The Greek Gods

The Greek gods had many gods of the sea. Many of the Greek cities were built close to the Mediterranean Sea so it was not uncommon for the Greeks to worship sea gods as well as the gods that were in the heavens. The ancient Greek gods consisted of the mortals who were considered to be heroes (heroes who might become immortal because of their heroic efforts), nymphs, sea monsters, and trickster creatures. It seems that the humans would not go into the sea because of the fears of what was in the watery grave. Were unsure of the unknown and avoided it most of the time. Some of the known sea gods were, The Old Man of the Sea, Nereus, Proteus, Glaucus, and Phorkys.

The leader of the gods of the sea was Poseidon. He was an important Olympian and the chief patron of Corinth, cities of the Magna Graecia, and of Atlantis. Historians believe that Poseidon was a god of horses before he was the god of the sea. His chief emblem of power was the horse and it was the primary sacrificial animal connected to him. Poseidon was also the god of earthquakes. The earthquakes may have effected the seas and caused tsunamis. This was one of the fears of the people and why they feared going into the water. It seemed that the only use of the sea was for piracy until the Industrial Revolution. There was a shrine of Poseidon at Cape Tanaerum, which was the point where the mainland of Greece cuts sharply into the Mediterranean. This is where it was said that Heracles and Orpheus entered Hades.

There were sea gods or divinities who were bound with human skill. The Telchines were half human, half fish, or dolphin. They were said to be the first citizens of Rhodes. These creatures knew how to work with metal and were known for their death dealing power of the evil eye. The Greek term for sea gods was Theoi Halioi or Theoi Einalioi. They were ruled by Poseidon and his queen Amphitrite.

More of the sea gods were: Aleolus, Acheilus, Alcyone, Ceyx, Aphros, Aphrodite, Argyra, Benthesicyme, Briareus, Bythos, Cabeiro, Calliste, Capheira, Carcinus, Cetea, Ceto, Charybdis, Cymopoleia, Delphin, Doris, Eidothea, Echidna, Electra, Erotes, Eurybia, plus many more.

It is said that Aphrodite was born when the testicles of Uranus were thrown into the sea. Uranus was castrated by his own son, Cronus, at the instructions of his mother, Gaea. It seemed that Gaea was tired of Uranus coming down to lay with her every night and she also feared for her children because Cronus claimed they were ugly and deformed. He was ashamed of his own children.