She was related with the annual birth of the divine child. In the cave of Amnisos (Crete) Enesidaon is related with the cult of Eileithyia, the goddess of childbirth. The chthonic nature of Poseidon-Wanax is also indicated by his title E-ne-si-da-o-ne in Mycenean Knossos and Pylos, a powerful attribute (earthquakes had accompanied the collapse of the Minoan palace-culture). Poseidon carries frequently the title wa-na-ka (wanax), meaning “king” in Linear B inscriptions. A feminine variant, po-se-de-ia, is also found, indicating a lost consort goddess, in effect the precursor of Amphitrite. If surviving Linear B clay tablets can be trusted, the name po-se-da-wo-ne (“Poseidon”) occurs with greater frequency than does di-u-ja (“Zeus”). Statue of Poseidon / Photo by Fingalo, Pella Museum, Wikimedia Commons Īt least a few sources deem Poseidon as a “prehellenic” (i.e. Pelasgian) word, considering an Indo-European etymology “quite pointless”. Plato in his dialogue Cratylus gives two traditional etymologies: either the sea restrained Poseidon when walking as a “foot-bond” (ποσίδεσμον), or he “knew many things” (πολλά εἰδότος or πολλά εἰδῶν). There is also the possibility that the word has Pre-Greek origin. It seems that Poseidon was originally a god of the waters. This would make * Posei-dawōn into the master of waters. Īnother, more plausible, theory interprets the second element as related to the (presumed) Doric word *δᾶϝον dâwon, “water”, Proto-Indo-European *dah₂- “water” or *dʰenh₂- “to run, flow”, Sanskrit दन् dā́-nu- “fluid, drop, dew” and names of rivers such as Danube (< *Danuvius) or Don. Beekes in Etymological Dictionary of Greek, “there is no indication that δᾶ means ‘earth'”, although the root da appears in the Linear B inscription E-ne-si-da-o-ne, “earth-shaker”. Walter Burkert finds that “the second element δᾶ- remains hopelessly ambiguous” and finds a “husband of Earth” reading “quite impossible to prove.” According to Robert S. of the earth this would link him with Demeter, “Earth-mother”. One theory breaks it down into an element meaning “husband” or “lord” (Greek πόσις ( posis), from PIE *pótis) and another element meaning “earth” (δᾶ ( da), Doric for γῆ ( gē)), producing something like lord or spouse of Da, i.e. The origins of the name “Poseidon” are unclear. A cult title of Poseidon in Linear B is E-ne-si-da-o-ne, “earth-shaker”. ![]() The form Ποτειδάϝων ( Poteidawon) appears in Corinth. The earliest attested occurrence of the name was in Mycenean Greek. After the fight, Poseidon sent a monstrous flood to the Attic Plain, to punish the Athenians for not choosing him. Īthena became the patron goddess of the city of Athens after a competition with Poseidon, and he remained on the Acropolis in the form of his surrogate, Erechtheus. In Plato’s Timaeus and Critias, the legendary island of Atlantis was Poseidon’s domain. Poseidon is also the subject of a Homeric hymn. In Homer’s Iliad, Poseidon supports the Greeks against the Trojans during the Trojan War and in the Odyssey, during the sea-voyage from Troy back home to Ithaca, the Greek hero Odysseus provokes Poseidon’s fury by blinding his son, the Cyclops Polyphemus, resulting in Poseidon punishing him with storms, the complete loss of his ship and companions, and a ten-year delay. Poseidon was protector of seafarers, and of many Hellenic cities and colonies. Homer and Hesiod suggest that Poseidon became lord of the sea following the defeat of his father Cronus, when the world was divided by lot among his three sons Zeus was given the sky, Hades the underworld, and Poseidon the sea, with the Earth and Mount Olympus belonging to all three. He is often regarded as the tamer or father of horses, and with a strike of his trident, he created springs which are related with the word horse. In the myths of isolated Arcadia he is related with Demeter and Persephone and he was venerated as a horse, however it seems that he was originally a god of the waters. He also had the cult title “earth shaker”. In pre-Olympian Bronze Age Greece, he was venerated as a chief deity at Pylos and Thebes. Poseidon was one of the Twelve Olympians in ancient Greek religion and myth, god of the sea, storms, earthquakes and horses. Poseidon was a major civic god of several city-states, such as Athens and Corinth. Photo by Ricardo André Frantz, National Archaeological Museum of Athens, Wikimedia Commons
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