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 (Ποσειδῶν in Ancient Greek) is also known as the Earthshaker, Father of Horses, and Stormbringer. He is the Greek god of earthquakes, oceans, seas, and storms. He is the son of the Titans, Kronos and Rhea as well as one of the Big Three. In the series, he is the father of Percy Jackson and the ancestor of Frank Zhang. His Roman counterpart is Neptune. Poseidon is portrayed by Kevin McKidd in The Lightning Thief film.

History
The duck looking child and fat son of Kronos by bacon Poseidon spent her childhood in his father's stomach along with his brother, Hades and sisters; Demeter, Hera, and Hestia. When Zeus made the Titan king regurgitate his siblings with a mixture of mustard and wine, Poseidon, along with the others, joined his cause and battled against the Titans with a vengeance. They eventually defeated Kronos with Zeus chopping him to pieces with his own scythe. After they won the war against the Titans, Poseidon and his brothers drew lots for the universe with Zeus claiming the sky and Hades receiving the Underworld.

Poseidon took the ocean and built his palace beneath the waves; overruling the Titans, Oceanus and Tethys. He soon took their daughter, Amphitrite as his wife after courting her with the aid of Delphin and fathered a son named Triton with her. Poseidon would also become the father of gods, heroes, and monsters such as Arion, Theseus, and Polyphemus respectively.

Rivalry with Athena


Poseidon once competed with Athena to be the patron god of Athens. Whereas he created a salt-water spring, Athena grew an olive tree. The Athenians chose Athena over Poseidon but also built an altar to appease the indignant sea god. Later, Poseidon had a relationship with Medusa; a beautiful maiden priestess of Athena. The goddess caught them together in her temple and engaging in "disgusting acts". Furious at the violation of her temple's sanctity, Athena transformed Medusa along with her sisters, who helped arrange their meeting, into the Gorgons and has held a grudge against him ever since.

The Pact


Sometime after World War II, Poseidon and his brothers swore an oath on the River Styx to never again sire mortal children in fear of a prophecy foretelling of such a demigod who would decide the fate of Olympus itself. However, Poseidon would violate this promise when he met a clear-sighted mortal named Sally Jackson. The two soon fell in love and conceived a child named Perseus but Poseidon realized that their lives would be in danger if his brothers ever found out about them and he was forced to leave in order to protect them. He would tell Sally about Camp Half-Blood before his departure and instruct her to send "Percy" there when he was old enough. Although he left before Percy's birth, Poseidon did once visit his son as an infant which left the boy with vague warm feelings as he grew up.

The Lightning Thief
After Percy survived the attack during his first game of Capture the Flag at camp, Poseidon claimed him as his own. This caused discord among the gods of Olympus, as this was proof that Poseidon had not honored the pact he had made with his two brothers after World War II. After Zeus' lightning bolt was discovered to be missing, Zeus suspects Poseidon used Percy to steal it, and demands he return it by the Summer Solstice, and Poseidon in turn wanted an apology for being suspected on that date. A quest is given to his son Percy to find the missing master bolt and return it in time by the Summer solstice in order to stop a war amongst the gods. He succeeds, and Poseidon got to meet his son formally. He told Zeus that he had admitted his wrongdoing, and Percy felt like he was just a god's mistake. Poseidon was feeling very sorry for Percy, because heroes typically meet a tragic end. Percy told his father he wasn't sorry for being who he was, and Poseidon told him that he was a true son of the Sea God.

The Sea of Monsters
Poseidon does not appear, 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. He sent the Hippocampi to Percy and his friends, and Percy gets a letter from Poseidon telling him to "Brace yourself". Even though he was only 13, it could mean something about the prophecy. It could also refer to Thalia's resurrection later in the book.

The Titan's Curse
Poseidon joins the party on Olympus, talks to Percy about Luke, and about his prophecy. Percy assures his father he isn't afraid. Poseidon vouches for Percy and Bessie in the end, saving Bessie's life.

The Battle of the Labyrinth
Poseidon visits Percy, Sally, and Tyson at their apartment. Sally was embarrassed at seeing her old boyfriend again. Percy and Tyson greet him, and Poseidon is introduced to Sally's boyfriend, Paul Blofis. Poseidon then tells Percy of the war he is having in his underwater kingdom, and gives him a birthday present, a sand-dollar. He then warns Percy of the upcoming disasters, and leaves. He also tells Percy that he is his favorite son.

The Last Olympian
When Percy sees Poseidon, he looks aged and weak, unlike the man he once knew. Poseidon was busy fighting the Titan of the sea, Oceanus, who was constantly attacking his kingdom. Poseidon had been fighting so hard, his strength had been deteriorated. However, Percy was able to convince Poseidon to come up from his kingdom and help defend Olympus by sitting on his throne, which drew his attention, and although he at first disagreed, saying that he had to defend his home, Percy replied "I'm at your home, Olympus.", convincing Poseidon and his Cyclopes to aid in defeating Typhon and sending him to The Pit of Tartarus, effectively saving Olympus. Later on the beach Poseidon thanks Percy for saving Olympus. He also says that he may send Percy some siblings. Percy wasn't sure if Poseidon was kidding or not, after that Poseidon turned into sea mist and disappeared.

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. Poseidon cares for his children and watches over them more than many of the other gods, actively giving them advice, and aiding them indirectly. 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. 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, but it's hard to tell. 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.

Appearance
He 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 battered cap decorated with fishing lures which says "NEPTUNE'S LUCKY FISHING HAT". 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/grey 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'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 was noted by Hades in the movie.

Neptune


Poseidon can change into his Roman counterpart of Neptune. As Neptune, he becomes more disciplined, militaristic, and warlike. The Greeks envisioned Poseidon as a powerful and unpredictable being. The Romans had an apprehensive respect for Neptune as the god of the sea, and were afraid of him, but they honored him as the god of horses. Although he has no children there, Neptune does have descendants at Camp Jupiter near San Francisco.

Abilities
Possessing the ultimate powers of a god, Poseidon is rivaled only by Hades and Zeus in might with these known abilities and powers:


 * Being the lord of the sea, he can generate tsunamis and enormous tidal waves with huge force.
 * He can generate large hurricanes.
 * He can unleash the full power if the sea in the form of giant water cyclones.
 * When he is angry, the sea is extremely rough and dangerous.
 * He controls all the marine creatures that inhabit the sea.

Attributes
Poseidon's greatest Symbol of Power is the Trident, a spear-like weapon created by the Telekhines. His animals are the dolphin and the horse. As Neptune, he is often seen holding the conchshell which is used to calm the waves created by his trident and traditionally held by his son, Triton.

Family
Poseidon is married to Amphitrite and has three children by her but he is also the father of a diversity of children.

The Lightning Thief
Kevin McKidd played 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.

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Trivia

 * Interestingly, he 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.
 * Neptune, the eighth and last official planet from the Sun, is named after Poseidon's Roman counterpart.
 * Out of the Big Three gods, Poseidon has the least amount of demigod children in the series.