Scovone Star Magazine 2015-2016 | Page 19

THE GREAT GREEK GODS POSEIDON AND HIS TRIDENT Poseidon and his brothers and sisters had the same mother and father, Rhea and Cronus. Rhea was kind, but Cronus was not. Cronus didn’t want kids because one of them would overthrow him. Poseidon got swallowed by Cronus when he was a baby. Although, he was swallowed he was still very powerful. Poseidon’s trident was his godly weapon. He usually used it. This powerful weapon could shatter any object on the Earth. The trident could make a spring of water in the ground if you hit it into the Earth, but can also make something as powerful as an earthquake. Therefore Poseidon having a weapon that powerful, you should be careful around him. Many people were scared of Poseidon because he didn’t have a very good temper. When he wanted to be the patron god to Athens along with Athena he lost because Athena made the olive tree. He sent a flood to Athens because he was angry. After he finally found a city that he could be their patron, the rulers were very bad, so he sunk them into the ocean. You may know this as Atlantis.However, many people call him different names because he was so powerful, not because he was the best. Poseidon had many different names and titles. He got one of his title because he could make earthquakes and move the Earth. This title was “Earth shaker”. Another name he had is not one as reasonable. This title was “husband of the Earth” or “lord of the Earth”. It doesn’t make sense because in ancient Greek mythology Gaea is considered the Earth, but Poseidon is her grandson. He also has many symbols.One symbol is his godly weapon, the trident. Another surprising symbol is the bull. The bull does not make sense because it is not an animal where it’s habitat is the sea. One more symbol is the dolphin. ATHENA AND HER SHIELD Unlike some gods and goddesses, Athena was not the child of a Titan. Athena was one Big Three (Poseidon, Hades, Zeus) One of Poseidon’s symbols:Dolphin – 19 –