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Poseidon is one of the more famous of the deities of ancient Greece. Here is an overview of who he was, what he did and his position the Pantheon.

The Role of Poseidon In Ancient Greece

The many gods and goddesses of the ancient Greek culture played important roles in every Greek’s life. From the family hearth, to the life-giving sun, to the water they bathed in, Greek gods were seen to govern all aspects of daily life. While some regions of the Greek realm were actual cults, which meant they worshiped one god or goddess above all others; others prayed to specific figures at different points in the year or for different strengths. If a mariner was about to go to sea, it is pretty certain that he would have prayed to Poseidon.

While Poseidon’s largest governance was the sea and ocean, he was also considered the god of horses, and the “Earth-Shaker”, creator of earthquakes. In Mycenaean culture, Poseidon was seen as the most powerful of all the gods, even above Zeus - he was the most frequently written about god in the entire pantheon. At this point, he was associated with “Two Queens”, Demeter and Persephone, although in later Hellenic Greece he was not at all related to these goddesses. He was also seen in this culture as the “Earth Father” with Demeter being the “Earth Mother”.

Poseidon was also a major patron god of several large cities within Greece. In Athens, he was second in line only to Athena, and in Corinth he was the main god of the city. Apollo was a close associate god, and while Poseidon’s realm was generally seen to be in the areas of the Earth and bodies of water, he also had another trait that was a bit more sinister. Poseidon was also blamed for causing mental disturbances, such as epilepsy. He shared this ability with both the god Dionysus, and the creatures known as the Maenads.

When sailors embarked on voyages, they prayed heavily to Poseidon. Occasionally, they would even sacrifice horses by drowning (as he was also known as the god of horses). It was said that when Poseidon was in his benevolent aspect, he created both calm seas and new islands. When the god was displeased or angered, however, he would cause earthquakes and shipwrecks by striking the ground with his trident. Poseidon was often pictured in a chariot being pulled by horses or sea horses, holding a trident, and associated with dolphins.

While Zeus was known as the originator god in later parts of Greek culture, Poseidon was the first “head god” of note. His later appearances as the duel god of water and earthquakes meant that he had the ability to affect many people at once, so he garnered many prayers, sacrifices and attention from all of Greece.

Richard Monk is with FactsMonk.com - a site with facts about Greece.

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The driver was used to the area and having travelled extensively in the rural areas of Sri Lanka, he chose more interior-roads than the main roads in the last hours of our journey.

He asked all of us whether we liked to visit an ancient Kingdom of the Island and the ruined fortification and the archeological interests.

Though I heard about Panduvasdeva’s Kingdom in Panduwasnuwara I hadn’t visited it.

I thought it was a good opportunity.

There was an apparent excitement in Steffani, Yong and Romy’s faces as well.

He was driving through a narrow passage along the isolated rural areas.

The remaining walls of the ruined ancient Kingdom were the first sight for all of us.

Still the walls were standing so strongly, proclaiming its glorious majestic days several centuries ago.

Panduwasnuwara, the oldest of the capitals in Panduwasnuwara, which according to legend, was the capital of king Panduvasdeva, who succeeded Vijaya, the first king of Sri Lanka around 5th century B.C.

The moated tower where Princess Unmada Chitra, so beautiful that she drove men crazy, was confined because of an ominous prophecy of untimely death in the family.

A forested mound is also identified as the tomb of king Vijaya.

Panduvasnuwara’s many other archeological remains date from the 12th century when it was known as ‘Parakramapura’ and was used by Sri Lanka’s great medieval king Parakramabahu I as a stepping stone to his great capital - Polonnaruwa.

Among the many impressive ruins are the citadel walls and moat, the royal palace with carved pillars and guard stones, and a beautiful Bodhigara, the edifice round the bo-tree, sacred to Buddhists.

Street vendors were selling various flowers and ritual items for those visiting the adjoining Buddhist temple.

Everywhere around there were small shops selling various items, targeting those who were visiting the ruined kingdom.

When we visited some areas of the ancient kingdom, I saw a culvert with a Tamil inscription which was a pointer to Tamil influence in the Kingdom.

That the ancient culture of the Island of some thousand years was a blend of Sinhala and Tamil was evidenced in the culvert.

Yong was asking me, when we went inside a Buddhist temple a lot of questions to which I had no answer.

We bought some jaggery which was filled in a tiny pockets weaved either by a kind of weed or palm leaves.

My German friends were savouring to the full the culture and the way of living around there which hasn’t lost its centuries old purity in that highly isolated rural area from the rest of the world.

The calm and quiet that pervaded the surroundings was enchanting.

We walked amidst the ruins of the ancient Kingdom which were under large shady trees which might have been centuries old.

The large trees and ruined remains of the kingdom was reminiscent of the scenes of Angelina Jolie casting Hollywood blockbuster “Tomb Raider” which was filmed around the temple of Angkor Wat in Cambodia, one of the world’s most isolated and strife-torn countries.

It was such a marvellous experience to walk in the ruined palace where memories of the past glories of the Kingdom captivated my mind and took on a reality though I had never heard anything about the Kingdom in the past.

Romy was capturing the ancient wonder with her digital camera. I too went near a Buddhist ruined statue and took some photos to remember the lost kingdom and its wonders several centuries old.

We departed after reliving some of the ancient past and our passage was once again through the rural area of the Island passing many beautiful ponds with lotus flowers and paddy lands.

Rajkumar Kanagasingam is author of a fascinating book on German memories in Asia and you can explore more about the book and the author at AGSEP

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