Neptune (mythology) to. Poseidon on the other hand underwent the process of becoming the main god of the sea at a much earlier time, as is shown in the Iliad. In the earlier times it was the god Portunus or Fortunus who was thanked for naval victories, but Neptune supplanted him in this role by at least the first century BC when Sextus Pompeius called himself "son of Neptune." For a time he was paired with Salacia, the goddess of the salt water. Neptune was also considered the legendary progenitor god of a Latin stock, the Faliscans, who called themselves "Neptunia proles".
Neptune (mythology) (presently Nepi), town of the "ager Faliscus" near Falerii. The district was traditionally connected to the cult of the god: Messapus and Halesus, the eponymous hero of Falerii, were believed to be his own sons. Messapus led the Falisci and others to war in the Aeneid. Nepi and Falerii have been famed since antiquity for the excellent quality of the water of their springs, scattered in meadows. Nepet is considered a hydronymic toponym of pre-Indo-European origin widespread in Europe and from an appellative meaning "damp wide valley, plain", cognate with pre-Greek "νάπη", "wooded valley". The theology of Neptune may only