POSEIDON CULT 2

POSEIDON was the Olympian god of the sea, sources of fresh water, earthquakes and horses.

This second cult page describes the cult of the god in the north-western Peloponnese, the rest of Greece and its far-flung colonies. He had several major shrines in Anatolia such as the pan-Ionic sanctuary near Priene.

The god's many titles and epithets are listed at the bottom of the page.

ENCYCLOPEDIA TITLES

AEGAEUS (Aigaios), a surname of Poseidon, derived from the town of Aegae in Euboea, near which he had a magnificent temple upon a hill. (Strab. ix. p. 405; Virg. Aen. iii. 74, where Servius erroneously derives the name from the Aegean sea.)

ASPHA′LIUS or ASPHALEIUS (Asphalios or Asphaleios), a surname of Poseidon, under which he was worshipped in several towns of Greece. It describes him as the god who grants safety to ports and to navigation in general. (Strab. i. p. 57; Paus. vii. 21. § 3; Plut. Thes. 36; Suid. s. v.)

DOMATI′TES (Domatitês), that is, the domestic, a surname of Poseidon, at Sparta, which is, perhaps, synonymous with epichôrios. (Paus. iii. 14. § 7.)

EPACTAEUS or EPA′CTIUS (Epaktaios or Epaktios), that is, the god worshipped on the coast, was used as a surname of Poseidon in Samos (Hesych. s. v.), and of Apollo. (Orph. Argon. 1296; Apollon. Rhod. i. 404.)

GAEE′OCHUS (Gaiêochos), that is, "the holder of the earth," is a common epithet of Poseidon (Hom. Od. xi. 240), and near Therapne, in Laconia, he had a temple under the name of Gaeëochus. (Paus. iii. 20. § 2.) But the name is also given to other divinities to describe them as the protectors and patrons of certain districts, e.g. Artemis Gaeëochus at Thebes. (Soph. Oed. Tyr. 160.)

GENE′SIUS (Genesios), that is, "the father," a surname of Poseidon, under which he had a sanctuary near Lerna, on the sea-coast. (Paus. ii. 38. § 4.) The name is identical in meaning with Genethlius (genethlios), under which the same god had a sanctuary at Sparta. (Paus. iii. 15. § 7.)

HI′PPIUS and HI′PPIA (Hippia and Hippios, or Hippeios), in Latin Equester and Equestris, occur as surnames of several divinities, as of Hera (Paus. v. 15. § 4); of Athena at Athens, Tegea and Olympia (i. 30. § 4, 31. § 3, v. 15. § 4, viii. 47. § ); of Poseidon (vi. 20. § 8, i. 30. § 4; Liv. i. 9); of Ares (Paus. v. 15. § 4); and at Rome also of Fortuna and Venus. (Liv. xl. 40, xlii. 3; Serv. ad Aen. i. 724.)

I′STHMIUS (Isthmios), i.e. the god worshipped on the Isthmus (of Corinth), a surname of Poseidon, in honour of whom the Isthmian games were celebrated. (Paus. ii. 9. § 6 )

PETRAEUS (Petraios). A surname of Poseidon among the Thessalians, because he was believed to have separated the rocks, between which the river Peneius flows into the sea. (Pind. Pyth. iv. 246, with the Schol.)

SA′MIUS (Samios), a surname of. Poseidon, derived from his temples in Samos and Samicon in Elis. (Strab. xiv. p. 637; comp. viii. pp. 343, 347; Paus. vi. 25. § 5.)

TAU′REUS (Taureos), a surname of Poseidon, given to him either because bulls were sacrificed to him, or because he was the divinity that gave greet pasture to bulls on the sea-coast. (Hes. Seut. Herc. 104; Hom. Od. iii. 6; Schol. ad Pind. Nem. vi. 69.)

Source: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology.

CLASSICAL LITERATURE QUOTES

CULT IN ACHAEA (SOUTHERN GREECE)

I. PATRAE (PATRAI) Main Town of Achaea (Akhaia)

Pausanias, Description of Greece 7. 21. 7 - 9 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
"At the harbor [of Patrai, Akhaia] is a temple of Poseidon with a standing image of stone. Besides the names given by poets to Poseidon to adorn their verses, and in addition to his local names, all men give him the following surnames--Pelagaios (Marine), Asphalios (Giver of Safety), Hippios (God of Horses). Various reasons could be plausibly assigned for the last of these surnames having been given to the god, but my own conjecture is that he got this name as the inventor of horsemanship. Homer, at any rate, when describing the chariot-race, puts into the mouth of Menelaus a challenge to swear an oath by this god :--‘Touch the horses, and swear by the Gaieokhos (earth-holder), Ennosigaios (earth-shaker), that thou didst not intentionally, through guile, obstruct my chariot.’ Pamphos also, who composed for the Athenians the most ancient of their hymns, says that Poseidon is : ‘Giver of horses and of ships with sails set.’ So it is from horsemanship that he has acquired his name, and not for any other reason."

Pausanias, Description of Greece 7. 21. 10 :
"There are also quite near to the harbor [of Patrai, Akhaia] two images of bronze, one of Ares and the other of Poseidon."

II. HELICE (HELIKE) Town in Achaea

Strabo, Geography 8. 7. 2 (trans. Jones) (Greek geographer C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.) :
"The sea was raised by an earthquake and it submerged Helike [in Akhaia], and also the temple of Poseidon Helikonios (of Helike), whom the Ionians worship even to this day, offering there the Pan-Ionian sacrifices. And, as some suppose, Homer recalls this sacrifice when he says : ‘but he breathed out his spirit and bellowed, as when a dragged bull bellows round the altar of the Helikonian lord.’
And they infer that the poet lived after the Ionian colonization, since he mentions the Pan-Ionian sacrifice, which the Ionians perform in honor of Poseidon Helikonios in the country of the Prienians; for the Prienians themselves are also said to be from Helike; and indeed as king for this sacrifice they appoint a Prienian young man to superintend the sacred rites. But still more they base the supposition in question on what the poet says about the bull; for the lonians believe that they obtain omens in connection with this sacrifice only when the bull bellows while being sacrificed. But the opponents of the supposition apply the above-mentioned inferences concerning the bull and the sacrifice to Helike, on the ground that these were customary there and that the poet was merely comparing the rites that were celebrated there. Helike was submerged by the sea two years before the battle at Leuktra. And Eratosthenes says that he himself saw the place, and that the ferrymen say that there was a bronze Poseidon in the strait, standing erect, holding a Hippokampos in his hand, which was perilous for those who fished with nets. And Herakleides says that the submersion took place by night in his time, and, although the city was twelve stadia distant from the sea, this whole district together with the city was hidden from sight . . . and the submersion was the result of the anger of Poseidon, for the lonians who had been driven out of Helike sent men to ask the inhabitants of Helike particularly for the statue of Poseidon, or, if not that, for the model of the temple; and when the inhabitants refused to give either, the Ionians sent word to the general council of the Akhaians; but although the assembly voted favorably, yet even so the inhabitants of Helike refused to obey; and the submersion resulted the following winter; but the Akhaians later gave the model of the temple to the lonians."

Pausanias, Description of Greece 7. 24. 5 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
"Helike [in Akhaia], where the Ionians had a very holy sanctuary of Poseidon Helikonios (of Helike). Their worship of Poseidon Helikonios has remained, even after their expulsion by the Akhaians to Athens, and subsequently from Athens to the coasts of Asia. At Miletos too on the way to the spring Biblis there is before the city an altar of Poseidon Helikonios, and in Teos likewise Helikonios has a precinct and an altar, well worth seeing. There are also passages in Homer referring to Helike and Poseidon Helikonios. But later on the Akhaians of the place removed some suppliants from the sanctuary and killed them. But the wrath of Poseidon visited them without delay; an earthquake promptly struck their land and swallowed up, without leaving a trace for posterity to see, both the buildings and the very site on which the city stood . . . [the] shock alone left no trace on the ground that men ever dwelt there. This was the type of earthquake, they say, that on the occasion referred to levelled Helike to the ground, and that it was accompanied by another disaster in the season of winter. The sea flooded a great part of the land, and covered up the whole of Helike all round. Moreover, the tide was so deep in the grove of Poseidon that only the tops of the trees remained visible. What with the sudden earthquake, and the invasion of the sea that accompanied it, the tidal wave swallowed up Helike and every man in it."

Pausanias, Description of Greece 7. 24. 6 :
"[Poseidon] caused Helike [in Akhaia] to be swallowed up by earthquake."

III. AEGIUM (AIGION) Town in Achaea

Pausanias, Description of Greece 7. 23. 10 :
"In a building right in front of the entrance [of the temple of Zeus in Aigion, Akhaia] are images, of bronze like the others, representing Poseidon, Herakles, Zeus and Athena. They are called gods from Argos. The Argives say it is because they were made in Argos; the people of Aigion themselves say that the images were deposited by the Argives with them on trust. They say further that they were ordered to sacrifice each day to the images. But bethinking themselves of a trick they sacrificed a vast number of animals, but the victims they ate up at public feasts, so that they were not put to any expense. At last the Argives asked for the images to be returned, whereupon the people of Aigion asked for the cost of the sacrifices. As the Argives had not the means to pay, they left the images at Aigion."

Pausanias, Description of Greece 7. 24. 2 :
"By the sea at Aigion [in Akhaia] is a sanctuary of Aphrodite, and after it one of Poseidon."

IV. CAPE RHION Cape in Achaea

Strabo, Geography 8. 2. 3 (trans. Jones) (Greek geographer C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.) :
"Rhion, belonging to the Akhaians, is a low-lying cape; it bends inwards (and it is in fact called 'Sickle') . . . and possesses a temple of Poseidon."

Pausanias, Description of Greece 10. 11. 6 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
"The spoils taken in these sea-battles [those of the Athenians against the various island-states] a sacrifice was offered to Theseus and to Poseidon at the cape called Rhion [in Akhaia]."

CULT IN ARCADIA (SOUTHERN GREECE)

I. MEGALOPOLIS Main City of Arcadia (Arkadia)

Pausanias, Description of Greece 8. 30. 1 :
"Near the city [of Megalopolis, Arkadia] is a temple of Poseidon Epoptes (Overseer). I found the head of the image still remaining."

II. MANTINEIA Town in Arcadia

Pausanias, Description of Greece 8. 5. 5 :
"Aipytys, the [mythical] son of Hippothoos, dared to enter the sanctuary of Poseidon at Mantineia, into which no mortal was, just as no mortal today is, allowed to pass; on entering it he was struck blind, and shortly after this calamity he died."

III. "UNTILLED" PLAIN Plain near Mantineia in Arcadia

Pausanias, Description of Greece 8. 7. 2 :
"After crossing into Mantinean country over Mount Artemisios you will come to a plain called the Untilled Plain [where the Arkadians claimed Poseidon was born], whose name well describes it, for the rain-water coming down into it from the mountains prevents the plain from being tilled; nothing indeed could prevent it from being a lake, were it not that the water disappears into a chasm in the earth. After disappearing here it rises again at Dine (Whirlpool). Dine is a stream of fresh water rising out of the sea by what is called Genethlion in Argolis. In olden times the Argives cast horses adorned with bridles down into Dine as an offering to Poseidon."

IV. MT. ALESIUM (ALESION) Mountain near Mantineia in Arcadia

Pausanias, Description of Greece 8. 10. 2 :
"By the foot of the mountain [Alesion in Arkadia] is the sanctuary of Poseidon Hippios (Horse), not more than six stades distant from Mantineia. About this sanctuary I, like everyone else who has mentioned it, can write only what I have heard. The modern sanctuary was built by the Emperor Hadrian, who set overseers over the workmen, so that nobody might look into the old sanctuary, and none of the ruins be removed. He ordered them to build around the new temple. Originally, they say, this sanctuary was built for Poseidon by [the mythical brothers] Agamedes and Trophonios, who worked oak logs and fitted them together. They set up no barrier at the entrance to prevent men going inside; but they stretched across it a thread of wool. Perhaps they thought that even this would strike fear into the religious people of that time, and perhaps there was also some power in the thread. It is notorious that even [the mythical hero] Aipytos, the son of Hippothoos, entered the sanctuary neither by jumping over the thread nor by slipping under it, but by cutting it through. For this sin he was blinded by a wave that dashed on to his eyes, and forthwith his life left him. There is an old legend that a wave of sea-water rises up in the sanctuary . . . at Mantineia the sea rises after a very long distance, and quite plainly through the divine will."

Pausanias, Description of Greece 8. 10. 8 :
"Beyond the sanctuary of Poseidon is a trophy made of stone commemorating the [historic Arkadian] victory over the Lakedaimonians under Agis . . . The Mantineans affirmed that Poseidon too manifested himself in their defence, and for this reason they erected a trophy as an offering to Poseidon. That gods were present at war and slaughter of men has been told by the poets who have treated of the sufferings of heroes at Troy, and the Athenians relate in song how gods sided with them at Marathon and at the battle of Salamis. Very plainly the host of the Gauls was destroyed at Delphi by the god, and manifestly by demons. So there is precedent for the story of the Mantineans that they won their victory by the aid of Poseidon."

V. ORCHOMENUS (ORKHOMENOS) Town in Arcadia

Pausanias, Description of Greece 8. 13. 2 :
"Worth seeing here [in Orkhomenos, Arkadia] is a spring, from which they draw water, and there are sanctuaries of Poseidon and of Aphrodite, the images being of stone."

VI. PHENEUS (PHENEOS) Town in Arcadia

Pausanias, Description of Greece 8. 14. 5 :
"There stands [in Pheneos, Arkadia] a bronze Poseidon, surnamed Hippios (Horse), whose image, it is said, was dedicated by Odysseus. The legend is that Odysseus lost his mares, traversed Greece in search of them, and on the site in the land of Pheneos where he found his mares founded a sanctuary of Artemis, calling the goddess Horse-finder, and also dedicated the image of Poseidon Hippios (Horse)."

VII. CAPHYAE (KAPHYAI) Village in Arcadia

Pausanias, Description of Greece 8. 23. 3 :
"The Kaphyatans [people of Kaphyai, Arkadia] have a sanctuary of the god Poseidon."

VIII. TRICOLONI (TRIKOLONOI) Village in Arcadia

Pausanias, Description of Greece 8. 35. 6 :
"Once Trikolonoi also was a city, and even to-day there still remains on a hill a sanctuary of Poseidon with a square image, and around the sanctuary stands a grove of trees."

IX. METHYDRIUM (METHYDRION) Village in Arcadia

Pausanias, Description of Greece 8. 36. 2 :
"There is in Methydrion [in Arkadia] a temple of Poseidon Hippios (Horse), standing by the Mylaon [River]."

X. Near ACACESIUM (AKAKESION) Village in Arcadia

Pausanias, Description of Greece 8. 37. 10 :
"Beyond the grove [of Despoine near Akakesion, Arkadia] are altars of Poseidon Hippios (Horse), as being the father of Despoine (the Mistress), and of other gods as well."

Pausanias, Description of Greece 8. 25. 7 :
"When Demeter was wandering in search of her daughter [Persephone], she was followed, it is said, by Poseidon, who lusted after her. So she turned, the story runs, into a mare, and grazed with the mares of Onkios [in Arkadia]; realizing that he was outwitted, Poseidon too changed into a stallion and enjoyed Demeter . . . For this reason they say that they were the first Arkadians to call Poseidon Hippios (Horse) [as a cult name]."

XI. MT. BOREIUS (BOREIOS) Mountain in Arcadia

Pausanias, Description of Greece 8. 44. 4 :
"From Asea is an ascent up Mount Boreios [in Arkadia], and on the top of the mountain are traces of a sanctuary. It is said that the sanctuary was built in honor of Athena Soteira (Saviour) and Poseidon by Odysseus after his return from Troy."

CULT IN BOEOTIA (CENTRAL GREECE)

I. ONCHESTUS (ONKHESTOS) Town in Boeotia (Boiotia)

Strabo, Geography 9. 2. 33 (trans. Jones) (Greek geographer C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.) :
"Onkhestos is where the Amphiktyonic Council used to convene, in the territory of Haliartos near Lake Kopais and the Teneric Plain; it is situated on a height, is bare of trees, and has a sacred Precinct of Poseidon, which is also bare of trees. But the poets embellish things, calling all sacred precincts sacred groves, even if they are bare of trees."

Pausanias, Description of Greece 9. 26. 5 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
"They say that here [in Onkhestos, Boiotia] dwelt Onkhestos, a son of Poseidon. In my day there remained a temple and image of Poseidon Onkhestios, and the grove which Homer too praised."

Pausanias, Description of Greece 9. 37. 1 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
"Klymenos [a mythical king of Orkhomenos] was murdered at the feast of Poseidon Onkhestios [of Onkhestos in Boiotia] by men of Thebes."

CULT IN EUBOEA (CENTRAL GREECE)

I. AEGAE (AIGAI) Village in Euboea (Euboia)

Strabo, Geography 9. 2. 13 (trans. Jones) (Greek geographer C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.) :
"Opposite this [the Boiotian] seaboard is situated, it is said, the Aigai in Euboia, in which is the temple of Poseidon Aigaios, which I have mentioned before . . . The temple is situated on a high mountain, where there was once a city."

II. GERAESTUS (GERAISTOS) Village in Euboea

Strabo, Geography 10. 1. 7 :
"Geraistos [in Euboia] . . . is conveniently situated for those who are sailing across from Asia to Attica, since it comes near to Sounion. It has a temple of Poseidon, the most notable of those in that part of the world, and also a noteworthy settlement."

CULT IN PHOCIS (CENTRAL GREECE)

I. DELPHI (DELPHOI) Village & Sanctuary in Phocis (Phokis)

Pausanias, Description of Greece 10. 9. 7 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
"[Amongst the statues dedicated at Delphoi :] Poseidon, [with] Lysandros, son of Aristokritos, represented as being crowned by Poseidon [i.e. to celebrate a historical sea-battle]."

Pausanias, Description of Greece 10. 24. 4 :
"In the temple [of Apollon at Delphoi] has been built an altar of Poseidon, because Poseidon too possessed in part the most ancient oracle."

N.B. See also the cult of Kelaureia in Argolis, an island which Apollon is said to have traded with Poseidon for his share of the oracle at Delphoi.

II. ANTICYRA (ANTIKYRA) Village in Phocis

Pausanias, Description of Greece 10. 36. 8 :
"In the market-place at Antikyra [in Phokis] are bronze statues, and at the harbor is a small sanctuary of Poseidon, built of unhewn stones. The inside is covered with stucco. The image, which is made of bronze, is a standing figure, with one foot resting on a dolphin. On this side he has one hand upon his thigh; in his other hand is a trident."

CULT IN OZOLIAN LOCRIS (CENTRAL GREECE)

I. AMPHISSA Main Town of Locris (Lokris)

Pausanias, Description of Greece 10. 38. 8 :
"Beyond the city [of Amphissa in Ozolian Lokris] is a precinct of Poseidon, called Poseidonion, and a temple of Poseidon is in it. But the image had disappeared before my time."

II. NAUPACTUS (NAUPAKTOS) Town in Locris

Pausanias, Description of Greece 10. 38. 12 :
"Here there is on the coast [of Naupaktos in Ozolian Lokris] a temple of Poseidon with a standing image made of bronze."

CULT IN TENOS (GREEK AEGEAN)

I. TENOS Main Town of Tenos

Strabo, Geography 10. 5. 11 (trans. Jones) (Greek geographer C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.) :
"Tenos has no large city, but it has the temple of Poseidon, a great temple in a sacred precinct outside the city, a spectacle worth seeing. In it have been built great banquet halls--an indication of the multitude of neighbors who congregate there and take part with the inhabitants of Tenos in celebrating the Poseidonia (Poseidon Festival)."

CULT IN CHIOS (GREEK AEGEAN)

I. Near CHIOS (KHIOS) Main Town of Chios

Strabo, Geography 14. 1. 35 :
"Khios . . . has a city with a good port and with a naval station for eighty ships. On making the voyage round it from the city, with the island on the right, one comes first to the Poseidion (Temple of Poseidon)."

II. ARGENNON Promontory of Chios

Strabo, Geography 14. 1. 33 :
"Argennon, a promontory of the Erythraian territory [on the Lydian mainland]; it is very close to the Poseidion (Temple of Poseidon) of the Khians, which latter forms a strait about sixty stadia in width."

CULT IN SAMOS (GREEK AEGEAN)

I. MT. MYCALE (MYKALE) Mountain & Promontory of Samos

Strabo, Geography 14. 1. 14 :
"On the right, as one sails towards the city [of Samos in the island of the same name], is the Poseidion, a promontory which with Mt. Mykale forms the seven-stadia strait; and it has a temple of Poseidon."

CULT IN COS (GREEK AEGEAN)

I. NISYRUS (NISYROS) Isle near Cos (Kos)

Strabo, Geography 10. 5. 16 :
"[The island of] Nisyros lies to the north of Telos . . . It is round and high and rocky . . . It has also a city of the same name and a harbor and hot springs and a temple of Poseidon . . . They say that Nisyros is a fragment of Kos, and they add the myth that Poseidon, when he was pursuing one of the Gigantes, Polybotes, broke off a fragment of Kos with his trident and hurled it upon him, and the missile became an island, Nisyros, with the Gigante lying beneath it."

CULT IN LYDIA (ASIA MINOR)

I. TEOS Town in Ionia - Lydia

Pausanias, Description of Greece 7. 24. 5 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
"In Teos [Poseidon] Helikonios (of Helike) has a precinct and an altar, well worth seeing."

II. PANIONIUM (PANIONION) Sanctuary in Ionia - Lydia

Strabo, Geography 14. 1. 20 (trans. Jones) (Greek geographer C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.) :
"On the seaboard [of Lydia opposite the island of Samos] is the Panionion, lying three stadia above the sea where the Pan-Ionia, a common festival of the Ionians, are held, and where sacrifices are performed in honor of Poseidon Helikonios; and Prienians serve as priests at this sacrifice, but I have spoken of them in my account of the Peloponnesos."

CULT IN CARIA (ASIA MINOR)

I. MILETUS (MILETOS) City in Ionia - Caria (Karia)

Strabo, Geography 14. 1. 3 :
"Miletos was founded by Neleus, a Pylian by birth . . . There is an altar, erected by Neleus, to be seen on the Poseidion (sanctuary of Poseidon)."

Strabo, Geography 14. 2. 22 :
"After Iasos [in Karia] one comes to the Poseidion of the Milesians."

Pausanias, Description of Greece 7. 24. 5 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
"Their [the Ionians of Helike's] worship of Poseidon Helikonios has remained, even after their expulsion [from the town of Helike] by the Akhaians to Athens, and subsequently from Athens to the coasts of Asia. At Miletos [in Karia] too on the way to the spring Biblis there is before the city an altar of Poseidon Helikonios."

II. PRIENE Town in Ionia - Caria

Strabo, Geography 8. 7. 2 (trans. Jones) (Greek geographer C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.) :
"The poet [Homer] lived after the Ionian colonization, since he mentions the Pan-Ionian sacrifice, which the Ionians perform in honor of Poseidon Helikonios in the country of the Prienians [of Priene in Karia]; for the Prienians themselves are also said to be from Helike [a town in Akhaia, Greece]; and indeed as king for this sacrifice they appoint a Prienian young man to superintend the sacred rites. But still more they base the supposition in question on what the poet says about the bull; for the lonians believe that they obtain omens in connection with this sacrifice only when the bull bellows while being sacrificed."

III. MYSALA Town in Caria

Pausanias, Description of Greece 8. 10. 2 (trans. Jones) (Greek travelogue C2nd A.D.) :
"There is an old legend that a wave of sea-water rises up in the sanctuary [of Poseidon in Mantineia, Arkadia]. A like story is told by . . . the Karians living in Mylasa about the sanctuary of the god called in the native tongue Osogoa. But the sea at Phaleron is about twenty stades distant from Athens, and the port of Mylasa is eighty stades from the city. But at Mantineia the sea rises after a very long distance, and quite plainly through the divine will."

CULT IN PHRYGIA (ASIA MINOR)

I. CATACEAUMENE (KATAKEAUMENE) & CELAENAE (KELAINAI) Region & Town in Phrygia

Strabo, Geography 12. 7. 18 (trans. Jones) (Greek geographer C1st B.C. to C1st A.D.) :
"Phrygia Katakekaumene (Burnt Up Lands) is occupied by Lydians and Mysians, received its appellation for some such reason as follows : in Philadelphia, the city near it, not even the walls are safe, but in a sense are shaken and caused to crack every day. And the inhabitants are continually attentive to the disturbances in the earth and plan all structures with a view to their occurrence. And, among the other cities, Apameia was often shaken by earthquakes . . . And this, in all probability, is why Poseidon [as the god of earthquakes] is worshipped in their country, even though it is in the interior, and why the city was called Kelainai, that is, after Kelainos, the son of Poseidon by Kelaino, one of the daughters of Danaüs, or else because of the 'blackness' (kelainos) of the stone, which resulted from the burn-outs."

CULT TITLES & EPITHETS

Poseidon had numerous cult titles. The first of these described his various divine functions as king of the sea and protector of sea voyages, god of earthquakes, horses, god of fresh-water and the nurturing of plants, and ancestral god:--

Another set of cult titles were derived from the locations of his shrines, and from the mythical founders of hsi temples:--

Some general cult terms relating to Poseidon include:--

SOURCES

GREEK

• Strabo, Geography - Greek Geography C1st B.C. - C1st A.D.
• Pausanias, Description of Greece - Greek Travelogue C2nd A.D.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

A complete bibliography of the translations quoted on this page.