Poseidon. Amphitrite. Nereus and the Nereids. Triton and Tethys.
Iris and the Graeae. Proteus and Styx
and Medusa.
They are of the sea, and more than the sea. They are the primordial ocean from which life arose, and which continues to sustain the world. They are the saltwater in our blood. They are storm and wind and tide and crashing waves. They are glorious beings of water and salt and light, avengers of injustice and providers of bounty. They are fathers and mothers and lovers. They are wrathful and exuberant, compassionate and wise, quixotic and impulsive and shrewd.
They are Powers most worthy of our devotion, our prayers, and our respect.
Hail Poseidon and the Spirits of the Sea!
Within the 266 pages of this devotional anthology to the Greek God of the Sea and all the other watery spirits, can be found an invocation (part of which appears below) as well as a rite that I wrote in honour of Poseidon which was performed on a public beach last year round a date that was allegedly considered to be sacred to Poseidon.
All hail to thee, Great Shaker of the Earth
You who Plato declared chose dominion over Atlantis
Was it you who caused the collapse of Knossos with your mighty trident?
Were you not content with your watery realms? Did you long for Zeus’s
lofty abode or Hades darkened Underworld?
O, Creator of Islands, we know you are the greatest of all thine divine
siblings.
All hail, Poseidon, Great Shaker of the Earth.
With there being a "rubbish island" somewhere in the Pacific Ocean at least the size of Texas (some 700,000 square kilometres) that no one seems to care about, this rite was designed to call upon Poseidon and ask for his protection of all the creatures of the watery realms whose habitats were being polluted and lives placed in danger due to mankind's disregard and sheer laziness - this "out of mind out of sight" adage that we have allowing it to be okay to throw rubbish overboard so that it becomes someone else’s
problem. That “someone” is usually the
marine inhabitants.
This devotional that honours Poseidon and the spirits of the sea can be purchased from Bibliotheca Alexandrina.
