Poseidon Poseidon is the brother of Zeus. After the overthrow of their Father Cronus, he drew lots with Zeus and Hades, another brother, for shares of the world. His prize was to become lord of the sea. He had a glittering, golden palace far down in the deep sea-caves where the fishes live and the red coral grows; and whenever he was angry the waves would rise mountain high, and the storm-winds would roar fearfully, and the sea would try to break over the land; and men called him the Shaker of the Earth. Once he fell in love with Demeter, the goddess of fertility, corn, grain, and the harvest. To put him off Demeter asked him to make the most beautiful animal that the world had ever seen. So to impress her Poseidon created the first horse. His first attempts were unsuccessful and created a variety of other animals. By the time the horse was created, his passion for Demeter had cooled. His weapon is a trident, which can shake the earth, and shatter any object. He is second only to Zeus in power amongst the gods. He has a difficult quarrelsome personality. He was greedy. He had a series of disputes with other gods when he tried to take over their cities. Poseidon was the first who came to Attica. He produced a sea or, as some say, just a well of sea-water. It was the evidence to show Poseidon's possession of the land. But Athena, coming after him, planted an olive tree. They fought for the possession of Attica. But Zeus parted them and appointed the other gods and goddesses as judges, and they declared the city to Athena. Athena called the city Athens after herself but Poseidon, angry at the result, fooded Atia. However some say that it was Zeus who appointed Athens to Athena and that Poseidon never fooded the county There remained preserved a long time an olive tree and a pool of salt water which had been set there by Athena and Poseidon as evidences that they competed for the city.