1. Poseidon
Form-Itself or Idea-Itself (Αὐτοεῖδος), Form of Forms or Idea of
Ideas (Εἶδος Εἰδῶν), Master of Forms (Πόσις Εἰδῶν), Limit-Itself
(Αὐτοπέρας), Beauty-Itself (Αὐτοκαλόν), Chorus Leader (Κορυφαῖος),
Second God, Father’s Power, Intellectual Power, Paternal Mind,
Second Nous.
Poseidon is the first and supreme member of the second rank of
gods, the supercelestial gods, who emanate directly from Zeus. He is the
first emanation and metaphoically the eldest and most venerable
(πρεσβύτατος) child of Zeus. As the first emanation he is nearest
Zeus in his essential nature. All the supercelestial gods are
simultaneously eternal minds (νόες) and Platonic Ideas or Forms,
and Poseidon is the Idea of these Ideas, the Form of these Forms;
thus he contains all the Ideas and is the Paternal Mind; he is the
pattern or paradigm for all the other supercelestial gods.
The supercelestial gods emanate from Zeus alone, and are
motherless (ἀμήτωρ) because they are pure essences without
material bodies. On the other hand, with Hera (the Idea of
Matter), Poseidon creates the lower orders of beings (celestial
gods, daimons, humans, etc.), who do have material bodies.
Mode: Hypophrygian
O Lord Poseidon, thou art firstborn son of Zeus,
in splendor and in strength excelling everything,
for everything received its origin from Zeus.
With might you make and master, second to your sire,
preeminent, as great as is infinity,
because of all that is, alone is he unborn.
And by thy sire’s command was granted thee to make
the widespread sky, in which we have been placed by thee.
O Father, always kind and gentle be to us.
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