“I got the feeling Poseidon really didn’t know what to think of me. He didn’t know whether he was happy to have me as a son or not.” (Rick Riordan: Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief)
I looked at the huge figure in Bermuda shorts and a patterned shirt sitting on the sand and looking out at the sea. He was certainly extraordinary. A bit scary too, in spite of the clothes, with those bulging biceps and dark blue eyes that seemed endless in their depth. Ah well, I had a job to do.
I was going to interview Percy Jackson’s dad. And that, I was sure, was him. I made my way to the ocean’s edge and asked as politely as I could: “Er… are you Percy Jackson’s father?” “Yes,” was the quiet rumble and then, quite suddenly, there came a roar: “I am also Poseidon, the God of the Sea, who with my brothers Zeus and Pluto, reigns over the earth. What is it with young people these days? No respect!”
I took a couple of steps backwards. “I’m sorry but I don’t know much about the Olympian Gods – I do, of course, know you’re one of them” (I added hastily, as the dark glare turned on me). “All I know about Zeus and you and the others is from reading Percy Jackson’s adventures. Didn’t you love Percy at all?” I asked, taking a chance.
A soft look came over the granite face. “Of course I did, he’s my son. But, (and here the volume rose again), I can’t just be the daddy that goes to PTA meetings and the school sports day. I have things to do — so many oceans to take care of and all the life that dwells in them or sails on them – like that fool Odysseus and his men.”
This time an almost naughty, gleeful chuckle came from the God’s throat as he thought of the many tricks he’d played on poor Odysseus. Phew! This guy had more moods than anyone I’d ever known. No wonder the ocean was turbulent one minute and peaceful the next! “I do wish you’d made a bit more effort with Percy, though He really could have done with a father,” I said, expecting another outburst.
Poseidon contented himself with a glare, “I did tell him I was proud of him!” ‘Hmm… a bit late’, I thought to myself. However, he does seem to have been rather better than the other Gods with his kids. I decided to move on.
“So tell me about Poseidon, the God,” I said. “What was it with you and the other Gods? You all always seem to have been fighting?”
The roar was back. “Athena’s problem is that she is too clever for her own good. An olive tree,” he snorted. “That was her gift to Athens. I gave them a salt water spring.” “And the citizens chose Athena for their patron saint,” I finished for him.
“You can never trust humans,” he glowered. “Like when I helped build the indestructible walls of Troy and they refused to pay me. Of course, I helped the Greeks in the war!”
“Everyone respects my trident. Just a thump or two with it and I can conjure up earthquakes, floods and shipwrecks. Yes, I know, you people like to fly as if you’re birds these days rather than sail gracefully over my oceans. At least, some people still care. My trident appears on the flag of Barbados, the seal of the Greek navy and the special Warfare insignia of the US Navy Seals.”
He looked to see if I was impressed. I was…
(The author is a writer and a soft-skills and communications trainer.)