Poseidon is known for his countless appearances in Greek mythology. He lives among the most famous Greek gods, and as you can tell, he rules the sea, water, and anything water-related phenomena such as storms, earthquakes, tsunami, and even tidal waves.
Aside from that, Poseidon leads pretty interesting lore along with the tales of his marital affairs. Did you know that Poseidon has more than one lover?
When you thought that Zeus is the only one with copious lovers, Poseidon comes in second. And with that, here’s the splash on Poseidon wives and lovers.
1. The Sea Queen, Amphitrite
Looking at her title, Amphitrite is the wife of the King and God of Seas, Poseidon.
Amphitrite is not a significant deity which baffled many scholars. She was not included in the mighty gods on Mount Olympus, yet the nymph has attracted Poseidon.
She expressed her disapproval when Poseidon asked her to marry him. But after all of the efforts of the sea god, the Nereid or Oceanid goddess distinguished herself among the number of Poseidon’s lovers, as she rules the seas with her husband and rides the chariots alongside him.
Their story began with Poseidon seeing the beauty of Amphitrite. He saw her dancing with her sisters, which only proves that she is the eldest of all the Nereids, yet she possesses an enchanting beauty that no one can top off.
Because Amphitrite does not want to become one of Poseidon’s wives, Poseidon asked the god of dolphins, Delphin, to marry her. With no convincing after, Amphitrite married Poseidon and became the mother of all life in the sea and Poseidon’s children — Triton and Benthesikyme.
2. Aphrodite
The goddess of love and beauty has also become the lover of the sea god. Even though the goddess pledged her vow with Hephaestus, she has been entangled with many webs of lovers. Her Olympian god lovers were Hermes, Dionysus, and her most favorite lover of all, Ares.
The goddess fell in love with Poseidon shortly after she recovered from the embarrassment that Hephaestus did. Her husband exposed her affair with Ares to all of the gods, but Poseidon was the one who supported it.
In the end, Aphrodite and Poseidon bore their children, Rhodos and sometimes Herophile, through their short-lived affair.
3. The Pleiad Nymph, Alcyone
Alcyone is the second out of the seven Pleiades sisters, accompanying the goddess of the hunt, Artemis. The nymph is sometimes regarded as the leader of the troop. Other times it was their sister Maia as she is their eldest sister.
And because Artemis is strict on being chaste and pure as the goddess of the hunt, she disapproves of Alcyone and Poseidon’s relationship. However, the two started their affair, and she gave birth to Aethusa, Anthas, Hyreius, Hyperenor, Hyperes, and other offspring still unnamed.
4. The Goddess of Harvest and Agriculture, Demeter
Demeter is the goddess of Harvest and Agriculture and the mother of Persephone, who is married to Hades.
Poseidon showed her a great interest, but the goddess doesn’t want to marry him. While she was looking for Persephone, the goddess knew that she was being followed by Poseidon. So she turned as a mare to hide from him.
However, her plan wasn’t foolproof. She was spotted by Poseidon, who disguised himself as a stallion and forced her to mate with him.
Because of this, she was filled with rage, but she decided to cleanse herself in the river, and she gave birth to Despoina, the goddess of mysteries of the Arcadian cult, and Arion, a black stallion.
5. The Mortal from Atlantis, Cleito
In the lost city of Atlantis, there lived a mortal woman named Cleito, who was the daughter of Evenor and Leucippe. She was the second Poseidon wife.
She gave birth to five sets of twins, ten children in total named: Atlas, Amperes, Autochthon, Azaes, Diaprepes, Elasippus, Eudaemon, Eumelus (Gadeirus), Mestor, Mneseus.
6. The Youngest Gorgon, Medusa
Once the most beautiful woman in Greece, Medusa was Athena’s priestess. She served the goddess and kept her chastity to praise and worship the goddess of wisdom and war.
Because she is serving Athena, Poseidon took the opportunity to take advantage of the most beautiful woman and make fun of Athena as he took Medusa on the steps of her temple.
Medusa was helpless and asked for Athena’s help. However, the goddess did not hear her plea. Instead, she punished the woman with the curse of a gaze that makes men turn into stone and snake for her hair.
The gorgon birthed Pegasus and Chrysaor from her blood as Perseus sliced her head off.
7. The daughter of Pelasgus, Larisa
Larissa or Larisa was one of Poseidon’s lovers. She was the daughter of prince Argos and a nymph from Thessaly.
She bore three sons named Achaios, Phthios, and Pelasgus. The three men became rulers of Thessaly, and Larisa has gained significance with her affair with Poseidon. She was attributed in silver drachmas, with 3/4s of her face starting from 380 to 365 BC.
8. Euryale – The older sister of Medusa
After the unfortunate death of her younger sister, Poseidon made her his lover. This affair has brought the life of Orion, the hunter who turned into a constellation.
Euryale was not like Medusa, who can turn any human into a stone, but she is immortal and her sister Steno.
9. The Princess of Egypt, Libya
Libya is one of Poseidon’s wives, only in the Roman counterpart of the mythology. The princess was the personified version of Libya, and she was the daughter of King Ephapus of Egypt and Memphis.
Her story with Poseidon does not vary that much. Poseidon took her by force, giving birth to Belus Agenor, her twin sons. Some sources say that she bore another son with the sea god named Lelex.
10. His Male Lovers
You’re reading this right. Even Zeus has a fair share of men.
Poseidon had an affair with his companion and charioteer, Nerites. Nerites and Poseidon shared a spark that turned out to be real, yet the minor god turned to be a shellfish after being punished by gods.
The other man that Poseidon has attracted is the King of Pisa named Pelops. He was Tantalus’s son, and he became a charioteer to the sea god, which developed their relationship.
And last but not least was Patroclus, the lover and best friend of the mighty hero, Achilles. Poseidon has taken a penchant for the young man and helped him win the Trojan war.
Even though Patroclus has died, there are still some tales that the two are also meeting in the afterlife called Elysium, which is only for the most significant Greek warriors. Could you imagine that?
Takeaway
After getting some knowledge about Poseidon’s marriage and affairs, can you figure out how different the powers they possess are? Of course, the gods can still get whatever they want, no matter what happens. They can shapeshift into forms like horses to coerce the woman they want, whether a god or a mortal being.
They can do things without consent from the other person. This is not the same as today, which is why Poseidon has many wives and lovers.