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[4] That it was Poseidon's wrath that was wreaked upon these cities they allege that clear proofs are at hand: first, it is distinctly conceived that authority over earthquakes and floods belongs to this god,1 and also it is the ancient belief that the Peloponnese was an habitation of Poseidon; and this country is regarded as sacred in a way to Poseidon, and, speaking generally, all the cities in the Peloponnese pay honour to this god more than to any other of the immortals.

1 When the generation to which Zeus belonged overthrew the older gods the universe was apportioned to Zeus, sky and dry land, to Poseidon, the water, to Dis, the underworld. With his trident Poseidon controlled the waters and by smiting the earth with it produced earthquakes ("Poseidon the earth-shaker").

Diodorus Siculus. Diodorus of Sicily in Twelve Volumes with an English Translation by C. H. Oldfather. Vol. 4-8. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, Ltd. 1989.

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