Poseidon is a minor character in in Disney's 1997 feature film Hercules. He is the Olympian God of the seas and the brother of Zeus and Hades. Despite his small role in the film, he plays a larger role in the animated TV series.
Background[]
Physical appearance[]
Poseidon is a fish-like humanoid with a hefty body, teal skin, bluefins in place of hair, a white drooping mustache and beard resembling fins, and green eyes. He wears only a dark sea green chiton.
Powers and abilities[]
Poseidon is an extremely powerful god and equal to Zeus in power. As an Olympian God, Poseidon possesses natural powers and abilities, such as immortality, omnipresence, omniscience, superhuman strength, metamorphosis, omnipotence, and teleportation.
As the God of the Sea, Poseidon possesses the ability to breathe underwater, to communicate with sea creatures, and to control the sea with his Trident. Being the Lord of the Sea, Poseidon has authority over it and its creatures.
Appearances[]
Hercules[]
In the film, he is present for the party celebrating the arrival of Zeus and Hera's newborn child, Hercules. Eighteen years later, Poseidon and his fellow gods are imprisoned by Hades and the Titans. He and the other gods are freed by Hercules.
Hercules: The Series[]
Poseidon in the Hercules TV series
In the animated series, Poseidon plays a much larger role than in the movie, either by acting as a major part in the plot or by appearing in a cameo. He is affectionately referred to by the family as "Po-Po", a title he seems content with.
In "Hercules and the River Styx", Poseidon is visited by his youngest brother, Hades, who tries to trick him into using his powers to move the River Styx (a part of Hades' domain) into Greece (a part of Zeus' domain). Such a ploy would place Greece in Hades' control, therefore making him the ruler of Olympus. In exchange, he promises to give Poseidon the city of Athens.
In "Hercules and the Son of Poseidon", Poseidon introduces Hercules to his son, Triton, a sea prince who wants to go to Prometheus Academy with him. It turns out Triton is somewhat of a nerd, wanting to be like his cousin; he has considerable acrobatic skills but terrible balance and timing, much like Hercules himself, causing him to be a constant source of humiliation. Icarus and Cassandra remind Hercules that he and his cousin are not so different, so he tries to apologize. Unfortunately, having overheard what his cousin thought of him, Triton steals Poseidon's trident and accidentally unleashes a sea monster. The two cousins team up to defeat the monster and Poseidon arrives to retrieve his trident, not punishing Triton due to Amphitrite intervening.
In "Hercules and the Poseidon's Cup Adventure", Poseidon, tired of being forgotten, holds a boating race in his honor with Adonis competing for Thrace against Hercules and Icarus. However, when their star rower Hylas is injured, the King of Thrace hires Hercules instead, who abandons Icarus. Fortunately, Amphitrite, the wife of Poseidon, has taken a special interest in Icarus and helps both him and his father, Daedalus, in completing their boat. At a gala held the night before the race, Hercules declares himself bigger than Poseidon, which causes the sea god to unleash Charybdis, a giant maelstrom sea creature, during the race, which causes both his and Icarus' ships to nearly sink. Rescuing first his friend and then Adonis, Hercules looks on as Icarus wins the Poseidon Cup, being the only one to have truly earned it.
Trivia[]
- Poseidon was originally planned to be the host of Epcot's The Living Seas, which would have featured a dark ride exploring man's relationship with the oceans in mythology and exploration. However, the dark ride was scaled back and the mythological viewpoint was dropped.[citation needed]
- Poseidon's Roman counterpart is named Neptune, which is also the name of the outermost and fourth-largest planet in the Solar System.
- In Greek mythology, Poseidon was typically characterized as a self-centered, angry, and vengeful god, who would often use his powers to terrorize sailors, port towns and civilization within reach. The Disney version, while still self-centered, is considerably more benign, and often characterized as a slacker though with a desire for recognition.
Gallery[]
.png "Hercules and the Prometheus Affair (48).png (4.06 MB)")
.jpg "Hercules and the Prometheus Affair (56).jpg (269 KB)")
.jpg "Hercules and the Prometheus Affair (58).jpg (293 KB)")
.jpg "Hercules and the Tiff on Olympus (1).jpg (330 KB)")
