Poseidon was a Greek god as unruly as the seas he commanded, constantly meddling in the affairs of mortals and once challenged Zeus himself. One of the chief Olympian deities, Poseidon was a defiant god whose power was second only to that of Zeus. Although he was chiefly known as god of the sea and seafarers, his power extended to other domains as well. Befitting one called “deep sounding Earth Shaker,” “Encircler of the Earth,” and “black maned,” Poseidon controlled earthquakes and was associated with horses and horsemanship as well. In some sources, he was even referred to as “Hippios,” meaning “horse lord.” Worshipped across the entirety of the Greek world, Poseidon had particularly strong followings in seafaring city-states such as Athens and Corinth. Continue reading from Mythopedia
Neptune was the Roman god of waters and seas, who controlled winds and storms. Also known as Neptunus Equester, he was recognized as a god of horses and horsemanship, as well as patron of horse racing, a popular form of entertainment for the ancient Romans. In terms of his characteristics and mythology, Neptune was an exact copy of the Greek deity Poseidon.
Unlike Poseidon, who had been part of Greek mythology from the onset, Neptune was a later addition to the Roman pantheon. Whereas Poseidon’s subjects treated him as a kind of second-in-command to Zeus, Neptune was never a ruling deity. Continue reading from Mythopedia
