6 January: Poseidon

In ancient Greece, this month was dedicated to the god Poseidon. Ten facts about him:

1. His parents were Cronus and Rhea, who were brother and sister, the children of Uranus (heaven) and Gaia (Earth). His siblings are Hades, Zeus, Demeter, Hera and Hestia.
2. Hades was the firstborn. While Rhea was expecting him, Gaia predicted that one of Cronus’s children would overthrow him. So when Hades, and later Poseidon, were born, Cronus took them and swallowed them. By the time Zeus came along, Rhea was wise to this and managed to save him. When he grew up, he made his father throw up all the siblings which had been living in his belly and together, they fulfilled the prophecy by starting a war called the Titanomachy, and winning it. In the ensuing division of the spoils, the three brothers each took a territory to rule. Zeus took the Sky, Hades took the underworld, and Poseidon took the Oceans.
3. Poseidon is not only god of the sea, but all waters on Earth (the gods ruling rivers and so on are ruled by him) and also Earthquakes, horses and fertility.
4. He married a sea goddess called Amphitrite, the daughter of Oceanus. They had four children: one son, Triton, who was half human and half fish; and three daughters, Benthesicyme, Kymopoleia and Rhode.
5. Poseidon was unfaithful to the long-suffering Amphitrite on many occasions, although she stayed faithful. Poseidon is said to have fathered about 75 illegitimate children, which is why he is considered a god of fertility.
6. Which brings us to why he’s the god of Horses. Several of his children were horses: Pegasus, the winged horse, from Medusa; The immortal horse Aerion from his sister Demeter; and Despoina, a shapeshifting horse goddess.
7. His other children include heroes like Orion the hunter, Aiolos, the god of winds, and Theseus, prince of Athens, but also man eating monsters like Polyphemus, the giant Cyclops who was blinded by Odysseus, and Laestrygon, who fathered a whole race of man-eating giants. Charybdis, the monster that created whirlpools to capture ships whole so he could eat their crew was another of Poseidon’s kids. Poseidon is portrayed as a loving father who advises and guides his children; but he is also quick to anger, and woe betide anyone who kills any of his offspring.
8. He is said to live in a palace on the ocean floor crafted from gems and coral, and travels around in a chariot pulled by creatures with horse bodies and fish-like tails.
9. His symbols include Dolphins, and his trident, which was made by the same cyclopes who crafted Zeus's lightning bolt. By wielding the trident, Poseidon could cause havoc both at sea (tsunamis) and on land (earthquakes).
10. In art, Poseidon is usually depicted as a strong, muscular man in his 40s with a lush Beard. He has long, curly hair, which often appears wet.

Character birthday

Jester: An enigmatic villain, a member of the villainous team, the Bruisers. He’s an accomplished acrobat and trickster with probability altering powers. He has a tendency to dissolve into uncontrollable fits of laughter at the misfortune of others.