Neptune: Roman God of the Ocean
Neptune overlooking the sea at the port of Copenhagen
Poseidon is the Ancient Greek god of the ocean and freshwater. His Roman equivalent is Neptune. Many believe the gods to be identical, the Romans, as they did with other Greek gods, simply changed the name.
Neptune (Poseidon) is commonly depicted holding a trident, surrounded by or mounted on a dolphin. Although not as commonly, he can be known as the god of horses as well. Within the Iliad, Neptune, along with his brothers Jupiter (Zeus) and Pluto (Hades), controlled the earth in three parts; the underworld belonging to Pluto, the sky belonging to Jupiter, and the sea belonging to Neptune.
The Romans held a festival in honor of Neptune, Neptunalia, around July 23 each year, when water was the scarcest, in hopes to receive rain from him. He had a temple in the publicly owned part of Rome, the Campus Martius, near the Circus Flaminius.
Although these days we all know Neptune from television and movies as a merman, this is only a modern interpretation of the Roman sea god. In Ancient Greek and Roman art and statues, he is always shown as a human.
Neptune’s demeanor, very erratic and irritable, was directly linked to the ocean’s roughness and unpredictability. Whenever there was a stormy sea or an earthquake, people assumed it was because Neptune was in a bad mood.
The planet Neptune is named after the Roman god, due to the planet’s ocean like hue. His brothers Jupiter and Pluto have their namesake planets as well. And so, even after thousands of years, these gods still play a major role in our society, and they probably will for thousands more years to come.
Bibliography:
Neptune, Eighth Planet from the Sun
Neptune • Facts and Information on the God Neptune
Neptune - Roman God of the Sea