Zeus Greek god of Thunder and Lightening
Zeus the God of Thunder and Lightening, might not have been the nicest guy in the Greek pantheon, but he was one of the most powerful. He had many affairs with both women and men, both divine and human. His son Heracles was quite the ladies’ man as well.
Zeus was the god of the sky and ruler of the Olympian gods. He overthrew his Father Cronus. He then drew lots with his brothers Poseidon and Hades. Zeus won the draw and became the supreme ruler of the gods. He is lord of the sky, the rain god. His weapon is a thunderbolt which he throws at those who displease him.
Zeus was the king of all gods. He married Hera but had many affairs with both goddesses and mortals. The most famous of his lovers were Leda, Io, Europa, Ganymede, Semele, Leto, and Alcmene. Some of his children by these lovers were Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, Persephone, Dionysus, Hercules (also known as Heracles), Helen of Troy, and the Muses.
Zeus is also known for having defeated Typhon, who was possibly the last son of Gaia.
Zeus was one of the Olympian gods and the supreme deity in Greek religion. Generally listed as the youngest son of Cronus and Rhea, he was probably the fifth of six children in their family, though some accounts say he had only four brothers and sisters.
According to a Cretan myth that was later adopted by the Greeks, Cronus, king of the Titans, upon learning that one of his children was fated to dethrone him, swallowed his children as soon as they were born. But Rhea, his wife, saved the infant Zeus by substituting a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes for Cronus to swallow and hiding Zeus in a cave on Crete. Where he was nursed by Nymph( or female goat) Amalthea. He was guarded by young warriors ( Curetes) who clashed their weapons to hide the baby’s cries and after Zeus grew to manhood he led revolts against Titans and succeed in dethroning Cronus (his Father).
Zeus overthrew Cronus and gained the sovereignty of heaven for himself. In doing so, he defeated several other gods who had been allies of Cronus, including Oceanus, Hyperion, Coeus, Cronus, and Iapetus. He then drew lots with his elder brothers Poseidon and Hades, so that each received one-third of the universe. Zeus received the sky and air; Poseidon received the waters, and Hades received the underworld.
One version of his birth says that Zeus’ mother Rhea was disgusted by her husband’s inclination to swallow his children soon after they were born. Therefore she gave birth to Zeus in secrecy on Crete. Once grown up, Zeus forced his father to disgorge all five of his siblings: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon. These five then divided the world amongst themselves.
Zeus is often depicted as an older man with a beard and is represented by symbols associated with lightning (thunderbolt) or the Eagle.
Zeus, in ancient Greek religion, chief deity of the pantheon, a sky and weather god who was identical to the Roman god Jupiter. His name clearly comes from that of the sky god Dyaus of the ancient Hindu Rigveda.
Zeus was regarded as the sender of thunder and lightning, rain, and winds, and his traditional weapon was the thunderbolt. He was called the father (pater) of both gods and men. His power was exercised from atop Mount Olympus by means of his thunderbolts. But Zeus was also concerned with the moral behavior of humans, particularly with justice (dike), lawfulness in human society. He frequently punished those guilty of injustice or insolence by hurling his thunderbolts at them.
Zeus’s consort was Hera, but he had many other love affairs—with goddesses as well as mortals—and boasted numerous children. Some of these were fathered by Zeus in animal form: Leda with her swan; Danaë with her golden shower; Alcmene with her nightingale; Europa with her bull; Antiope with her satyr; Semele with her serpent; Io with her white heifer; Callisto with her bear; and Leto with her wind
Zeus was the youngest son of Cronus and Rhea, he became the supreme ruler of the gods after overthrowing his father. He ruled from the sky, where he was able to see everything. It was said that his voice alone could strike fear into people.
Zeus was well known for his infidelity to his sister and wife, Hera. He had many other lovers in addition to Hera and was notorious for having children with mortal women. In fact, most of the famous heroes in Greek mythology were fathered by Zeus.
In one famous myth, Zeus fell in love with a beautiful princess from Phoenicia named Europa. He turned himself into a white bull and carried her off to Crete. There he revealed his true identity and made her queen of Crete. She bore him three sons: Minos, Sarpedon, and Rhadamanthus. (It was said that Minos would become king of Crete.)
Zeus is also credited as the creator of humans. According to the creation myth, he made them out of clay and gave them life by breathing air into their nostrils.
