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) also known as the Earthshaker, Stormbringer, and the Father of Horses, is the Greek god of seas, earthquakes, oceans, and storms. He is one of the many children of the Titan Kronos and Titaness Rhea. He is the father of Percy Jackson, the child of the Great Prophecy of the Second Olympian War (actually the Second Titan War) or the Titan's rebellion. His Roman counterpart is Neptune. He is one of The Big Three major Olympian gods.

History
Poseidon spent his childhood in his father's stomach, along with the rest of his brothers and sisters except Zeus. When Metis and Zeus made Kronos regurgitate his brothers and sisters with a mixture of mustard and wine, Poseidon joined their cause and battle against the Titans, along with his siblings: Hades, Demeter, Hestia, and Hera, beginning the Titanomachy or the First Olympian War (actually the First Titan War). They all destroyed Kronos in the First Titan War with Zeus chopping his father with Kronos' own scythe. After they won the war against the Titans, the three brothers: Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades drew lots. Zeus drew the sky, and Poseidon the sea. Hades got the Underworld as this was the only realm left after his brothers. Because of this, Hades despised his brothers, and this would cause him to become a slow raging god. Poseidon built a palace in the sea, replacing Oceanus the old sea Titan, and married one of his daughters, Amphitrite. She became Queen of the sea, and they ruled together. They had a son Triton, whom is his heir to his throne and a half-brother to Percy. Poseidon is the father of many heroes, including Theseus. His half-blood son is Percy Jackson. Tyson the Cyclops is also Percy's half-brother that comes along in the second book, The Sea of Monsters.

Rivalry with Athena
Poseidon and Athena both competed to be the patron god of Athens. Poseidon's gift was a salt-water spring (sometimes the horse) while Athena's was the olive tree. The people of Athens chose Athena over Poseidon, because they saw that her gift was better than Poseidon's. This most likely angered Poseidon, because he was one of the 'Big Three' gods (Zeus, Poseidon and Hades), and Athena was a less important goddess.

Poseidon and Medusa
Poseidon had a relationship with Medusa who was originally a virgin maiden and priestess of Athena. Athena once caught Poseidon with his girlfriend Medusa (who was once a pretty maiden) together in her temple engaging in disgusting acts in her virgin temple (as Athena is a virgin goddess). Furious at Poseidon and Medusa for doing such acts in her temple, she turned Medusa and her sisters into the "Three Gorgons". This is also possibly a main cause for Athena's rivalry with Poseidon.

Poseidon and Sally Jackson
Sometime after World War II, Poseidon, Zeus and Hades all swore an oath on the River Styx to not have any more demigod children due to a prophecy that said if a child of the Big Three reached the age of sixteen, that child would decide the fate of the Olympians. But despite his oath, Poseidon would not remain true to this word. Poseidon ended up meeting a mortal woman named Sally Jackson, who was capable of seeing through the Mist. The two fell genuinely in love, and ended up conceiving a child named Perseus a.k.a. Percy. When Poseidon realized that Sally's life would be in danger if his brothers found out about her and Percy, he had to leave to protect them. Before doing so, he told Sally to send Percy to Camp Half-Blood once he was old enough.

The Lightning Thief
After Percy survived the hellhound's attack (within Camp Half-Blood border during a game of Capture the Flag), Poseidon claimed him. 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
In The Battle of the Labyrinth, Poseidon visits Percy, Sally, and Tyson at their apartment. Sally was embarrassed at seeing her old boyfriend and former first husband 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. 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 his appearance and turn into his Roman counterpart of Neptune. As Neptune, he becomes more disciplined, militaristic, and warlike. The seafaring Greeks envisioned Poseidon as a powerful and unpredictable being. The equestrian Romans had a lesser reverence for Neptune as they feared the sea but they honored him as the god of horses. Neptune is feared at Camp Jupiter and is given a temple about the size of a toolshed. Neptune has no confirmed children at Camp Jupiter except for his Greek son Percy Jackson.

Abilities
Poseidon is an extremely powerful god rivaled only by his brothers Zeus and Hades, and surpassed only by Typhon. As the god of the sea, he has omnipotent control over the ocean. He is capable of summoning and controlling fierce storms over the water, though it is unknown to what extent he can summon storms over land or how his weather powers compare to Zeus. Poseidon also has overall powers on the ground. With his trident, he can create massive earthquakes, hence of one of his names: The Earthshaker. Like all gods, his sphere is one with his emotions - when he is angry, he inadvertently summons hurricanes, when at peace, the sea is calm. He possesses the natural abilities of a god. He has all of Percy's abilities, but to a much greater degree. It is assumed that he could transform a person into plankton or kelp, as Percy worries in The Sea of Monsters.

His power compared to Zeus and Hades is a subject of much debate, even though it is generally agreed that Zeus is stronger. However this is only because of the domain that they rule over. While Zeus controls the massive skies and the heavens above, there aren't as many creatures that inhabit it as Poseidon's realm of the ocean. It could also be argued that the spheres they control, with Zeus (sky) being the highest and Poseidon (ocean) in the middle. During the second Titanomachy he was the only god to seriously wound Typhon, but there were extenuating circumstances on both sides that make the true status in doubt. He has on many occasions summoned storms in the middle of the sea to detain heroes (such as Odysseus), a power of Zeus, and he was known as 'The Earthshaker' for being able to create earthquakes, a power of Hades.

Attributes
Poseidon's attributes are the Trident, the three pointed spear created by the Telkhines, and his creation, the horse. He is mostly seen in the waters holding his trident and creating great storms and sea waves. He is also sometimes portrayed with a dolphin.

Symbol of Power
Poseidon's symbol of power is the Trident. He can project beams of blue light from it that can transform targets or even outright destroy what they hit. It is shown when he hits a sea monster, it transforms into goldfish, when he hit a squid, "it dissolved like food coloring", and when he tells Percy: "If I hadn't looked before I blasted, you would be a puddle of sea water."

Family
Poseidon is married to Amphitrite. He has a son, Triton with her, as well as two daughters, Rhode and Benthesikyme. He is the father of Percy Jackson and the Cyclops Tyson. He is the father of many famous demigods in the myths, Triton is his immortal son. He also fathers many Cyclopes, including Polyphemus, the famous Cyclops that Odysseus had encountered. He loves his sons Percy and Tyson; he also seems not to have a problem with Percy's relationship with Annabeth, and is glad Percy has found someone to love. It is hinted in the end of The Last Olympian that he has more unclaimed children, though it's unclear whether or not he's kidding, as he both winks as though he's joking, and then reminds Percy to "know which ones can land", obviously talking about the future demigods that will appear, though whether or not he's talking about his own children is unknown.

In The Lost Hero, where it is revealed that Percy was switched with Jason Grace and sent to Camp Jupiter by Hera, there are no other children of Poseidon mentioned. Depending on how Hera 'switched' the two demigods, whether or not his demigod siblings (if he had any) would have known immediately he was gone is unknown. 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 Grace (Roman) and Thalia Grace (Greek) with Ms. Grace. While Hades had Nico di Angelo and Bianca di Angelo with Maria di Angelo. Poseidon also has an immortal family in his underwater palace.

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.

Trivia

 * Out of the Big Three gods, Poseidon has the least amount of demigod children in the series with one.
 * Poseidon also has the least amount of demigod children of all gods that have demigod children in the series (he may be tied with gods that only have one child).
 * Neptune, the eighth and last official planet from the Sun, is named after Poseidon's Roman counterpart.