Zeus, God of the Gods and King of Mount Olympus
Even if you're a Greek mythology newbie and you've never acquainted yourself with the likes of Athena, Aphrodite, or Hercules, you've likely heard of at least one major player on Mount Olympus: Zeus, god of the gods.
He remains the most notable figure in ancient Greek religion and the most famous god of the ancient world as a whole. His influence even extended beyond ancient Greece back in his day. For instance, he became the sky god Zeus Ammon to the Egyptians and Jupiter to the Romans.
"Zeus is raw power — he can blast any human or monster with his lightning bolt and incinerate them," says Richard P. Martin, Antony and Isabelle Raubitschek professor in classics at Stanford University, in an email interview. "He can see everything from his commanding position in the sky. And he has all intelligence literally within him, having swallowed one of his first wives, the goddess Metis."
For more information on that little tidbit and more, read on for more facts about Zeus, the king of the Greek goddesses and gods.
1. Zeus Overthrew His Titan Father
Zeus was born to the brother-sister duo of Titans Kronos and Rhea.
Like his father Uranus, Kronos had heard a prophecy that one of his sons would dethrone him. Rather than take a risk of being bested, Kronos did what any logical father would do every time his wife gave birth: He took the newborn and swallowed him whole, swaddling clothes and all.
Baby Zeus wasn't the only one to become dinner for dear old dad. Thanks to that unsettling strategy, the couple's other kids — Hera, Poseidon, Hades, Hestia and Demeter — all spent their first years in the belly of Kronos.
Rhea (unsurprisingly) wasn't super-stoked about the situation, so when she gave birth to their sixth child, Zeus, she smuggled him to Crete and swapped in a blanket-wrapped stone to fool Kronos.
Kronos swallowed the stone and infant Zeus went on to be raised by nymphs on the island of Crete. Eventually, Zeus decided to work with Rhea and get Kronos to vomit up the other kids. So Zeus freed his siblings and led them in a revolt to overthrow Kronos and the Titans.
When they won, Zeus, Hades and Poseidon divvied up the world amongst themselves: The underworld went to Hades and Poseidon scored the seas and oceans, which let Zeus rule the skies.
2. Zeus Was the Father or Brother of the Olympian Gods
Zeus sits at the top of the food chain in the Greek world. He's known as the king of the gods and a ruler of mankind, and he had the power to intervene in just about any decision made by the other gods. (But he couldn't control the Fates; that was beyond even his abilities.)
The ancient Greeks revered their sky god to the highest possible level. Still, it doesn't change the fact that he was largely viewed as equally powerful in comparison to his two brothers: Poseidon and Hades. As a matter of fact, Zeus banished Poseidon from Olympus because he tried to usurp his authority and was almost successful.
Each of his brothers ruled a similar expanse and could wreak havoc or grant favor about equally to mortals. For instance, every death Zeus caused added a new soul to Hades' domain.
That's all well and good in the realm of politics. But understanding Zeus in a domestic context is, for lack of a better word, messy. Martin says:
"It's complicated. His wife Hera is also his sister; by her he had the war god Ares; the childbirth goddess Eileithyia; and the goddess of eternal youth Hebe. Another goddess with whom Zeus once mated is also his sister — Demeter. Their daughter is Persephone. His brothers, with whom he divided the universe, are Poseidon, god of the sea and Hades, god of the underworld. Then he has a bunch of children by other women and goddesses: Athena by Metis, Artemis and Apollo by Leto, Dionysos by Semele. He is endlessly fecund. Let's not get into his twisted family history when it comes to father, Kronos, and grandfather, Ouranos."
3. Zeus Swallowed His First Wife
Wow, history really does repeat itself, doesn't it? Metis, named for the Greek phrase for "cunning intelligence," was Zeus's first wife. As her name suggests, she had a reputation for being rather wise and prophetic.
Unfortunately, she made the mistake of telling her husband one of her prophecies: She and Zeus would have a son who would become more powerful than his father.
Zeus wasn't down for a demotion, so his solution was to swallow Metis, possibly when she was in the form of a fly. It was fairly common for a Greek god or goddess to take a different form back in those days; Zeus played the part of many a human and animal himself.
"As an unstoppable force that shapes the world and has put all previous gods to flight, Zeus continues to affect mortals and immortals by coupling with women and nymphs to produce heroes and heroines (as well as taking a boy lover on the side)," Martin says.
4. He's Usually Given a Flattering Portrayal in Art
"He is powerfully built, of middle age, bearded and grasps the thunderbolt," Martin says. "He is of course also seen in animal form (a bull when he abducts Europa; a swan when he seduces Leda, for example). In poetry — which is the main form of literature until the fifth century B.C.E. — he is the object of continual praise, as in the Theogony by Hesiod, but also is depicted as quarreling with his divine wife, Hera, and even being tricked and bested by her."
While there's no doubt these bold and strong depictions of Zeus get at his core essence, it's also easy to think they leave out certain aspects of his character. For instance, while he was certainly an imposing figure, he was also often frightened by the wrath of Hera.
5. Jupiter Shared Mythology, Differed in Impact
"Jupiter is just a Latin word that is directly related to the Greek 'Zeu -pater,' which meant 'Zeus the father,' Martin says. "'Ju-piter' is actually a compound word, like 'Zeus-father.' In most ways, the myths of Jupiter that one reads in Roman literature are derived from Greek — so there is not much difference. In actual religious worship and rituals, however, Jupiter was much more central to the Roman state than Zeus was to, say, Athens, where he was a bit marginalized by Athena, patron goddess of the city."
This also wound up being indicative of differences between Greek city-states and the Roman empire as a whole. While Greece was a series of independent polities, each ruled by different magistrates and gods, Rome ultimately became an empire consolidated under the rule of a single Caesar.
It shouldn't be surprising that the symbolism of religion followed politics as a result.
6. Zeus' Biggest Downfall May Have Been His Libido
Zeus disguised himself constantly so he could sleep with human women as often as possible. Plenty of other gods, demigods and mortals would sometimes trick Zeus to do their bidding by tempting him with a beautiful woman.
"His tendency to chase and mate with females, indiscriminately, got him into trouble a number of times," Martin says. "It's a flaw from the mortal point of view, but gods being gods just do whatever they want and usually don't suffer. Greeks were clever enough to see that, if you transposed the habits of gods onto a human plane, they looked monstrous or comical or both. They never hesitated while making drama or other poems to make fun even of Zeus."
Now That's Interesting
"Fun fact: He is one of the few Greek gods with a name that we can understand (at least to linguists, when comparing a number of ancient languages and tracing the source): 'clear sky,'" Martin says. "The name is 'cognate' (historically connected as coming from the same source) with the Latin words 'dies' meaning 'day,' but also the Latin 'divus' that gives us the word, 'divine.'"
7. His Biggest Downfall May Have Been His Libido
"His tendency to chase and mate with females, indiscriminately, got him into trouble a number of times," Martin says. "It's a flaw from the mortal point of view, but gods being gods just do whatever they want and usually don't suffer. Greeks were clever enough to see that, if you transposed the habits of gods onto a human plane, they looked monstrous or comical or both. They never hesitated while making drama or other poems to make fun even of Zeus."
Now That's Interesting
"Fun fact: He is one of the few Greek gods with a name that we can understand (at least to linguists, when comparing a number of ancient languages and tracing the source): 'clear sky,'" Martin says. "The name is 'cognate' (historically connected as coming from the same source) with the Latin words 'dies' meaning 'day,' but also the Latin 'divus' that gives us the word, 'divine.'"
Original article: Zeus, God of the Gods and King of Mount Olympus
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