Myths, Religions & Legends Power Ranking TOP100
I wrote a book ranking the most powerful gods, monsters, and heroes from world mythology, religion, and legend in order of strength! Of course, the rankings reflect a great deal of my own subjective judgment, but the reasoning behind each placement is grounded in the lore and episodes of each mythology, so I think it’s a book that will feel reasonably convincing.
This time I’d like to introduce some of the characters featured in the book’s ranking. Of course, many more characters appear in the ranking beyond those introduced here, so I think anyone interested in mythology, religion, and legend will enjoy it!
Rank 30: Poseidon (Greek Mythology)
Overview
Poseidon is known as the ruler of the seas in Greek mythology, and one of the three great gods alongside Zeus and Hades.
He is depicted as a male god holding a trident (also called Triaena), and by stirring the sea with his trident, he can raise storms and massive tsunamis capable of sinking entire continents; by striking the earth, he can trigger colossal earthquakes across the whole world.
During the “Titanomachy” (the war against the Titans), Poseidon contributed greatly to the victory alongside Zeus and Hades, and was subsequently granted dominion over the sea and all waters.
He also participated in the “Gigantomachy” (the war against the giants), where he defeated the giant Polybotes by sinking him deep beneath the ocean floor.
There is a theory that when he was caught in a tryst with Medusa by Athena, Athena could not punish the higher-ranked Poseidon, so she placed a curse on Medusa instead — a sign that Poseidon is treated as clearly superior to the other Olympian gods, save Zeus and Hades.
Reason for This Ranking
Among the Olympian gods of Greek mythology, it is Poseidon who stands second only to Zeus in terms of power, and his strength is capable of unleashing tsunamis, storms, and massive earthquakes across the entire world.
There are no myths in which Poseidon loses in direct combat, but given the depiction of all gods except Zeus fleeing when Typhon appeared, it can be inferred that Poseidon also concluded he had no chance against Typhon and fled.
Well, he truly had no chance of winning, so it wasn’t the wrong call — but the fact that even the second most powerful being chose to abandon the fight entirely is a somewhat disappointing mark against him.
However, since there is no doubt that he possesses power capable of easily bringing about the world’s destruction, I judged this position in the ranking to be appropriate.
