In Greek mythology, Poseidon is considered as one of the major deities. He was the god of the sea (water bodies in general), earthquakes, and horses.
He is different from Pontus, the oldest Greek divinity of waters. The meaning of Poseidon is “lord of the earth”. He was the son of Cronus and Rhea, Cronus’s sister and consort.
He was one of the significant deities in the historic cities of Greece. In Athens, his significance was second after Athena.
While in other cities such as Corinth and other regions of Great Greece, he was the most important god. Even Alexander the Great, took a hiatus at the Syrian seashore.
Cronus, the father of Poseidon, overthrew his father Uranus, and governed the world with his wife Rhea. He was told that history will repeat itself and one of his children will overthrow him.
Because of this reason, he swallowed his children at birth. Rhea was able to protect her sixth child Zeus.
When Zeus came of age he made Cronus disgorge his siblings: his brothers Hades and Poseidon; and his sisters Hera, Demeter, and Hestia.
Poseidon along with his siblings fought against Cronus and other Titans in the battle of Titanomachy. After winning the brothers shared the world.
The ancient Greeks associated horses with Poseidon as he was believed to have created the first known horse and given it to humans as a gift.