originally a personification of the
fertilising
power
ii.
ii.
William Smith - 1844 - Dictionary of Greek and Roman Antiquities - c
40 ; Virg.
Aen.
v.
to us. (Visconti, Mus. Pio-Clem. vol. iii. pp. 10799. ) lle was accordingly a brother of Zeus,
-21 ; Winckelmann, Vorliiuſiye Allundlung, c. iv. Hades, llera, Hestia and Demeter, and it was de-
§ 126 ; see also the description by Schlegel, quoted termined by lot that he should rule over the sea.
under MENANDER, Vol. II. p. 1031, b. )
(Hom. n. xiv. 156, xv. 187, &c. ; Hes. Theog.
Athenaeus (xiv. p. 652, d. ) mentions a letter of 456. ). Like his brothers and sisters, he was, after
the comic poet and grammarian, Lynceus of Samos, his birth, swallowed by his father Cronos, but
to Poseidippus.
thrown up again. (A pollod. i. 1. § 5, 2. § 1. )
In his language, Meineke (p. 484) has detected According to others, he was concealed by Rhea
some new words, and old words in new senses, after his birth, among a flock of lambs, and his
totally unknown to the best Attic writers. mother pretended to have given birth to a young
According to Suidas, he wrote forty playe, of horse, which she gave to Cronos to devour. A
which the following eighteen titles are preserved : well in the neighbourhood of Mantineia, where this
'Αναβλέπων, 'Αποκλειομένη, Γαλάτης, Δήμοται, is said to have happened, was believed, from this
Ερμαφρόδιτος, Επίσταθμος, Έφεσία, Κώδων, Λο- | circumstance, to have derived the name of the
κρίδες, Μεταφερόμενοι, Μύρμης, “Ομοιοι, Παιδίον, « Lamb's Well,” or Arne. (Paus. viii. 8. 3 2. ) Ac-
Πορνοβοσκός, Σύντροφοι, Φιλόσοφοι, Φιλοπάτωρ, cording to Tzetzes (ad Lucολ. 644) the nurse of
Xopetuvoa. . The extant fragments of these plays Poseidon bore the name of Arne ; when Cronos
are not sufficient to enable us to form an accurate searched after his son, Arne is said to have de-
judgment of the poet's style ; but it seems, from clared that she knew not where he was, and from
the titles, that some of his plays were of a licentious her the town of Arne was believed to have received
character. Gellius (ii. 23) mentions him among its name. According to others, again, he was
the Greek comedians who were imitated by the bronght up by the Telchines at the request of
Latin poets. (Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. ii. pp. 489, Rhea. (Diod. v. 55. ) In the earliest poems, Po
490 ; Meineke, Frag. Com. Graec. vol. i. pp. 482 seidon is described as indeed equal to Zeus in
-484, vol. iv. pp. 513—528, ed. Minor, pp. 1141 dignity, but weaker. (Hom. Il. viii. 210, xv. 165,
- 1149. )
186, 209 ; comp. xiii. 355, Od. xiii. 148. ) Hence
2. An epigrammatic poet, who was probably a we find him angry when Zeus, by haughty words,
different person from the comic poet, since he is attempts to intimidate him; nay, he even threatens
mentioned with the appellation ó étiypapuatoypá- his mightier brother, and once he conspired with
pos (Schol. in Apoll. Rhod. i. 1289). He seems, Hera and Athena to put him into chains (Hom.
however, to have lived about the same time as the n. xv. 176, &c. , 212, &c. ; comp. i. 400. ); but, on
comic poet, since Zeno and Cleanthes, who were the other hand, we also find him yielding and
contemporary with the latter, are mentioned in one submissive to Zeus (viii. 440). The palace of
of his epigrams (No. 11), and another epigram (No. Poseidon was in the depth of the sea near Aegae
21) is upon the temple which Ptolemy Philadelphus in Euboea (xiii. 21; Od. v. 381), where he kept
erected in honour of his sister and wife Arsinoë his borses with brazen hoofs and golden manes.
[ARSINOE). He is several times referred to by With these horses he rides in a chariot over the
Athenaeus, Stephanus Byzantinus, and the gram- waves of the sea, which become smooth as he ap-
marians. His epigrams formed a part of the Gar- proaches, and the monsters of the deep recognise
land of Meleuger, who appears to mention him him and play around his chariot (1. xiii. 27;
as a Sicilian (Prooem. 45, 46); and twenty-two comp. Virg. Aen. v. 817, &c. , i. 147; Apollon.
of them are preserved in the Greek Anthology ; Rhod. iji. 1240, &c. ) Generally he himself put
but some of these are also ascribed to Asclepiades his horses to his chariot, but sometimes he was
and Callimachus. One of his epigrams, that on assisted by Amphitrite. (Apollon. Rhod. i. 1158,
the statue of Opportunity by Lysippus (No. 13), iv. 1325; Eurip. Androm. 2011; Virg. Aen. v. 817. )
is imitated by Ausonius (Epig. 12. )
But although he generally dwelt in the sea, still he
Athenaeus (xiii. p. 596, c. ) quotes the Aidhonla also appears in Olympus in the assembly of the
of Poseidippus, and elsewhere his 'Aownia, which gods. (Hom. II. viii
. 440, xiii. 44, 352, xv. 161,
seem to have been epic poems, and which Schweig- 190, xx. 13. ) Poseidon in conjunction with
häuser is probably right in referring to the author Apollo is said to have built the walls of Troy for
of the epigrams. (Brunck, Anal. vol
. ii. pp. 46, Laomedon (vii. 452; Eurip. Androm. 1014), whence
51, 528 ; Jacobs, Anth. Graec. vol. ii. pp. 46–52, Troy is called Neptunia Pergama (Neptunus and
vol. xiii. pp. 942, 943; Fabric. Bibl. Graec. Poseidon being identified, Ov. Fust. i. 525, lleroid.
FOL iv. p. 493. )
iii. 151; comp. Virg. Aen, vi. 810. ) Accordingly,
3. An historian, who wrote a work respecting although he was otherwise well disposed towards
Cnidus, which contained several particulars respect the Greeks, yet he was jealous of the wall which
ing the Venus of Praxiteles. (Clem. Alex. Protrept. the Greeks built around their own ships, and he
pp. 16, 17; Arnob. vi. 13. ) He is also cited by lamented the inglorious manner in which the walls
## p. 506 (#522) ############################################
306
POSEIDON.
POSEIDON.
1
erected by himself fell by the hands of the Greeks. The symbol of Poseidon's power was the trident,
(Hom. Il. xii. 17, 28, &c. ) When Poseidon and or a spear with three points, with which he used to
Apollo had built the walls of Troy, Laomedon shatter rocks, to call forth or subdue storms, to
Tefused to give them the reward which had been shake the earth, and the like. Herodotus (ii. 50, iv.
stipulated, and even dismissed them with threats 180) states, that the name and worship of Poseidon
(xxi. 443); but Poseidon sent a marine monster, was imported to the Greeks from Libya, but he
which was on the point of devouring Laomedon's was probably a divinity of Pelasgian origin, and
daughter, when it was killed by Herncles. (Apollod.
originally a personification of the fertilising power
ii. 5 $ 9. ) For this reason Poseidon like Hera of water, from which the transition to regarding
bore an implacable hatred against the Trojans, from him as the god of the sea was not difficult. It is
which not even Aeneas was excepted (Hom. Il. a remarkable circumstance that in the legends
xx. 293, &c. ; comp. Virg. Aen. v. 810; Il. xxi. about this divinity there are many in which he is
459, xxiv. 26, xx. 312, &c. ), and took an active said to have disputed the possession of certain
part in the war against Troy, in which he sided countries with other gods. Thus, in order to take
with the Greeks, sometimes witnessing the contest possession of Attica, he thrust his trident into the
as a spectator from the heights of Thrace, and ground on the acropolis, where a well of sea-water
sometimes interfering in person, assuming the ap- was thereby called forth ; but Athena created
pearance of a mortal hero and encouraging the the olive tree, and the two divinities disputed,
Greeks, while Zeus favoured the Trojans (11. until the gods assigned Attica to Athena. Poseidon,
xiii. 12, &c. , 44, &c. , 209, 351, 357, 677, xiv. indignant at this, caused the country to be in-
136, 510. ) When Zeus permitted the gods to undated. (Herod. viii, 55; Apollod. iii. 14. § 1;
assist whichever party they pleased, Poseidon join- | Paus. i. 24. § 3, &c. ; Hygin. Fab. 164. ) With
ing the Greeks, took part in the war, and caused Athena he also disputed the possession of Troezene,
the earth to tremble ; he was opposed by Apollo, and at the command of Zeus he shared the place
who, however, did not like to fight against his with her. (Paus. ii. 30. $ 6) With Helios he
uncle. (Il. xx. 23, 34, 57, 67, xxi. 436, &c. ) disputed the sovereignty of Corinth, which along
In the Odyssey, Poseidon appears hostile to with the isthmus was adjudged to him, while Helios
Odysseus, whom he prevents from returning home received the acropolis. (ii. I. $ 6. ) With Hera he
in consequence of his having blinded Polyphemus, disputed the possession of Argolis, which was ad-
a son of Poseidon by the nymph Thoosa. (Hom. judged to the former by Inachus, Cephissus, and
Od. i. 20, 68, v. 286, &c. , 366, &c. , 423, xi. 101, Asterion, in consequence of which Poseidon caused
&c. , xiii. 125; Ov. Trist. i. 2. 9. )
the rivers of these river-gods to be dried up. (ii. 15.
Being the ruler of the sea (the Mediterranean), § 5, 22. $5; Apollod. ii. 1. $ 4. ) With Zeus,
he is described as gathering clouds and calling forth lastly, he disputed the possession of Aegina, and
storms, but at the same he has it in his power to with Dionysus that of Naxos. (Plut. Sympos.
grant a successful voyage and save those who are
At one time Delphi belonged to him in
in danger, and all other marine divinities are sub- common with Ge, but Apollo gave him Calauria as
ject to him. As the sea surrounds and holds the a compensation for it. (Paus. ii. 33. $ 2, x. 5.
earth, he himself is described as the god who $ 3; Apollon. Rhod. iii. 1243, with the Schol. )
holds the earth (yaiñoxos), and who has it in his The following legends also deserve to be men-
power to shake the earth (evoolxowv, kivnTrip yas). tioned. In conjunction with Zeus he fought
He was further regarded as the creator of the against Cronos and the Titans (Apollod. i. 2. $ 1),
horse, and was accordingly believed to have taught and in the contest with the Giants he pursued
men the art of managing horses by the bridle, and Polybotes across the sea as far as Cos, and there
to have been the originator and protector of horse killed him by throwing the island upon him.
races. (Hom. Il. xxiii. 307,584; Pind. Pyth. vi. 50; (Apollod. i. 6. & 2; Paus. i. 2. $ 4. ) He further
Soph. Oed. Col. 712, &c. ) Hence he was also crushed the Centaurs when they were pursued by
represented on horseback, or riding in a chariot Heracles, under a mountain in Leucosia, the
drawn by two or four horses, and is designated by island of the Seirens. (Apollod. ii. 5. $ 4. ) He
the epithets Intios, ITTELOS, or in Los Dvas. (Paus. sued together with Zeus for the hand of Thetis,
1. 30. $ 4, viii. 25. & 5, vi. 20. $ 8, viii. 37. $ 7; but he withdrew when Themis prophesied that the
Eurip. Phoen. 1707 ; comp. Liv. i. 9, where he is son of Thetis would be greater than his father.
called equester. ) In consequence of his connection (Apollod. iii. 13. $ 5; Tzetz. ad Lyc. 178. ) When
with the horse, he was regarded as the friend of Ares had been caught in the wonderful net by
charioteers (Pind. Ol. i. 63, &c. ; Tzetz. ad Lyc. Hephaestus, the latter set him free at the request
156), and he even metamorphosed himself into a of Poseidon (Hom. Od. viii. 344, &c. ), but Poseidon
horse, for the purpose of deceiving Demeter. The afterwards brought a charge against Ares before
common tradition about Poseidon creating the the Areiopagus, for having killed his son Halir-
horse is as follows:— when Poseidon and Athena rhothius. (Apollod. iii. 14. § 2. ) At the request
disputed as to which of them should give the name of Minos, king of Crete, Poseidon caused a bull to
to the capital of Attica, the gods decided, that it rise from the sea, which the king promised to sacri-
should receive its name from him who should fice ; but when Minos treacherously concealed the
bestow upon man the most useful gift. Poseidon animal among a herd of oxen, the god punished
then created the horse, and Athena called forth Minos by causing his daughter Pasiphaë to fall in
the olive tree, for which the honour was conferred love with the bull
. (Apollod. iii. 1. $ 3, &c)
upon her. (Serv. ad Virg. Georg. i. 12. ) Accord- Periclymenus, who was either a son or a grandson
ing to others, however, Poseidon did not create of Poseidon, received from him the power of as-
the horse in Attica, but in Thessaly, where he suming various forms. (i. 9. & 9, iii. 6. $ 8. )
also gave the famous horses to Peleus. (Lucan, Poseidon was married to Amphitrite, by whom
Phars. vi. 396, &c. ; Hoin. Il. xxiii. 277; Apollod. he had three children, Triton, Rhode, and Ben-
iii. 13. $ 5. )
thesicyme (lles. Tlog. 930; Apollod. i. 4. & 6,
ix. 6. )
## p. 507 (#523) ############################################
POSEIDONIUS.
807
POSEIDONIUS.
3
iii. 16. § 4); but he had besides a vast number of observing the setting of the sun, and by his observ.
children by other divinities and mortal women. ations confuting the ignorant story of the hissing
He is mentioned by a variety of surnames, either sound made by the sun as it descended into the
in allusion to the many legends related about him, ocean. Having collected a variety of information
or to his nature as the god of the sea.
llis wor-
on points of geography and natural history, he set
ship extended over all Greece and southern Italy, out for Italy: Nor was he idle on the roynge,
but he was more especially, revered in Pelopon- paying attention to the course of the winds, and
nesus (which is hence called oikntiglov ſloo eidavos) examining the peculiarities of the coasts along
and in the lonic coast towns. The sacrifices offered which he passed. He visited Sicily and the neigh-
to him generally consisted of black and white bouring islands, and then proceeded to Dalmatia
bulls (Hom.
to us. (Visconti, Mus. Pio-Clem. vol. iii. pp. 10799. ) lle was accordingly a brother of Zeus,
-21 ; Winckelmann, Vorliiuſiye Allundlung, c. iv. Hades, llera, Hestia and Demeter, and it was de-
§ 126 ; see also the description by Schlegel, quoted termined by lot that he should rule over the sea.
under MENANDER, Vol. II. p. 1031, b. )
(Hom. n. xiv. 156, xv. 187, &c. ; Hes. Theog.
Athenaeus (xiv. p. 652, d. ) mentions a letter of 456. ). Like his brothers and sisters, he was, after
the comic poet and grammarian, Lynceus of Samos, his birth, swallowed by his father Cronos, but
to Poseidippus.
thrown up again. (A pollod. i. 1. § 5, 2. § 1. )
In his language, Meineke (p. 484) has detected According to others, he was concealed by Rhea
some new words, and old words in new senses, after his birth, among a flock of lambs, and his
totally unknown to the best Attic writers. mother pretended to have given birth to a young
According to Suidas, he wrote forty playe, of horse, which she gave to Cronos to devour. A
which the following eighteen titles are preserved : well in the neighbourhood of Mantineia, where this
'Αναβλέπων, 'Αποκλειομένη, Γαλάτης, Δήμοται, is said to have happened, was believed, from this
Ερμαφρόδιτος, Επίσταθμος, Έφεσία, Κώδων, Λο- | circumstance, to have derived the name of the
κρίδες, Μεταφερόμενοι, Μύρμης, “Ομοιοι, Παιδίον, « Lamb's Well,” or Arne. (Paus. viii. 8. 3 2. ) Ac-
Πορνοβοσκός, Σύντροφοι, Φιλόσοφοι, Φιλοπάτωρ, cording to Tzetzes (ad Lucολ. 644) the nurse of
Xopetuvoa. . The extant fragments of these plays Poseidon bore the name of Arne ; when Cronos
are not sufficient to enable us to form an accurate searched after his son, Arne is said to have de-
judgment of the poet's style ; but it seems, from clared that she knew not where he was, and from
the titles, that some of his plays were of a licentious her the town of Arne was believed to have received
character. Gellius (ii. 23) mentions him among its name. According to others, again, he was
the Greek comedians who were imitated by the bronght up by the Telchines at the request of
Latin poets. (Fabric. Bibl. Graec. vol. ii. pp. 489, Rhea. (Diod. v. 55. ) In the earliest poems, Po
490 ; Meineke, Frag. Com. Graec. vol. i. pp. 482 seidon is described as indeed equal to Zeus in
-484, vol. iv. pp. 513—528, ed. Minor, pp. 1141 dignity, but weaker. (Hom. Il. viii. 210, xv. 165,
- 1149. )
186, 209 ; comp. xiii. 355, Od. xiii. 148. ) Hence
2. An epigrammatic poet, who was probably a we find him angry when Zeus, by haughty words,
different person from the comic poet, since he is attempts to intimidate him; nay, he even threatens
mentioned with the appellation ó étiypapuatoypá- his mightier brother, and once he conspired with
pos (Schol. in Apoll. Rhod. i. 1289). He seems, Hera and Athena to put him into chains (Hom.
however, to have lived about the same time as the n. xv. 176, &c. , 212, &c. ; comp. i. 400. ); but, on
comic poet, since Zeno and Cleanthes, who were the other hand, we also find him yielding and
contemporary with the latter, are mentioned in one submissive to Zeus (viii. 440). The palace of
of his epigrams (No. 11), and another epigram (No. Poseidon was in the depth of the sea near Aegae
21) is upon the temple which Ptolemy Philadelphus in Euboea (xiii. 21; Od. v. 381), where he kept
erected in honour of his sister and wife Arsinoë his borses with brazen hoofs and golden manes.
[ARSINOE). He is several times referred to by With these horses he rides in a chariot over the
Athenaeus, Stephanus Byzantinus, and the gram- waves of the sea, which become smooth as he ap-
marians. His epigrams formed a part of the Gar- proaches, and the monsters of the deep recognise
land of Meleuger, who appears to mention him him and play around his chariot (1. xiii. 27;
as a Sicilian (Prooem. 45, 46); and twenty-two comp. Virg. Aen. v. 817, &c. , i. 147; Apollon.
of them are preserved in the Greek Anthology ; Rhod. iji. 1240, &c. ) Generally he himself put
but some of these are also ascribed to Asclepiades his horses to his chariot, but sometimes he was
and Callimachus. One of his epigrams, that on assisted by Amphitrite. (Apollon. Rhod. i. 1158,
the statue of Opportunity by Lysippus (No. 13), iv. 1325; Eurip. Androm. 2011; Virg. Aen. v. 817. )
is imitated by Ausonius (Epig. 12. )
But although he generally dwelt in the sea, still he
Athenaeus (xiii. p. 596, c. ) quotes the Aidhonla also appears in Olympus in the assembly of the
of Poseidippus, and elsewhere his 'Aownia, which gods. (Hom. II. viii
. 440, xiii. 44, 352, xv. 161,
seem to have been epic poems, and which Schweig- 190, xx. 13. ) Poseidon in conjunction with
häuser is probably right in referring to the author Apollo is said to have built the walls of Troy for
of the epigrams. (Brunck, Anal. vol
. ii. pp. 46, Laomedon (vii. 452; Eurip. Androm. 1014), whence
51, 528 ; Jacobs, Anth. Graec. vol. ii. pp. 46–52, Troy is called Neptunia Pergama (Neptunus and
vol. xiii. pp. 942, 943; Fabric. Bibl. Graec. Poseidon being identified, Ov. Fust. i. 525, lleroid.
FOL iv. p. 493. )
iii. 151; comp. Virg. Aen, vi. 810. ) Accordingly,
3. An historian, who wrote a work respecting although he was otherwise well disposed towards
Cnidus, which contained several particulars respect the Greeks, yet he was jealous of the wall which
ing the Venus of Praxiteles. (Clem. Alex. Protrept. the Greeks built around their own ships, and he
pp. 16, 17; Arnob. vi. 13. ) He is also cited by lamented the inglorious manner in which the walls
## p. 506 (#522) ############################################
306
POSEIDON.
POSEIDON.
1
erected by himself fell by the hands of the Greeks. The symbol of Poseidon's power was the trident,
(Hom. Il. xii. 17, 28, &c. ) When Poseidon and or a spear with three points, with which he used to
Apollo had built the walls of Troy, Laomedon shatter rocks, to call forth or subdue storms, to
Tefused to give them the reward which had been shake the earth, and the like. Herodotus (ii. 50, iv.
stipulated, and even dismissed them with threats 180) states, that the name and worship of Poseidon
(xxi. 443); but Poseidon sent a marine monster, was imported to the Greeks from Libya, but he
which was on the point of devouring Laomedon's was probably a divinity of Pelasgian origin, and
daughter, when it was killed by Herncles. (Apollod.
originally a personification of the fertilising power
ii. 5 $ 9. ) For this reason Poseidon like Hera of water, from which the transition to regarding
bore an implacable hatred against the Trojans, from him as the god of the sea was not difficult. It is
which not even Aeneas was excepted (Hom. Il. a remarkable circumstance that in the legends
xx. 293, &c. ; comp. Virg. Aen. v. 810; Il. xxi. about this divinity there are many in which he is
459, xxiv. 26, xx. 312, &c. ), and took an active said to have disputed the possession of certain
part in the war against Troy, in which he sided countries with other gods. Thus, in order to take
with the Greeks, sometimes witnessing the contest possession of Attica, he thrust his trident into the
as a spectator from the heights of Thrace, and ground on the acropolis, where a well of sea-water
sometimes interfering in person, assuming the ap- was thereby called forth ; but Athena created
pearance of a mortal hero and encouraging the the olive tree, and the two divinities disputed,
Greeks, while Zeus favoured the Trojans (11. until the gods assigned Attica to Athena. Poseidon,
xiii. 12, &c. , 44, &c. , 209, 351, 357, 677, xiv. indignant at this, caused the country to be in-
136, 510. ) When Zeus permitted the gods to undated. (Herod. viii, 55; Apollod. iii. 14. § 1;
assist whichever party they pleased, Poseidon join- | Paus. i. 24. § 3, &c. ; Hygin. Fab. 164. ) With
ing the Greeks, took part in the war, and caused Athena he also disputed the possession of Troezene,
the earth to tremble ; he was opposed by Apollo, and at the command of Zeus he shared the place
who, however, did not like to fight against his with her. (Paus. ii. 30. $ 6) With Helios he
uncle. (Il. xx. 23, 34, 57, 67, xxi. 436, &c. ) disputed the sovereignty of Corinth, which along
In the Odyssey, Poseidon appears hostile to with the isthmus was adjudged to him, while Helios
Odysseus, whom he prevents from returning home received the acropolis. (ii. I. $ 6. ) With Hera he
in consequence of his having blinded Polyphemus, disputed the possession of Argolis, which was ad-
a son of Poseidon by the nymph Thoosa. (Hom. judged to the former by Inachus, Cephissus, and
Od. i. 20, 68, v. 286, &c. , 366, &c. , 423, xi. 101, Asterion, in consequence of which Poseidon caused
&c. , xiii. 125; Ov. Trist. i. 2. 9. )
the rivers of these river-gods to be dried up. (ii. 15.
Being the ruler of the sea (the Mediterranean), § 5, 22. $5; Apollod. ii. 1. $ 4. ) With Zeus,
he is described as gathering clouds and calling forth lastly, he disputed the possession of Aegina, and
storms, but at the same he has it in his power to with Dionysus that of Naxos. (Plut. Sympos.
grant a successful voyage and save those who are
At one time Delphi belonged to him in
in danger, and all other marine divinities are sub- common with Ge, but Apollo gave him Calauria as
ject to him. As the sea surrounds and holds the a compensation for it. (Paus. ii. 33. $ 2, x. 5.
earth, he himself is described as the god who $ 3; Apollon. Rhod. iii. 1243, with the Schol. )
holds the earth (yaiñoxos), and who has it in his The following legends also deserve to be men-
power to shake the earth (evoolxowv, kivnTrip yas). tioned. In conjunction with Zeus he fought
He was further regarded as the creator of the against Cronos and the Titans (Apollod. i. 2. $ 1),
horse, and was accordingly believed to have taught and in the contest with the Giants he pursued
men the art of managing horses by the bridle, and Polybotes across the sea as far as Cos, and there
to have been the originator and protector of horse killed him by throwing the island upon him.
races. (Hom. Il. xxiii. 307,584; Pind. Pyth. vi. 50; (Apollod. i. 6. & 2; Paus. i. 2. $ 4. ) He further
Soph. Oed. Col. 712, &c. ) Hence he was also crushed the Centaurs when they were pursued by
represented on horseback, or riding in a chariot Heracles, under a mountain in Leucosia, the
drawn by two or four horses, and is designated by island of the Seirens. (Apollod. ii. 5. $ 4. ) He
the epithets Intios, ITTELOS, or in Los Dvas. (Paus. sued together with Zeus for the hand of Thetis,
1. 30. $ 4, viii. 25. & 5, vi. 20. $ 8, viii. 37. $ 7; but he withdrew when Themis prophesied that the
Eurip. Phoen. 1707 ; comp. Liv. i. 9, where he is son of Thetis would be greater than his father.
called equester. ) In consequence of his connection (Apollod. iii. 13. $ 5; Tzetz. ad Lyc. 178. ) When
with the horse, he was regarded as the friend of Ares had been caught in the wonderful net by
charioteers (Pind. Ol. i. 63, &c. ; Tzetz. ad Lyc. Hephaestus, the latter set him free at the request
156), and he even metamorphosed himself into a of Poseidon (Hom. Od. viii. 344, &c. ), but Poseidon
horse, for the purpose of deceiving Demeter. The afterwards brought a charge against Ares before
common tradition about Poseidon creating the the Areiopagus, for having killed his son Halir-
horse is as follows:— when Poseidon and Athena rhothius. (Apollod. iii. 14. § 2. ) At the request
disputed as to which of them should give the name of Minos, king of Crete, Poseidon caused a bull to
to the capital of Attica, the gods decided, that it rise from the sea, which the king promised to sacri-
should receive its name from him who should fice ; but when Minos treacherously concealed the
bestow upon man the most useful gift. Poseidon animal among a herd of oxen, the god punished
then created the horse, and Athena called forth Minos by causing his daughter Pasiphaë to fall in
the olive tree, for which the honour was conferred love with the bull
. (Apollod. iii. 1. $ 3, &c)
upon her. (Serv. ad Virg. Georg. i. 12. ) Accord- Periclymenus, who was either a son or a grandson
ing to others, however, Poseidon did not create of Poseidon, received from him the power of as-
the horse in Attica, but in Thessaly, where he suming various forms. (i. 9. & 9, iii. 6. $ 8. )
also gave the famous horses to Peleus. (Lucan, Poseidon was married to Amphitrite, by whom
Phars. vi. 396, &c. ; Hoin. Il. xxiii. 277; Apollod. he had three children, Triton, Rhode, and Ben-
iii. 13. $ 5. )
thesicyme (lles. Tlog. 930; Apollod. i. 4. & 6,
ix. 6. )
## p. 507 (#523) ############################################
POSEIDONIUS.
807
POSEIDONIUS.
3
iii. 16. § 4); but he had besides a vast number of observing the setting of the sun, and by his observ.
children by other divinities and mortal women. ations confuting the ignorant story of the hissing
He is mentioned by a variety of surnames, either sound made by the sun as it descended into the
in allusion to the many legends related about him, ocean. Having collected a variety of information
or to his nature as the god of the sea.
llis wor-
on points of geography and natural history, he set
ship extended over all Greece and southern Italy, out for Italy: Nor was he idle on the roynge,
but he was more especially, revered in Pelopon- paying attention to the course of the winds, and
nesus (which is hence called oikntiglov ſloo eidavos) examining the peculiarities of the coasts along
and in the lonic coast towns. The sacrifices offered which he passed. He visited Sicily and the neigh-
to him generally consisted of black and white bouring islands, and then proceeded to Dalmatia
bulls (Hom.
