Poseidon
First, it first appeared in Babylonian civilization.
Babylonians who once lived in present-day southeastern Iraq revered "Aiya" because she was a sea god, and her shape was similar to that of a mermaid.
Second, later in the Crete civilization, the story of Poseidon was also circulated.
Crete is a small island in the Mediterranean, and its residents are good at swimming and diving. In 3 BC, it is said that Lu loucks, an outstanding diver, bravely plunged into the ocean in order to find the secret of the sea. God was moved by his fearless spirit, which made him an immortal sea god.
third, Poseidon, the sea god in European and western civilizations, is an important god in ancient Greek mythology and ancient Roman mythology, namely Poseidon, Neptune and Neptune. Son of Cronus and Rhea, brother of Zeus. After the battle with Titan, Poseidon became a great and majestic sea king, in charge of all the waters around the mainland. He ruled his kingdom with a shuddering earthquake. He has the skill of calling the wind, and he can lift or calm the raging sea. Armed with a trident, he skimmed the waves in a car with bronze hooves and golden horses. Although he has a place in Mount Olympus, most of the time he lives in his dazzling golden palace in the depths of the ocean.
At the beginning, the three brothers Zeus drew lots to divide their spheres of influence, Zeus got the sky, Hades condescended to the ground, and Poseidon became the monarch of the sea and lakes.
Poseidon is often confused with Neptune in Roman mythology. Astronomers named Neptune after its Latin name. The Latin name of Zeus named Uranus.
iv. China Poseidon and its name
were first seen in the ancient book Shan Hai Jing. "Wild East longitude" says: "In the East China Sea, there are gods, birds with human faces, two yellow snakes, and two yellow snakes, named Yu Guo. Huang Di gave birth to Yu Guo, and Yu Guo gave birth to Yu Jing. Yu Jing is located in the North Sea and Yu Guo is located in the East China Sea, which is the only sea god. "Overseas North Classics" also said: "Yu Qiang in the north (that is, Yu Jing), a bird with a human face, two green snakes, and two red snakes."
the earliest name of the four seas sea god in China is Yu Guo, the sea god of the East China Sea (Guo Pu's note: Guo is also numbered). The sea god of the South China Sea doesn't care about Hu Yu, the sea god of the West Sea does not care about it, and the sea god of the North Sea does not care about it (that is, Yu Jing and Yu Qiang). Only Yu Guo, the sea god of the East China Sea, and Yujiang, the sea god of the North China Sea, are father and son.
The deity features of the four seas sea gods, namely, Yu Guo, the sea god of the East China Sea, Gezi, the sea god of the West China Sea, and Yujiang, the sea god of the North China Sea, are all human-faced birds, two snakes, and two snakes, with one exception, that is, the sea god of the South China Sea does not agree that Hu Yu is a human face, not a bird's body. The characteristics of Dan 'er and Jian 'er snakes are the same. The ancestor of Poseidon in the East China Sea and the North China Sea was the Yellow Emperor, which shows that China's primitive Poseidon belief, like Japan and ancient Korea, was associated with kingship from the beginning.
During the Han and Tang Dynasties, when Buddhism was introduced into China and gradually prospered, the Four Seas Dragon King replaced the early sea god in China, and the first sea god with female surname in China, namely Guanyin, the goddess of the East China Sea, was born at the same time during the Han and Tang Dynasties. Before Avalokitesvara, it can be said that the early sea gods in China, including the Four Seas Dragon King, were all male gods. Only Avalokitesvara was the first female god in China's belief in the sea god, ranking first among the female sea gods in China, and gradually overwhelmed the Four Seas Dragon King and further replaced it.
Guanyin in Putuo, Nanhai, is a kind-hearted goddess, gentle and kind, ready to help others, and saves fishermen from the suffering of storms and waves. Moreover, Buddhism is extensive, ubiquitous, and it can be called as a good god. In contrast, Guanyin's belief in Poseidon gradually overwhelmed the Dragon King of the Four Seas.
In the early years of the Northern Song Dynasty, another female sea god appeared, the famous Fujian Mazu. Guanyin, as the goddess of the East China Sea, was transformed from a Buddhist bodhisattva. Mazu is a real person, transformed from a ghost after death to a god. This is another type of Poseidon. After her death, it is said that when she was in danger of wind and waves in the sea, she repeatedly appeared to protect and rescue the fishermen in distress and was honored as "Mazu". Like Guanyin, her deity is a kind-hearted female image, and she is amiable to people. Later, it became more and more famous, and was named "Tian Fei", "Queen of Heaven" and "Virgin of Heaven" by emperors in the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, which spread all over the southeast coast of China, Hong Kong and Taiwan and many countries in Southeast Asia.
With regard to the China goddess of the sea, there are also Donghai Gu, Huang Yi Fu, the goddess of the sea, and Mrs. Nan Ying in Taoist books of the Song Dynasty recorded in ancient books. The appearance of these secular and human-friendly female sea gods further strengthens the quasi-deification color of the sea gods, and is more accepted and worshipped by ordinary fishermen and sailors than the male sea gods who lack the interest in life, and is widely spread.
In addition to the above three types of Poseidon, the fourth type of Poseidon has a larger and more complicated system. Mainly distributed in the southeast coastal areas of China, there are local sea gods, including emperors and princes, historical celebrities, local sages and fishermen who dedicated themselves to the people. Specifically, this kind of sea gods should include tide gods, ship gods, net gods, reef gods, fish gods, island gods and so on.
Tide God: Wu Zixu is worshipped along the coast of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. This is a doctor of Wu who has made outstanding contributions in the Spring and Autumn Period. Because of his outspoken loyalty to the country, he was beheaded by Fu Cha, the king of Wu, and he was floating in the rivers and seas. He was angry and surged into the tide of Qianjiang River, and was honored as the tide god.
Ship God: commonly known as Master Ship and Bodhisattva Ship in the southeast coast of China. In Shengsi Islands, it is commonly known as Master Guan. The situation of the ship god is more complicated. There are men, such as Lu Ban, because he is the ancestor of shipbuilding. Guan Yu is respected by fishermen because of his fortitude and bravery. There is also Boss Yang Fu, who is an expert in fishing. There are women, such as Mazu, Guanyin, and Guan Chengyu.
Net God: In Zhoushan Islands, it is said that the net god is Hai Qingtian Hai Rui, because the wheel net for catching cuttlefish was invented by Hai Rui. Fuxi, who is said to be the head of the dragon, invented fishing nets because Fuxi was induced by spiders to catch flying insects, which created many conveniences for fishermen to hunt fish in the sea.
Reef God: There are many reefs along the southeast coast of China. For example, there is a Shenggu Reef on Ocean Island in Shengsi, and there is a temple on the reef for worshipping the Shenggu Empress. The holy nun is a reef god. Fishing boats must climb the reef to sacrifice to avoid accidents such as hitting the reef and breaking the net. Legend has it that Shenggu Niangniang is a sea patrol empress. On foggy days and stormy days, Niangniang carries a lantern on the reef, just like a lighthouse now, pointing out the direction and course for sailors and fishermen sailing at sea, so that they can return to Hong Kong safely and turn evil into prosperity.
Fish God: There is a sea god along the coast of Shandong Province, commonly known as "the old man", "Lao Zhao" and "the fisherman". In fact, he is a fish god, that is, a whale. Whales can catch fish into the net one by one, so they are called "Fish Catcher". Fish is rich, also known as "Lao Zhao", which means Marshal Zhao Gong, the god of wealth. There is also fish worship among the sea gods in Zhoushan Islands, Zhejiang Province. Zhoushan called the whale "General Wugeng", and "Wugeng" appeared, which meant that fish swarmed in, fishermen beat gongs and drums to set off firecrackers, and held a grand sea festival in order to bring good fortune to the sea gods and reap a bumper harvest.
island gods: there are local gods in the southeast coastal islands of China, or island gods. Island gods include the main island god and the main ao god, and the situation is very complicated. For example, the main island gods in southern Fujian and Taiwan Province are mostly Tianhou Mazu. Most of the main island gods in Zhoushan Islands are Guanyin, Dragon King or Guan Yu. However, there are also many distinctive island gods in different historical periods all over the country. For example, Taiwan Province and Fujian also have the belief in narcissus. The narcissus temple worships King Dayu, Wu Zixu, Qu Yuan, Wang Bo and Li Bai, all of whom are outstanding figures in history. In the area around the mouth of the Yellow River, there are also sea gods such as King Jinlong and King Huang on the islands. In Shantou, there is a belief in long-term loyalty and three-righteous women. Both of them are made by human beings. Three adopted daughters were originally three sisters "Jin Lan" in Waisha Township, Chenghai County, Qing Dynasty. Because they opposed arranged marriage, they jumped into the sea and died. They were found dead, and they were rumored to be spiritual and worshipped as gods. Chang Niangong is an expert in fishing, "building a temple statue to worship it", so the local fishermen are invited to take a stake in fishing, which is commonly called "Long Years".
The island gods with local characteristics in Zhoushan Islands, the largest fishing ground in China, are Caibogong, a fisherman in Zhongjieshan Islands, and Yangshan God in Shengsi Islands. Because Mr. Cai Bo was born as a fisherman, his idol, wearing a back sheet and tied dragon trousers, became a fisherman's bodhisattva, which is unique in the belief of Poseidon in the southeast coast of China. The fishing ballad "Qingbang Miaozi Lake, Bodhisattva wears dragon pants" also comes from this, and is widely spread among fishermen in coastal provinces of East China, which is quite influential.
Yangshan God is a typical sea god in Shengsi Islands. Zheng Chenggong wanted to March into Taiwan Province, but the ship could not sail because of the strong wind for several days. So Zheng Chenggong slaughtered sheep and sacrificed flags in yangshan, thus recovering Taiwan Province Island in one fell swoop.
V. Poseidon of Japan
The highest goddess of the East China Sea in Japan, Tianzhao God, according to the records of Ancient Stories and Records of Japan, when Yukio Yamahiko was fishing, the hook lent to him by Yukio Hatoyama was dragged away by a big fish in the sea. In order to find a fish hook, Yukio Yamayama went to the Poseidon Palace in the sea and married Poseidon's daughter, Fengyu Pimai. Fengyu Pimai is actually a huge crocodile more than 2 meters long. Later, Fengyu Pimai gave birth to a son named Yi Qicao Qibu, who married his aunt Yuyi Pimai and gave birth to four children, one of whom was SHEN WOO, the first Japanese emperor. That is to say, the emperor's mother and grandmother are both daughters of Poseidon, and the emperor is the son of the sea.
among the sea gods circulating in Shima, Japan, the eight dragon kings are the most authoritative.
In addition to the primitive sea gods and dragon kings mentioned above, there are many local gods and functional gods in Japan, namely, fishing gods, navigation gods and ship gods. Among them, there are Guanyin, the goddess of the East China Sea, and the belief of Tianhou.
China's tide god is Wu Zixu, and Japanese tide god is Yukio Yamahiko.
In the belief of local gods, shimokita peninsula and Tsugaru Peninsula are the most typical ones. In Tsugaru area, the belief of respecting the fox spirit as a fishing god has reached its peak in Japan.
Japan's fishing gods are essentially fish gods and fish worships.
after the Ming dynasty, ships in Okinawa, Japan began to worship the statue of Mazu, and Mazu became the goddess of Japanese ships.
VI. North Korea's Poseidon
The geographical position of North Korea lies between China and Japan. Their belief in Poseidon is deeply influenced by neighboring countries. North Korea's sea god is also related to kingship. For example, there is a legend in North Korea's "The Legacy of the Three Kingdoms": there is a story called Azhen Yixian, the mother of the ruler of Heju Wang. She found many magpies roaring in the sea. When she rowed past, she found magpies clustered in a box on the boat. She opened the lid of the box and saw that there was a young boy, the fourth generation king of Silla.
This is the life experience of King Tuojie of Silla. Azhen means the sea, the mother of the sea ruler, that is, the mother of the sea tribe, and King Tuojie is the son of the sea.
Dragon Palace, Dragon King and Dragon God belief in North Korea. The belief in the Dragon King in North Korea is very complicated. In the ancient book History of Korea, it is recorded that Zuo Shijian shot the old fox who teased the Dragon King on the reef at the request of the Dragon King and married the daughter of the Dragon King. After that, they returned to the land and dug a well outside the window, which went straight to the Dragon Palace in the West Sea. The dragon lady asked her husband not to look at her when she went home, but he violated it. The dragon lady was angry and never came back. However, the dragon girl has given birth to four sons for emperor Jian, and Wang Jian, the son of the eldest son Long Jian, is the great-grandfather of Korea. This legend is very similar to the experience of Feng Yu's selling in the Japanese myth of Hai Xing Shan Xing.
The popularity and depth of people's worship of Poseidon in the world is most distinctive in East Asia. China, Japan and North Korea are all located in the specific sea area in the eastern Asia-Pacific. Their marine culture and Poseidon belief have many similar cultural factors, but they are also different, and they have become outstanding representative areas of Poseidon culture.