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, storms and horses. 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. His Roman counterpart is Neptune. Poseidon is portrayed by Kevin McKidd in The Lightning Thief film.

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. Tyson later told Percy that he asked for a companion, a brother. Poseidon also 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. After the battle, he was in Olympus along with the other gods when Tyson, Grover, Annabeth and Percy were rewarded for saving the world. He told Percy that he has exceeded all heroes including Hercules, afterwards giving his son a hug to which Percy admitted made him tear up (as it was the first time he ever hugged his father). 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 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(which is strange because in the myths he was considered the moodiest of the gods).. 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.

It is seen that Poseidon is very loving and protective of his children; as it seen that he wanted to protect Tyson from the battle with Oceanus and feels anxiety on behalf of Percy and the danger he is always in.

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.

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 of 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.
 * Create earthquakes when angry.
 * Talk to and control horses and other equestrian animals like Pegisi, hippocampi and zebras.

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. 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 hoodie.

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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.
 * Poseidon's favorite son is Percy Jackson.