POSEIDON

Hans Erni, Olympic series, sailing, 1983, The Olympic Museum, Lausanne, Switzerland, tempera on paper

Tess Kadian

Poseidon is known to be a more rough and temperamental god. Poseidon is the god of the waters and the brother of Zeus. The two carry similarities, but also evidently have their differences. Zeus is known to be a majestic bearded figure, whereas Poseidon is always to have more aggression and is identified as an “earthshaker” because of his extreme disruptions. One of the main depictions used to represent Poseidon’s rough nature is that he carries a trident, “a three-pronged fork resembling a fisherman’s spear. By his very nature, Poseidon is ferocious (Morford et al.168, 170).” Poseidon being labeled with aggression has been widely accepted and acknowledged by most texts. With these claims about Poseidon’s temper in mind, we decided to choose a painting that represents a side of Poseidon that is not as frequently highlighted.

        We chose this piece by Hans Erni, showing a group of men at sail surrounding Poseidon. This shows that Poseidon is the god of the sea, with his lower body in this painting shown to be a fish, representing his relation to the waters. Now this painting is unique for multiple reasons: the first being that in this image Poseidon is credited for the calm waters. This contradicts claims about his ferociousness. The calm waters allow for the fisherman and sailors to be able to depend on him for protection while they are at sea, rather than fear him.

        Erni was commissioned by the International Olympic Committee to draw 31 different canvases depicting various Olympic sports. Erni included various gods in the photographs to add to each of the god’s sacred narrative. So in addition to Poseidon, Aeolus, the god of the wind is also featured in this image. By featuring each of these gods, Erni seems to not only be painting Poseidon as a more gentle figure than typically portrayed, Erni may also be crediting the volatile waters to a god other than Poseidon.

Not only do the calm waters evidently portray this as a photograph featuring a calmer side of Posiedon, but the peace shown in this photograph can also be seen based off of the white sails. The color white is a representation of innocence, and in this case, thoughtful protection from Poseidon. White is also a color used in painting to lighten darker aspects of the image. It is evident that this painting in itself is a way of brightening people’s viewpoint on Poseidon and taking away some of the aggression associated with him.

The other colors in this painting attribute to colors of the sea as seen with the blue and green features. Although blue is an evident color needed for properly painting an image of the sea, it also represents calmness, peace, and tranquility many times in paintings. The color green also at times is considered a symbol of security, which complements the concept of Posiedon acting as a protector to those at sea.

        So, despite the claims that, “By mere stroke of his trident, he may destroy and kill (Morford et al.168, 173),” he still has another side to him as expressed in this painting. As mentioned in our textbook, there are aspects of Poseidon that are still greatly disputed. This painting clearly shows the assumptions that he is extremely violent at all times may not be entirely true. There is another side, a side that can be seen as protection and thoughtfulness.

Varshini Nadar

In Hans Erni’s painting Olympic series, sailing, a tempera on paper, he depicts the sea god Poseidon looking over two sailing boats along with the wind god Aeolus. This painting was part of a series of 31 canvases commissioned by the International Olympic Committee in 1983, which illustrated the different Olympic sports . Erni chose to include the Greek gods in his paintings along with the athletes to give a modern interpretation of the Greek myths that can be tied to the original Olympic games. The relaxed colors Erni utilizes in his painting along with overlaying multiple objects in a messy but unified manner gives rise to a less written depiction of Poseidon where he can be a calm and benevolent god.

To begin, the Olympics were first held in ancient Greece as a religious festival honoring the king of gods Zeus where athletes could participate in athletic competitions. Among these competitions was sailing, which can be tied to Poseidon, brother of Zeus and the Greek god of the ocean. This is what Erni depicts in his Sailing painting. There are two boats with sailors and Poseidon can be seen overlooking them. The wind god Aeolus is present as well to demonstrate the winds that push the sailing boats. Poseidon is depicted with a fish tail to symbolize his role as god of the sea.

To continue, Poseidon’s personality is most often said to be angry and harsh: “By his very nature, Poseidon is ferocious. He is called the supporter of the earth but the earthshaker as well, and as a god of earthquakes he exhibits his violence by the rending of the land and the surge of the sea” (Morford et al. 168). Erni offers a contrasting view with the calming shades of blue and green that he covers his painting with to depict Poseidon as a fair god of the sea who is responsible for the calm seas that the sailors can sail safely upon. In addition, the color white represented in the sails also embodies a symbol of peace. A white flag in wars is often seen as a sign of surrender and wanting peace, and Erni communicates the thought of Poseidon also being a peaceful god with these white sails that offer him a sign of peace so there are calm waters to sail upon.

Furthermore, most notably in Greek mythology, “Poseidon is like his domain, relentless and prone to stormy violence and anger” (Morford et al. 174). It is refreshing to see how Erni paints Poseidon looking upon the sailors whilst holding his powerful trident, but Poseidon’s expression does not appear to be one of anger that seeks to hurl his trident and wreak havoc upon those crossing his ocean. His expression appears calm and seems to be observing the sailors who are crossing his territory, and the aforementioned colors of the painting add to this. The light blue highlights the peaceful and calming nature of the sea while light green represents health and prosperity that Poseidon could offer the sailors by allowing them safe passage. To add on, one of Poseidon’s cult epithet’s is Asphaeleios, which is “the aspect of Poseidon one would worship to try to avoid suffering an Earthquake” (La Fond 10:56-11:00). This can be compared to Poseidon’s role as a patron of sailors and other seafarers. Sailors can worship Poseidon for safe passage across the rough seas to appease his rarely depicted benevolent aspects.

Moreover, the overall nature of the painting has various objects overlaid atop each other in a way that appears chaotic but also cohesive at the same time. These objects consist of Poseidon, the sailors, boats, Aeolus, and more. These objects flow together very well and the way Erni has painted this could be a representation of the chaotic nature of the sea but also how it can be calm and fluid. This could also be a reference to Poseidon having a changing personality as fluid as the ocean he rules over, from most often being depicted as being furious and angry to also being calm and forgiving, just like the everchanging ocean with its raging storms and smooth seas.

Overall, Erni’s depiction of sailing with the inclusion of the sea god Poseidon depicts the connection of this sport in ancient Greek culture with their religion. He offers another less entertained perspective of Poseidon’s personality and role in Greek myth. Poseidon is not just a temperamental god who causes various natural disasters, he can also be seen as a kind god that looks after those who cross his territory and worship him.

Works Cited

La Fond, Marie. “Creatures From the Deep: Poseidon and Sea Divinities.” Greek and Roman         Myth. University of Washington, February 2023, Accessed 12 February 2023. canvas.uw.edu/courses/1619626/pages/lesson3videolectures?module_item_id=17175831.

Morford, Mark, et al. Classical Mythology. 11th ed., Oxford UP, 2019.

“Olympic series, sailing – Hans Erni.” Google Arts & Culture, Google, artsandculture.google.com/asset/olympic-series-sailing/zQGs8KIpO7C_vA?hl=en.