Zeus was the supreme god in Greek mythology. He ruled over the sky and weather as the god of thunder and lightning. A famous statue of Zeus was carved by Phidias out of ivory and gold and placed in a temple. Zeus had numerous affairs which angered his wife Hera. He also had many divine children with various goddesses. Zeus overthrew his father Cronus to become the ruler of the gods and lived on Mount Olympus with the other Olympians.

1. Thousands of years ago many people believed in a god
named Zeus. He was considered to be the god of the sky
and weather and his image appeared on most Greek coins.
The people of Greece worshipped this idol as their god.
Phidias, a famous Greek sculptor and his laborers carved a
giant statue of Zeus in a special workshop behind the
temple. It was made entirely of ivory and gold
(Chryselephantine). When finished it sat in the temple on an
elaborate throne along with sculptures and paintings of
Greek myths and legends. Zeus was the most celebrated
statue of ancient times because of its greatness, charm and
worth.
Zeus was the supreme god and ruler of Olympus. He was
known by many titles: Lord of the Sky, the Cloud- gatherer,
the Rain-god and Zeus the Thunderer, all of which show
which force of nature was considered to be the most
important in Ancient World - rain. In most other mythologies
the "ruler-god" was usually associated with the sun, but in

2. Greece the climate is hot and dry making rain the scarce,
life-giving force.
Zeus was the sixth child born to Cronus and Rhea, Because
Cronus, ruler of the Titans and the supreme god at the time,
was afraid that one of his children would overthrow him, just
like he overthrew his father, Uranus, he swallowed his first
five children - Poseidon, Hades, Hera, Demeter and Hestia.
This, of course, infuriated Rhea and when Zeus was born
she tricked Cronus into swallowing a rock wrapped in
blankets. Zeus is more powerful than any other god or even
all the other gods combined. But, unlike many gods in other
religions he was neither omnipotent nor omniscient. He
could be, and in fact was, opposed, deceived and tricked by
gods and men alike. His power, although great, was not
boundless, Zeus had no control over The Fates and Destiny.
Like all Greek divinities, Zeus was subject to pleasure, pain,
grief, and anger, but he was most susceptible to the power
of Eros - love, which often got the objects of his desire in a
lot of trouble with his wife, Hera.
Zeus was mighty, glorious, awesome and wise, although he
did show a certain degree of surprising foolishness and
naiveness when it came to hiding his love affairs. Some
historians attribute this less than noble behavior of the
"noblest one of all" to the fact that Zeus was most likely a
compilation of many "supreme gods" from different areas.
When his worship spread to an area which already
worshipped another god, some of that god’s qualities as well
as his wife or lover were transferred to Zeus. Aside from the
endless affairs Zeus was different from other gods in that he
did not participate in the arguments and the resulting petty
scheming that made up the daily activities of other gods.
Being this wise ruler, he also demanded just and righteous
action from men. Zeus was however vengeful, as can be

3. seen in The creation of man by Prometheus, but only rightly
so.
Zeus had two special attendants, Nike (Victoria), the
goddess of victory, and his cup-bearer, Hebe, who was one
of his numerous daughters. After Hebe married Heracles,
Ganymede replaced her as the cup-bearer for Zeus. In
Roman Mythology, Zeus’ counterpart, Jupiter, was also
attended by Fama (fame) and Fortuna (luck and chance,
Tyche in Greek).
Zeus was the guardian of political order and peace. The
aegis is his breastplate - so glorious and at the same time
awful to behold that no human could see Zeus in all his
magnificence and survive. His weapon is, of course the
thunderbolt which he hurled at whoever displeased him. The
thunderbolts were fashioned for him the three Cyclopes who
also were the deciding power in the battle with the Titans.
His bird is the Eagle, his tree - the Oak. Dodona was his
oracle. His will was revealed by the rustling of oak leaves
which was interpreted by his priests.
HERA
Hera was Zeus’ wife. She was brought up by the Titans
Ocean and Tethys, despite the nickname "cow-faced" (in
some translations - "ox-eyed") which seems to have stuck
with her through the ages, she was very beautiful, in fact she
was one of the three contestants in the Judgment of Paris
which led to the Trojan War. But her personality was not as
attractive, she was petty and cruel and is most often shown
administering some sort of revenge on one of Zeus’ lovers.
In one, and only one, myth is shown as a noble and gracious
protector of heroes and inspirer of heroic deeds, the Quest
of the Golden Fleece.

4. As might have been expected Hera’s marriage to Zeus was
not to her liking, after Zeus had courted her unsuccessfully
for some time, he turned to trickery. Changed himself into an
injured bird, Hera, feeling sorry for it, held it to her breast to
warm it, Zeus, taking advantage of the situation raped her.
She then married him to cover her shame.
Zeus was anything but a faithful husband, so Hera, in her
turn was not a loyal wife. Once she even convinced the other
gods to join in a revolt against Zeus. Her part was to drug
Zeus, and in this she was successful. The gods then bound
the sleeping Zeus to a couch taking care to tie many strong
knots. They had not, however, planned what to do next and
began to quarrel over who would take Zeus’ place. Briareus
overheard the arguments, still full of gratitude to Zeus, he
came to his help and was able to quickly untie the many
knots. Zeus sprang from the couch and grabbed his
thunderbolt. As the gods fell to their knees begging and
pleading for mercy, he seized Hera and hung her from the
sky with gold chains. She wept in pain all night but, none of
the others dared to help her. The weeping kept Zeus up and
the next morning he agreed to release her if she would
swear never to go against him. She had little choice but, to
agree. While she never again rebelled, she often intrigued
against Zeus's plans and she was often able to outwit him.
Hera was the goddess of marriage and protector of married
women. Her sandals, chariot and throne were all of pure
gold, but that was not uncommon with the gods. Her animal
is the cow, the peacock, and sometimes the cuckoo. Hera
had her own messenger - the fleet- footed Iris (rainbow).
Argos and Sparta were her favorite cities. She had no
distinguishing features and can only be identified in artistic
representations by either inscription or context.

5. ZEUS THE PROTECTOR
Zeus held a scepter with an eagle on top in its left hand and
a winged goddess of Victory (Nike) in its right hand. The
flesh was made of ivory with gold drapery covering the
image. The Olympians declared Zeus their protector and
claimed he presided over the gods on Mt. Olympus in
Thessaly.
Once every four years the Olympians held a festival
including games to honor their god. Today nations still meet
for the Olympic games but not to honor Zeus. The ability of
the athletes themselves are considered and rewarded.
Legend tells that Zeus was the youngest son of the Titans,
Cronus and Rhea. He overthrew his father, Cronus and drew
lots with his two brothers, Poseidon and Hades to see who
would take Cronus' place. Zeus won and became the
supreme ruler of the gods. His weapon was a thunderbolt
and he generally showed compassion but handed out severe
punishment to the wicked.
Zeus had a number of wives who bore him many children.
1. Metos (wisdom)- was his first wife and she bore Athena.
2. Themis - bore Dike, Eirene, Eunomia, Horae, and Fates.
3. Titaness - bore nine children who became the Muses.
4. Leto - bore the twins, Appolo and Artemis.
5. Hera - became his permanent companion.
Zeus was known for having numerous affairs with mortal
women producing even more children including Hercules.

6. Zeus the master...
Zeus was called the master of the gods, and "father of men."
The title may be more impressive than meritorious; it
seemed applicable to the Zeus of the philosophers who
regarded him as a supreme god and sculptor of the
universe. The notion was not primitive; Zeus was master of
men as Agamemnon was the half-imposed, half-elected king
of the Achaeans. Within this capacity he was the guarantor
of contracts, oaths, the protector of guests that was involved
in the human activity unfolding beneath his vigilant gaze.
The mighty deity was thought to be god of the sky and
master of the celestial fire, a side of Zeus' personality that
the Homeric verses amply portrayed. As "king" of heaven he
exercised a sort of providence; but his will was held in check
by the immutable laws of fate, and his rule was often limited
by these laws and respected. Although inhibited by this
restriction, Zeus could govern and follow a policy; his
decisions were rarely arbitrary or set forth with passion; they
corresponded to hidden intentions, the wisdom of which was
ultimately revealed. He was the ultimate dispenser of good
and evil to all mortals.
Zeus was the son of Cronus and his sister, Rhea. Also from
this relationship had came Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades,
and Poseidon. But a curse had been put on Cronus, who
being of a dishonest and violent nature, when he refused to
plicate Gaia after he had turned his father off of the thrown.
Instead of setting free his brothers, condemned by Uranus
never to see the light of day, Cronus kept them shut away in
their subterranean prison, which enraged Gaia. Gaia vowed

7. that he would know the very fate that he had put upon his
father by being dethroned by his own children. So in order to
protect himself from this curse he devoured his offspring as
soon as Rhea bore them. The first five he swallowed, but
when Zeus was born Rhea decided to save the child. With
Gaia's help she found shelter in a Cretan cave where she
delivered the infant. Then taking a stone Rhea wrapped it in
swaddling clothes and took it back to Cronus, who, without
question, seized it and swallowed it. Zeus had been saved,
and with the same stroke Cronus sealed his own fate.
The young Zeus grew from infancy in the cave being nursed
by the nymphs of Amalthea, and protected by the Curetes,
which mean "Young men," who were warriors with spears
and shields that performed a war dance around the grotto.
This was to drown out the infant's wailing so Cronus would
not discover that he had been tricked and devour his son. In
this instance, it appears, as frequently happened, the myth
grew from a rite: a ritual war dance was practiced in Crete,
also in other Hellenized countries, by people imitating the
supposed actions of the spirits of the storm in the mountains
and sky; such dancing probably gave rise to Rhea's ruse.
While being protected Zeus matured receiving all of his
divine powers. When the time came for Gaia's prophecy to
be fulfilled Zeus consort was Metis, a daughter of Oceanus,
whose name means "Prudence" or more often "Perfidy." She
gave him a drug that would make his father vomit up the five
children that he had previously devoured and still carried in
his body. They all emerged, and with these allies Zeus
attacked Cronus and his comrades, the Titans. The war in
which they battled each other lasted ten years. Finally,
Gaia's oracle promised Zeus victory if he would accept help
from the monster that Cronus had imprisoned in Tartarus.
Zeus agreed, thus permitting Gaia's wish that Cronus

8. disregarded. Zeus delivered the monsters and was
victorious. Accounting for this victory were the weapons that
the monsters gave to the young gods that in the future would
bear their emblems, which included the thunderbolts that the
Cyclopes forged for Zeus. Cronus and the Titans were then
confined in the depths of the underworld and took the place
of the monsters who became their guards.
Hesiod's Theogony, written shortly after 700 BC, relates the
most accepted tradition regarding the birth and childhood of
Zeus. But there were others: Arcadia in particular prided
itself on having been the cradle of this god. It became easy
to deduce the past-Hellenic Zeus was formed by absorbing
many local "great gods." For example, in Crete itself Zeus
probably replaced a vegetation god, since the Cretans
exhibited a "tomb of Zeus," and few but vegetation deities
were believed to be subject to periodic deaths and rebirths.
Zeus, the supreme sky-god of the Greeks and a composite
figure, was believed to be involved in the daily affairs of
people, but was never thought of as a creator deity. As
Hesiod notes, the origins of things were related in other
myths concerning Ouranos, the sky, and Gaia, the earth.
The Dorian invasion of Greece around 1200 BC resulted in
the superimposition of the Indo-European sky father cult on
an indigenous Minoan-Mycenaean tradition in which the
earth goddess was predominant, just as in India the Aryans
submerged the Hindus valley culture. Even though traces of
pre-Greek tradition are seen in Hera being the wife of Zeus,
it was he as Nephelogeretes, "the cloud gatherer," who
reigned over all things. He was given other names as well
that depicted his different aspects and functions; they
included Ombrios, "rain god"; Kataibates, "the descender";
Keraunos, "lightening"; Gamelios, "god of marriage"; Teleios,
"giver of completeness"; Pater, "father"; and Soter, "savior."

9. Hades, the god of the dead, and Poseidon, the god of the
sea, were distinguished from Zeus because their powers
were seen as extensions of his in their special realms. They
were granted separate mythical forms, yet the writ of the
Olympian Zeus, "the wolfish," Lykaios, ran everywhere, and
he alone judged the winners and losers.
In a similar tradition established by his father, Cronus, Zeus
soon took a divine wife. Hesoid says his first wife was Metis,
and from this union Athena was born. His second wife was
Themis, the incarnation of law or equality. The first offspring
was Horae (the Hours or the Seasons). The Horae were
three in number: Eunonia, Dice and Eirene (Order, Justica
and Peace), but the Athenians knew them as Thallo, Auxa
and Garpo. Their names evoked the principle stages of
vegetation: the plant's spouting, growth, and fructification.
However, the agricultural aspects of the cults gradually took
on social concepts, and the spirits who principally presided
over the land were transformed into social concepts
pertaining to city life. Then came three daughters known as
the Fates or Morae: Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos who
determined the destiny of every human being. This destiny
was symbolized by a thread, which the first Fate drew up
from her distaff, the second Fate wound, and the third Fate
cut at the end of the lifespan that it represented was over.
Zeus' third wife, Eurynome, bore him three more daughters,
the Graces (Charites): Aglaia, Euphrosyne, and Thalia.
Similar to the Horae the Graces were vegetation spirits and
spread the joys of nature in the hearts of men. They lived on
Olympus, together with the Muses, with whom they loved to
sing and dance. Like the Muses they were companions of
Athena and presided over her feminine tasks.

10. After this Zeus was companion with his daughter Demeter
from which union Persephone was born. Then he attached
to Mnemosyne who bore him nine daughters, the Muses.
Leto was his next wife who bore Zeus Artemis and Apollo.
Next the god Hermes was born to Maia, daughter of Atlas.
Last in line of Zeus' divine wives was Hera, his sister, who
bore him a son Ares, the god of war, and two daughters:
Hebe, who personified youthfulness, and whose task for a
long time was to serve nectar at celestial banquets until she
became the wife of Hercules; and Eileithyia, the female spirit
presiding over childbirth.
Even after marrying Zeus was not a faithful husband, for he
loved many mortals.
.. Furious by his abandonment, Hera bore the god
Hephaestus by herself without the help of Zeus.
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