteriorated which results in him looking aged. Percy offered to fight, but Poseidon told him that he was needed on the surface and to tell Chiron that it was time for his son to learn the complete prophecy that had been hidden from his son.

During the Battle of Manhattan, Percy goes up to Olympus and sits on his father's throne to try and get his attention. Poseidon was about to blast whoever it was that dared his on his throne, but thankfully looked before doing so and didn't blast Percy. His son tried to convince him that the other gods needed his help in stopping Typhon, but Poseidon was unwilling as he would lose his own palace in Atlantis if he left. Percy counters saying that Olympus is his home as well and Poseidon thinks this over. Percy then jumped off of Poseidon's throne to rejoin the battle.

As Typhon entered the city and started his final charge toward Olympus, he stepped into the Hudson River, where Poseidon had been waiting with an army of Cyclopes, lead by Tyson. As the Cyclopes wrapped him in heavy chains, Poseidon struck Typhon with his trident and the other gods attacked as well. Poseidon then created a channel of water that pulled the defeated Typhon into the pits of Tartarus.

After the Battle of Manhattan, Poseidon returned to Olympus, along with the other gods. Poseidon begins to thank his son for what he had done for the gods, but is interrupted by Zeus, who asked that he rejoin the gods in the proceeding. Poseidon gives his son a wink and walks back to his throne. As Zeus tried very hard to thank his brothers, Poseidon constantly toys with him, making Zeus admit that it would have been impossible to defeat Typhon without his help, instead of simply saying difficult like Zeus had originally done.

The gods then offer Tyson, Grover, Annabeth, Thalia, Nico, and Percy with rewards for saving Olympus and defeating the Titan Army. Poseidon states that Percy has surpassed all heroes including Hercules (much to Zeus' annoyance) and afterwards gives Percy a hug to which Percy starts tearing up (as it was the first time his father had ever hugged him). Later on the beach at Camp Half-Blood, Poseidon thanks Percy for saving Olympus once again. He also says that he may send Percy some siblings in the future. Percy wonders if this is a joke or not, as Poseidon gives him his signature wink. Poseidon then leaves, leaving behind a troubled Percy who still isn't sure whether or not it was a joke.

The Lost Hero
While not seen, Annabeth mentioned Poseidon when giving Piper McLean a tour of Camp Half-Blood. When Piper asked if Zeus and Hera's cabin were empty, Annabeth explained the Pact of the Big Three, saying that Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades went a long time without having any demigod children for the better part of seventy years (with some exceptions).

Poseidon is later mentioned when Jason Grace, Leo Valdez, and Piper McLean visit the home of Aeolus, an extravagant news man. While giving the weather forecast, he tapped his earpiece and announced that Poseidon was angry with Miami, so Aeolus sent a winter freeze their way before apologizing to Demeter.

The Son of Neptune
Percy was on a quest with Hazel Levesque and Frank Zhang, they meet a horse named Arion and Percy starts talking to the horse. When Hazel questions how he can talk horse, Percy says it is a Poseidon thing. Frank also finds out on this quest that his ancestor was Periclymenus, a grandson of Poseidon who was gifted with the ability to change into any animal, a gift that was passed down in the Zhang family. Later, Hazel and Frank both figure out that Percy is not a son of Neptune, but a son of Poseidon, his Greek aspect.

During the battle with Alcyoneus, Frank uses his gift to change into different animals. Percy complains that Poseidon didn't give him a cool gift like that, but Frank points out Percy's other abilities.

The Mark of Athena
Poseidon is mentioned whenever Annabeth asks if Percy has seen his dad recently. Percy says that he hasn't seen his dad since last August when he turned 16.

When Leo asked the Ichthyocentaur if they wanted to meet Percy, they said they choose not to interact with children of Poseidon because of their politics.

Personality
Poseidon is overall a benevolent god even though he shares many characteristics with Zeus including pride, stubbornness, and being temperamental. However, he appears to have matured over the centuries to a point where these attributes do not dominate him to the same extent they do Zeus, making him much more reasonable (which is strange because in the myths Poseidon was considered the moodiest of the gods). Poseidon loves and cares for his children and watches over them more than most of the other gods, actively giving them advice, and aiding them indirectly, though this might be since he only has one son. Poseidon has a more caring and overall human personality, which Percy inherited many traits from. His personality in the book is the same in the movie, being calm and slow to anger unlike Zeus. However, when Poseidon falls into depression, he can be very very dramatic. In Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, when unable to woo Amphitrite, Poseidon becomes extremely depressed, and pointlessly wandered about his palace, bellowing "louder than a humpback whale", giving many whales and giant squids terrible migraines. Poseidon was also greatly admired the fifty beautiful Nereids, and was infuriated when Queen Cassiopeia claimed to be more beautiful than any of them. As a result, Poseidon summoned a gigantic and bloodthirsty sea serpent, and ordered it to terrorize her kingdom. However, he later allowed Perseus to slay the serpent and save Andromeda (Cassiopeia's daughter) from it. However, after her death, while Poseidon did place Cassiopeia in the sky as a constellation, he insisted on placing her there upside-down.

Poseidon also has a very particular sense of humor, sometimes making it hard to tell if he is joking or not. After Percy saves Mount Olympus, he tells him he can now claim all his other children and gives Percy a wink as if he's joking. He also has a habit of toying with his younger brother. As Zeus is begrudgingly thanking his brother for his help in defeating Typhon, Poseidon would interrupt with phrases like "I'm sorry brother. What was that?" and correcting him when Zeus says it would have been "difficult" instead of "impossible" to defeat Typhon. It has also been shown that he is very protective as seen in The Last Olympian when Percy in attempting to convince him to help Olympus, he states that he must protect his home (the sea), but Percy then reminds him that Olympus is his true home.

Due to caring dearly for his children, according to Polybotes; Poseidon's greatest weaknesses is his demigod son, Percy Jackson, as if Percy is harmed the giants believe that Poseidon will weaken.

In The House of Hades, it is implied by Hazel that Poseidon has a dark side, something which is reflected by his other son, Sciron.

Appearance
Poseidon has black hair, a neatly trimmed beard, sea-green eyes, and a nice tan, as well as "smile crinkles" around his eyes and cheeks. When casual (which is almost always), he wears Birkenstocks (leather sandals), khaki Bermuda shorts, and a shirt with coconuts and parrots on it (or any other Hawaiian shirt), and a cap decorated with fishing lures which says "NEPTUNE'S LUCKY FISHING HAT." Sally Jackson describes him to be "handsome, tall, powerful, yet gentle." During The Last Olympian, Poseidon's visage has aged to that of an old man due to his kingdom being destroyed in his battle with Oceanus, having white/gray hair and beard, and an aged face. When Percy asks what happened to him, he says he chooses to reflect the state of his realm, and it is not in a good state. However, when he abandoned the battle to fight Typhon, his appearance returns to normal. Poseidon often travels in a huge golden chariot pulled by four massive hippocampi. In Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, while trying to woo Demeter, Poseidon wears magnificent flowing green robes, and a crown of seashells. When arriving in Athens (to become the city's patron god), Poseidon appears in a "massive geyser of twisting water and salt." Poseidon's demigod son, Percy Jackson, is noted to be nearly the spitting image of his father, with black hair and green eyes, Percy also inherited Poseidon's good looks, as Hazel mentioned in The Son of Neptune that "he had the good looks of a Roman god." That was also part of the reason why Medusa wanted to keep a statue of Percy, to remind herself of her past affair with his father.

Abilities
As one of the Big Three, Poseidon has the ultimate powers a god can possess, and is rivaled only by his brothers, Zeus and Hades.
 * Massive Strength: Poseidon has incredible physical prowess, and in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, he is mentioned being able to submerge entire islands, and hurl mountains at his enemies. Even after temporarily losing his divinity and godly powers, Poseidon's physical strength far surpassed that of any demigod, and he could easily carry six massive stone blocks simultaneously while building a mighty wall around Troy.
 * Powerful Roar: in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, when Poseidon becomes extremely depressed about his inability to woo Amphitrite, Poseidon bellows "louder than a humpback whale", giving many whales and giant squids terrible migraines. In The Last Olympian, when Poseidon attacks Typhon, his voice is so loud, that Percy isn't sure if he was hearing it from the smoke image, or from all the way across town.
 * Hydrokinesis: As the Lord of the Sea, Poseidon has absolute control over water, and has the same hydrokinetic powers as Percy, only extremely increased.
 * As seen in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Poseidon can appear in a "massive geyser of twisting water and salt."
 * He can bring about both floods and droughts. This is shown in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, when Poseidon (angered that Hera is made the city's patron goddess) floods the city of Argos. However, when implored by Hera, Poseidon takes the floodwater away, along with the rest of the city's freshwater supply.
 * He can create gigantic water funnel clouds. In The Last Olympian, Poseidon was able to make one around Typhon, which wrapped him up "like a cocoon", and took him all the way to Tartarus.
 * He can unleash huge tsunamis and tidal waves.
 * He can withstand any amount of water pressure.
 * He can generate water from his body.
 * He can create water springs.
 * He can use sea waves as a form of teleportation.
 * He can breathe underwater.
 * He can communicate with sea creatures.
 * Horses: As the god who initially created horses, Poseidon has divine authority and control over them. In Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, this is shown when Poseidon makes a herd of horses part before him, and surround Demeter.
 * Geokinesis (limited): Being the god of earthquakes, Poseidon has the ability to generate earthquakes. Due to this, Poseidon is frequently referred to as "the Earthshaker".
 * Aerokinesis (limited): Poseidon is also known as the god of storms since he controls the weather over the seas. He can create fierce hurricanes. However, he can also create clear skies for sailors if he wishes to. Due to this, Poseidon is frequently referred to as "the Stormbringer." As god of the seas, it is unknown how far this power may extend over land.
 * Building Skills: in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Poseidon constructed the famous Walls of Troy, which were extremely durable, and kept the Greek forces at bay for 10 long years. It should also be noted that Poseidon was able to build them after he temporarily lost his divinity and godly powers.

Attributes

 * Dolphin (animal)
 * Horse (animal)
 * Ram (animal)
 * Bull (animal)
 * Trident (weapon)
 * Ash and White Pine (trees)

Family
Poseidon is married to Amphitrite and has three children by her (although only one appears in the series) but he is also the father of a diversity of children.

The Lightning Thief
Kevin McKidd plays the role of Poseidon in the movie. His personality is vastly different from that of the actual series. While in the book, he makes sarcastic jokes aimed at his brother Zeus and has a laid back demeanor. In the film, he is much more serious and treats Zeus as a superior instead of as his brother, even asking him to be allowed to talk to his own son, Percy. Poseidon's relationship with Percy is also revamped. Throughout the movie, Poseidon defends and guides Percy and shows obvious love for him. In the book, Poseidon is much more aloof. Here, it is stated that Poseidon was with Sally much longer than in the book, even being with Percy until he was seven months old, meaning that he was present when Percy was born, while in the book, he left before Percy was born. In the book, Poseidon sports a Hawaiian-print shirt and shorts, but in the movie, he is mostly in Greek armor, or jeans, T-shirt, and a hoodie.

Poseidon

Trivia

 * Poseidon is also referred to as "The Earthshaker", "The Stormbringer", and "The Father of Horses."
 * Interestingly, Poseidon is the only Big Three god who doesn't have two known demigod children born to him by the same mortal mother since Zeus had Jason (Roman) and Thalia (Greek) with Ms. Grace while Hades had Bianca and Nico with Maria di Angelo.
 * Also, out of the Big Three gods, Poseidon has the least amount of demigod children in the series.
 * He is the only known Big Three god known to have a legacy, which is Frank Zhang.
 * Poseidon seems to be the most caring father among the Big Three, especially when he comes to visit Percy on his fifteenth birthday.
 * Poseidon's favorite son is Percy Jackson.
 * Neptune, the eighth and last official planet from the Sun, is named after Poseidon's Roman counterpart.
 * Polybotes believes Poseidon's greatest weakness is his love for Percy.
 * From The Son of Neptune to The House of Hades, at least one son of Poseidon appears as the antagonist, has one distinguishing ability, and works for Gaea.
 * Phineas (Prophecy) - The Son of Neptune.
 * Chrysaor (Swordfighting) - The Mark of Athena.
 * Sciron (Marksmanship) - The House of Hades.
 * Poseidon has not contacted Percy at all since The Last Olympian. Out of all the godly parents of the seven of the prophecy, Poseidon is the only one that has not contacted his child in some way. The reason is unknown.
 * Percy is the only known demigod son of Poseidon since World War II. However Poseidon mentions to Percy at the end of The Last Olympian that he can now claim all his other children, but he may have been joking.
 * According to Hazel Levesque, Poseidon's children take their personalities from his changeable persona. As Sciron is darker and merciless, as a rough and murderous seas, whereas Percy takes his father's kind, soft, and peaceful sea persona.
 * In Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters, it was stated that Poseidon used Riptide to defeat Kronos. In the books however, Zeus used their father's scythe to cut Kronos into a thousand pieces, just as Kronos had done to his own father Ouranos.
 * Poseidon is the only known Greek god to have legacies in the modern day.
 * As shown in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Poseidon and Apollo are the only two major Olympians who have temporarily lost their divinity and godly powers.
 * As shown in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, after Ares brutally murders his son Halirrhothius, Poseidon convinces Zeus to assemble the first ever Olympian trial for murder. However, Ares was ultimately acquitted.
 * As Percy states in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, the only demigod son of Poseidon that he is ashamed of being related to is Halirrhothius, who tried to rape Ares' daughter Alcippe.
 * In Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Poseidon is shown to be the only one to inherit his mother Rhea's brilliant green eyes. His son Percy Jackson later inherits them as well.
 * Kronos seems to have a particularly strong hatred for his son Poseidon, whom he describes as "too changeable, and too unpredictable."
 * After many competitions with other Olympians, Poseidon finally became the patron god of Corinth and Mantinea.
 * In Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Chrysomallus, the ram with the Golden Fleece, is revealed to be the son of Poseidon and Theophane, a beautiful mortal princess.
 * His only half-blood child shares his gender.
 * Poseidon was the last child swallowed by Kronos, but the first one to be vomited out.