The ancient and majestic god Neptune, the patron of the sea element

One of the most famous ancient Roman gods, especially revered and majestic, was Neptune - the god of the sea and all kinds of water streams. In his citizenship were all the sources, rivers and lakes, only with one desire he was able to cause the most devastating earthquakes, raise and hide in the sea abyss entire islands. Before the advent of Neptune, the sea kingdom was owned by the titan Ocean, who reluctantly gave his regal scepter to a young and ambitious successor, although he genuinely admired his virtues.

Personality of the lord of the seas

As the second son of the father of the gods - the titan of Kron - and the Titanides of Rhea, he was also the brother of Jupiter, Juno, Ceres, Vesta and Pluto. It was Jupiter, distributing the kingdoms among the brothers, commanded Neptune to be the only king of the ocean and rule all the waters on the surface of the Earth. However, the powerful god Neptune was not happy with his share and constantly encroached on other people's possessions. The attempt to overthrow his brother ended for Neptune by exile from Olympus to Earth and by his own judgment to erect the walls of Troy. Upon his return, the failures did not leave him, and Neptune suffers a defeat in the famous match with Minerva for the right to give the name to the beautiful city of Athens. His gift to the people of the city - a horse of noble blood, a symbol of war and poverty - was less useful to them than the olive tree of Minerva - a symbol of wealth, peace and prosperity. The violent temper and irrepressible temperament, which possessed the god Neptune, his sense of leadership constantly forced the master of the water element to get involved in all sorts of disputes, which were not always crowned with success.

Personal life and beloved Neptune

Most of his life, Neptune lived not in Olympus, but in the coral caves of his sea kingdom, which he governed fairly, severely, sometimes, even cruelly. There was enough of one of his words that an awful storm rose on the sea, a swing, so that he immediately died down. He easily forced the waves to roar furiously, returning a calm ripple to the sea in a minute. The faithful wife was Neptune, the queen of the Amphitrite seas, personifying the sun-drenched sea calm. At first she was afraid of her persistent boyfriend, gracefully and quickly escaping him, but then, when he sent a message with the dolphin, offering her to share the throne with him and become his wife, she agreed. In gratitude, the god Neptune took the dolphin to heaven, devoting a new constellation to him. His next lover was the goddess Ceres, who also did not immediately take courtship of the god of the seas. Turned into a mare, she hid from him in all ways, but Neptune was difficult to deceive, he followed her in the guise of a horse. The fruit of this love was the beautiful winged horse Arion, who could win any jump. The next time the victim of his love became the earthly girl Theofana. Fearing, as though someone else did not fall in love with a young beauty, Neptune turns her into a sheep and looks after her as a sheep. Theophanes gives birth to a beautiful lamb with golden wool, it is behind his rune that Jason will go later with his Argonauts. Another love of the king of the seas will be the Gorgon Medusa - even at a time when she was young and beautiful. The Roman god also marries her. Then, when a drop of blood falls from her severed head, he will create from them a graceful Pegasus.

Neptune. Pictures

The God of the whole water element was revered mostly by people connected with the sea, or by those who went on sea voyages. He was also considered the patron of horses and riders. In ancient Greek mythology he was identified with Poseidon.

Normally, the god Neptune was portrayed as a majestic, athletic-built middle-aged man with a trident in his hand, his beard and hair fluttering in the wind, and his head was crowned with a wreath of seaweed. He often rushes through the waves in his golden chariot harnessed by white golden-haired horses, surrounded by a variety of sea monsters.

A huge number of altars and temples were dedicated to Neptune throughout Italy and Greece. In honor of it, even sports were arranged. Today the name of this great god is the furthest - the eighth planet of the solar system.