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# Poseidon

🏷 Greek divine name pun · name — by Gerry · Sep 2021 · 539 words

The Greek god Poseidon has a very obvious pun with pseudon, the Greek word for “lying” & “cheating”.

The main secret spook pun of Ποσειδων Poseidon is the most obvious: It’s with ψευδων pseudon, one of the main Greek terms for “lying” & “deceiving”! The basic form is ψευδω pseudo. It’s even loaned into English as the pseudo- prefix for all things false & fake.

Many gods presumably pun with some synonym for deception, but whenever Poseidon is mentioned in the ancient myths & histories, we can be pretty sure that something is simply a bold lie.

Poseidon also has some 1st-level storytelling puns to form his character, but they are harder to make out. Here’s all I found. Remember that vowels don’t count, so it’s all about the P/B-S-T consonants.

- Poseidon is the god of the deep sea, because βυσσοθεν byssothen means “from the sea bottom” (English abyss).
- Poseidon is the god of the sea, perhaps for a pun with πιστον piston for “liquid” (which also meant “financially liquid” & “credit-worthy”).
- Poseidon is the god of the sea, perhaps also for a fuzzy anagram pun with ποντος pontos for “sea” (you’d have to swap N & S).
- Poseidon was associated with bulls, because βουσ ειδον bous eidon means “bull-shape”.
- Poseidon was associated with bulls, perhaps also because ποσθην posthen means “penis”.
- Poseidon is associated with earthquakes, because αποσειετον aposeieton means “shaking”. Poseidon has several epithets which mean “the shaker”.
- Poseidon may be the god of fishery, perhaps for a Phoenician pun with the city צידון ṣydwn Sidon. It’s derived from the root ṣyd, which means “catching with a net”, but also figurative “ensnaring” and “hypocrisy”.
- Poseidon is generally a spook symbol, because ψευδων pseudon means “deceitful lie” & “intentional falsehood”. This is the prefix pseudo-, which can in English be attached to all things feigned & faked.
- Poseidon is specifically a spook symbol, because ψευδο ειδον pseudo eidon means “fake appearance”. Ruling through spookery is all about fake appearances!
- Poseidon always carries a trident, perhaps because a trident looks like the letter Ψ psi. Now Ποσειδων Poseidon is not written with psi, but ψευδων pseudon for “falsehood” is. The trident may be a clue for us by the ancient spooks.

#### Greek pseudo, pseudon = false, lying, cheat, deceive

ψευδής ; ψευδῶν pseudes; pseudon : lying, false, untrue; deceived, beguiled — Ancient Greek (Wikt)

ψευδής ; ψευδών pseudes; pseudon : false; sham; insincere; wearing masks — Greek (Wikt)

ψεῦδος ; ψευδών pseudos; pseudon : a falsehood, a lie, a figment — Ancient Greek (Wikt)

ψεύδω ; ψεύδων pseudo; pseudon : to lie, deceive; to lie for one’s own benefit, cheat by lies — Ancient Greek (Wikt)

ψυθος psythos : a lie, untruth; falsehood — Ancient Greek (LSJ.gr)

ψυδνος psydnos : false — Ancient Greek (LSJ.gr)

#### Greek byssothen, aposeieton, bous eidon = various aspects of Poseidon

βυσσόθεν byssothen : from the bottom of the sea — Ancient Greek (LSJ.gr)

βυσσός byssos : the depth of the sea, the bottom — Ancient Greek (LSJ.gr)

-θεν -then : from; (added to nouns to form adverbs of place from which) — Ancient Greek (Wikt)

πόντος pontos : the sea — Ancient Greek (Wikt)

ἀποσείω aposeio : shake off — Ancient Greek (LSJ.gr)

βοῦς bous : cow, ox, cattle; shield — Ancient Greek (Wikt)

εἶδος ; εἰδῶν eidos; eidon : that which is seen: form, image, shape; appearance, look, beauty; sight — Ancient Greek (Wikt)

πόσθη posthe : the penis; foreskin — Ancient Greek (Wikt)

🏷 Greek divine name pun · name