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. All sources, rivers and lakes were in his citizenship, with only one of his desires he was able to cause the most devastating earthquakes, to raise and hide entire islands in the deep sea. Before Neptune appeared, the ocean kingdom was owned by the titan Ocean, who with great reluctance gave his royal scepter to a young and ambitious successor, although he sincerely admired his virtues.
Personality of the Lord of the Seas
Being the second son of the father of the gods - the titan Cronus - and the titanides of Rhea, he was also a brother to Jupiter, Juno, Ceres, West and Pluto. It was Jupiter, distributing the kingdoms between the brothers, who ordered Neptune to be the only king of the ocean and rule all the waters on the surface of the Earth. However, the imperious god Neptune was not satisfied with his share and constantly encroached on other people's possessions. The attempt to overthrow his brother ended for Neptune by expelling from Olympus to Earth and by the verdict of own construction of the walls of Troy. Upon his return, the failures did not leave him, and Neptune is defeated in the famous contest with Minerva for the right to give the name to the beautiful city of Athens. His gift to the inhabitants of the city - a horse of noble blood, a symbol of war and poverty - turned out to be less useful for them than the olive tree of Minerva - a symbol of wealth, peace and prosperity. The violent character and indefatigable temperament that God Neptune possessed, his sense of leadership constantly forced the lord of the water element to get involved in all kinds of disputes, which were far from always crowned with success.
Personal life and lovers of Neptune
Neptune lived most of his life not on Olympus, but in the coral caves of his sea kingdom, which he managed fairly, strictly, sometimes, even cruelly. One of his words was enough for a terrible storm to rise on the sea, a wave, so that he would immediately die. He easily made waves roar violently, after a minute returning calm ripples to the sea. The true wife was Neptune, the queen of the seas of Amphitrite, personifying the sunlit sea calm. At first she was afraid of her annoying boyfriend, gracefully and quickly slipping away from him, but then, when he sent a message with a dolphin, inviting her to share the throne with him and become his wife, she agreed. In gratitude, the god Neptune lifted the dolphin to heaven, devoting him a new constellation. His next beloved was the goddess Ceres, who also did not immediately accept the courtship of the god of the seas. Turning into a mare, she was hiding from him by all means, 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 race. The next time, the earthly girl Teofana became a victim of his love. Fearing that no one else would love the young beauty, Neptune turns her into a sheep and looks after her in the form of a ram. Theophanes gives birth to a beautiful lamb with golden hair, it is after his rune that Jason with his argonauts will subsequently go. Another love of the king of the seas will be Medusa Gorgon - even at a time when she was young and beautiful. The Roman god also marries her. Then, when drops of blood fall from her severed head into the sea, he will create the graceful Pegasus from them.
Neptune. Pictures
The god of the whole water element was revered mainly by people associated with the sea, or by those who went on sea voyages. He was also considered the patron saint of horses and riders. In ancient Greek mythology, he was identified with Poseidon.
Usually, God Neptune was portrayed as a majestic, athletically built middle-aged man with a trident in his hand, his beard and hair fluttering in the wind, and a wreath of seaweed crowned his head. He often rushes through the waves in his golden chariot drawn by white, gold-maned 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 him, sports were even organized. Today the name of this great god is the farthest - the eighth planet of the solar system.