Poseidon: Member of Triumvirate or just brother to the King...?

'All things were split three ways, to each his honour, when we cast lots. Indeed it fell to me [Poseidon] to abide forever in the grey sea water; Hades received the dark mist at the world's end, and Zeus the open heaven of air and cloud.' (Il. 15.187)

  This speech by Poseidon in the Iliad would suggest that he perceived his relationship with his brothers as equal. The splitting of reality between the three was done in such a way that no one individual had too much power.

  I have created this .gif to show two of the possible ways of interpreting the hierarchy of the Olympian gods. Of course, there are also other possibilities involving other deities, but for the sake of feasibility, I have shown two possibilities, which struck me as likely. 

  Today's discussion was particularly about Zeus and his role as leader, but I thought that I could bring this back to his relationship with Poseidon, and also look into the role of their brother; Hades.

  I will start with one point I thought would be relevant to make now, as it is also appropriate to my comparison to Michaelangelo's Adam and God from my last post. Zeus is described as Zeu Pater meaning Zeus father (Il. 1.503, 3.31, 3.276, Ody. 20.112). This is of course notable as the Christian God is often referred to as Father or sometimes as Abba Father, approximately meaning Daddy. This suggests that Zeus was seen as head of the family. In a patriarchal society like Ancient Greece, a strong male figurehead would have been noticeable as the head of the godly household. Zeus may be seen as the eldest since he was not swallowed by his father when he was born, whereas his siblings had to be re-born.

  Noriko Yasumura's book Challenges to the Power of Zeus in Early Greek Poetry draws attention to a number of examples from the Iliad which show how Zeus is portrayed as the superior and Poseidon as the inferior.

'...he [Poseidon] is no match for Zeus, whose superior strength is repeatedly emphasised by Poseidon's own words, and by Zeus.' (Yasumura (2011) 60)

  The evidence for this point can be found in the Iliad. Poseidon expresses his doubt in his ability to overcome Zeus, who seems to fully understand his power over Poseidon.

'I [Poseidon] would not dream of pitting all the rest of us against Lord Zeus. He overmasters all. (Il. 8.210-11).
'...for all his might, he does not have it in him to oppose me [Zeus]. I am more powerful by far than he. He has forgotten this, claiming equality with me.' (Il. 15.164-6)

  This does not just suggest that Zeus is stronger than Poseidon, it suggests that Zeus is stronger than all other deities put together. Perhaps Poseidon's aetiological role makes him weak. There is a need to explain why the sea is so apparently hateful, which causes it to destroy ships and flood the coast. The explanation resides in the fact that Poseidon is bitter about losing out to his brother Zeus. Poseidon is weaker because he is used in an aetiological context to explain the behaviour of the sea. Where Poseidon's power is finite, Zeus's is infinite, yet there is one example which may weaken Yasumura's argument.

'A time came when Zeus's pride and petulance became so intolerable that Hera, Poseidon, Apollo, and all the other Olympians, except Hestia, surrounded him suddenly as he lay asleep on his couch and bound him with rawhide thongs, knotted into a hundred knots, so that he could not move. He threatened them with instant death, but they had placed the thunderbolt out of reach and laughed insultingly at him.' (Graves (1992) 13. c)

  This is a very interesting extract; it suggests a number of things. Firstly, it suggests that Zeus is not omniscient as he is not aware of actions whilst he is asleep, in this way he is different to the Judeo-Christian God. Secondly, it suggests that rather than Zeus being omnipotent, it is his thunderbolt that is omnipotent. Zeus is the owner of the thunderbolt so he becomes omnipotent. Without his thunderbolt, the other Olympians are able to laugh insultingly at him without any fear of being struck down. Zeus is powerless in this situation and Poseidon sees that he is stronger for the time being, though he may require the support of the other Olympians to maintain this power over Zeus.

  Now I will turn the attention to Hades.

'Hades fell in love with Core, and went to ask Zeus's leave to marry her. Zeus feared to offend his eldest brother by a downright refusal, but knew also that Demeter would not forgive him if Core were committed to Tartarus, he therefore answered politically that he could neither give nor withhold his consent.' (Graves (1992) 24. c)

  Zeus's fear to offend his brother could have two meanings; either he cared for his brother and did not want to upset him by refusing him, or he feared his eldest brother's wrath. The second option is interesting; firstly, it points out that Hades is his eldest brother, even though this may still mean the eldest of his younger brothers. The use of the adjective 'eldest' may suggest that Zeus feels threatened by Hades as a rival. On the other hand, Hades also asks for Zeus's leave so he seems to be deferring to the most important brother, though that could just be an example of asking the father's permission to wed his daughter. This extract also suggests he has some fear of upsetting his sister Demeter. This extract suggests that Zeus's power is not unchallengeable, and that he has to occasionally act with caution to maintain his power.

  Zeus seems to be portrayed as an autocratic, tyrannical leader, very reflective of Ancient Greek kings and dictators. He does not accept rebellion from his subordinates, and does not allow anyone to have power rivalling his, yet he may just have power over the other gods and goddesses because of his ownership of the thunderbolt which he seems to have obtained by luck. When the thunderbolt is taken from him he seems powerless. Sometimes even when he has ownership of the thunderbolt he still seems to show fear of his brother Hades, he does not act as someone who is totally unchallengeable.

So going back to the .gif...

Equal or not equal...?

Equal and not Equal; Zeus is unchallengeable with the lightning bolt, but challengeable when it is put out of his reach, but also fears the rivalry of his siblings.

Sources Used

Dowden, K., (2006) Zeus, London: Routledge

Graves, R., (1992) The Greek Myths, London: Penguin.

Homer, The Iliad. Translated by Robert Fitzgerald., 1984. Oxford: Oxford University Press

Yasumura, N., (2011) Challenges to the Power of Zeus in Early Greek Poetry, London: Bristol Classical   Press