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Zeus

Basic Information

Name(s): Zeus, Zef, Dias/Dios

Domain¹:

Thunder, lightning, and the sky

Law and order

Hospitality code (xenia), and by extension, protector of the home and protector of travelers

Protector of the assembly of the people

Chthonic realm

King Of The Gods

Counterparts:

Dyēus (Proto-Indo-European)

Jove/Jupiter (Roman)

Tinia (Etruscan)

Anu² (Mesopotamian)

Amun (Egyptian)

Symbols:

Thunderbolt

Royal scepter

The aigis³

A throne

Eagle

Bull

Oak tree

Olive tree

Typically Wearing:

A crown of olive leaves

A chiton⁴ and cloak (although sometimes he is depicted nude).

Parents: Kronos and Rhea.

Wife: Hera.

Lovers/Affairs:

Metis

Themis

Eurynome

Demeter

Mnemosyne

Leto

Dione

Maia

Persephone

Nemesis

Selene

Gaia⁵

Europa

Semele

Callisto

Thaleia

Alkmene

Danaë

Antiope

Ganymede

Failed Lovers/Affairs:

Aphrodite

Asteria

Thetis

Children:

Hebe and Ares and Eileithyia and Hephaistos⁶ (by Hera)

Athena (by Metis)

The Horae (seasons) and The Moirae (fates) (by Themis)

The Gaces (by Eurynome)

Persephone and Lakkhos (by Demeter)

The Muses (by Mnemosyne)

Apollo and Artemis (Leto)

Aphrodite (Dione)⁷

Hermes (by Maia)

Melinoë and Zagreus (by Persephone)⁸

Helen of Sparta/Troy⁹ (by Nemesis)

Pandia and Ersa (by Selene)

Agdistis¹⁰ (by Gaia)

Minos (by Europa)

Epaphos and Keroessa (by Io)

Dionysus (by Semele)

Arcas (by Callisto)

The Palikoi¹¹ (by Thaleia)

Heracles (by Allmene)

Perseus (by Danaë)

Amphion and Zethus (by Antiope)

Retinue/Entourage:

Zeus’s throne is guarded by the four winged spirits Nike, Bia, Kratos, and Zelos.

Zeus’s personal messenger is Hermes, who also enacted Zeus’s will.

Zeus’s high councilor Themis gave him advice and is seated beside his throne.

Zeus’s personal cupbearer is Ganymede, serving him Ambrosia and Wine at feasts.

Major Myths Of Importance

Birth & The Titanomachy: Prior to Zeus’s birth, Kronos (his father) had received a prophecy that he would be overthrown by his children. To avoid this, he began swallowing whole every child of his. Rhea (Zeus’s mother and Kronos’s wife), in fear of her husband, could only watch. Eventually, with the guidance of her mother Gaia, she hatched a plan to end Kronos’s reign. When Zeus was born, instead of presenting him to Kronos as she had done with her children in the past, she presented to him a rock, which Kronos swallowed. She had given birth to Zeus secretly at Crete, where he was given to the Curetes to be raised. The nymph Melissa and the goat Amalthea specifically played a crucial role in his upbringing. When Zeus came of age, he became the cupbearer of Kronos, who did not know his true identity. With a concoction made by Metis (who would later be his first wife), Kronos regurgitating his swallowed children in the reverse order they were eaten (ie Hestia was swallowed first and regurgitated last, hence where the phrase “Hestia first and last”). Zeus convinced his siblings to rise up against Kronos, and the Titanomachy began. Under Gaia’s guidance, he released the cyclopses and the hecatonchires (hundred-handed giants), who aided him against the titans. After ten years, the Olympian gods overthrew the titans, and established their pantheon on Mt. Olympus. Zeus divided the “universe” between him, and his brothers Poseidon and Hades. The titans were imprisoned in Tartarus, with the exception of those who had aided the gods. Zeus became the king of gods, mortals, and the skies, Poseidon became king of the ocean, and Hades became king of the dead.

The Gigantomachy: In vengeance for her children (the titans) being locked away in Tartarus, Gaia bore the giants, who began immediately hurling rocks and burning oak at the sky. There was a prophecy which stated that the giants would not be killed by the gods alone, and upon hearing this, Gaia sought to harvest a plant which could protect her children (pharmakon). Knowing this, Zeus forbade Eos (the dawn), Helios (the sun), and Selene (the moon) from shining, and harvested all the plant himself. Afterwards, he had Athena summon Heracles, who would be the mortal that would aid them in the battle. Apollodorus goes through each of the giants fates and how they were all taken down, but it is suffice to say that they were defeated (aka I do not want to go through every single giant’s death).

The Seven “Wives”: According to Hesiodic myth, Zeus had seven lovers prior to his marriage to Hera. Metis was the first wife, who was the wisest among gods and men. But, after a prophecy from Gaia and Ouranos which stated that after birthing a daughter, Metis would birth a son that would overthrow Zeus, Zeus decided to swallow the pregnant Metis. As a result, Athena would be born out of Zeus’s head later, and Metis would act as Zeus’s internal monologue and guidance. Zeus then married Themis, who gave birth to the Horae and the Moirai. Aside from Hera, Metis and Themis are the only lovers in this list Zeus is explicitly said to have married. The next lovers are as follows (you can see their respective children in the “basic info” section); Eurynome, Demeter, Mnemosyne and Leto. Finally, he married his final wife (but not his last lover) Hera. To woo her, he turned into a Cuckoo, which is why the cuckoo is featured on her scepter.

Worship and Epithets

Primary Center Of Worship: Olympia, Greece.

Other Notable Centers Of Worship: Crete, Greece (which was widely recognized as his birthplace).

Notable Epithets:

Agathos Deos (meaning the Good God)

Agoraios (given to deities which were venerated as the protector of the assembly/agora)

Alastôr (meaning avenger of evil deeds)

Areios (either meaning the warlike or the propitiating and atoning god)

Asbamaios (meaning the protector of the sanctity of oaths, derived from the city of Asbamaeon)

Gamêlioi (meaning protecting over marriage, and was shared with Hera, Aphrodite, Peitho, Artemis, and sometimes the Moerae)

Hupatos (meaning the most high)¹²

Katharsios (meaning the purifying or atoner)

Maimaktês (meaning the stormy, and was the name the Attic month Maemacterion was derived, and a celebration to Zeus called Maemacteria was held)

Moiragetês (meaning the guider of fate, given to both Zeus and Apollo at Delphi, fitting for the cities role with their oracles)

Nomos (meaning personified law)

Olumpios (meaning the Olympian, and was a general surname given to deities who were said to live on Olympus)

Ombrios (meaning the rain-giver)

Panellênios (meaning common to/worshipped by all people)

Phuzios (meaning god that protects fugitives)

Pistios (meaning god of faith and fidelity)

Polieus (meaning protector of the city, upon which he notably had an altar at Athens)

Sôtêr (meaning the savior)

Sthenios (meaning the powerful)

Xenios (meaning hospitality and protector of strangers, which was VERY important in the time of the Ancient Greeks)

Zugios (meaning presiding over marriage, alongside Hera Zugia).

Notable Fun Facts

He only “fears”¹³ one deity, which is Nyx¹⁴. In Orphic mythology, she delivers Zeus prophecies from the Adyton (a restricted cellar in a Greco-Roman temple).¹⁵

Despite being known for his various affairs and children, he does not place number one as the deity with the most kids (that would be Poseidon).

The Ancient Greeks believed the belly was wear the brain was, and therefore that when Zeus swallowed Metis, he gained her knowledge.

Zeus and Hera’e child Hebe acted as his (and the rest of the gods’s) cubearer until Zeus took Ganymede. It is debated whether or not Ganymede only acted as Zeus’s personal cupbearer or replaced Hebe in that aspect altogether.

1: Zeus's domain varies from place to place, often times the only thing that connected one version of Zeus to a different version of him from another city-state was his name. For example, some local cults venerated him as a Chthonic earth god, rather than the opposite, popularized, Olympian sky god.

2: It is disputed whether or not Anu could be considered the Mesopotamian equivalent of Zeus. Anu is also considered to be the equivalent of Ouranus.

3: Also spelled as “Aegis”. It is an animal skin or shield typically featuring the head of a Gorgon. It is also wielded by Athena, and in the Iliad by Apollo. It may also have been connected to the deity Aex, who nursed Zeus in some myths.

4: Worn in both Ancient Greece and Rome, a chiton is a unisex garment that is fashioned at the shoulders and is made of either wool (Doric) or later linen (Ionic).

5: Zeus and Gaia’s intercourse was accidental. The myth of their union is more closely related to Phrygian mythology. For my sanity’s sake, this will be the only myth that did not originate from Hellas.

6: While certain sources say Zeus fathered Hephaistos, other sources name Hera as the only parent, making him a parthenogenous child.

7: While Homer calls Dione the mother of Aphrodite, other myths say she arose out of the sea foam fully formed after Ouranos's castrated gentile was thrown into the ocean. This lead to Plato making a distinction between Aphrodite Pandemos (Common to all people, child of Dione, and goddess of earthly/sensual pleasures) and Aphrodite Ouranos (Heavenly, born from Ouranos’s castrated gentiles, and goddess of love that transcends the body/physical desires).

8: It is debated whether or not it was Zeus or Hades that fathered Melinoë and Zagreus by Persephone (although in Orphic tradition Zeus fathered Dionysus and the Erinyes by Persephone), as some myths say that Hades is unable to produce life as he is the god of the dead (despite this, some myths said that he fathered Macaria, while no mother is mentioned).

9: Although it is widely recognized that Helen is the daughter of Leda by Zeus, the lost epic called the Cypria says that Helen is the daughter of Nemesis and Zeus.

10: Agdistis was a Hermaphroditic god, but the other gods feared a two-sexed deity, so they castrated him and he became the goddess Kybele.

11: The Palikoi are twin Sicilian deities of hot springs and geysers, that also presided over the solemn oaths sworn upon their springs and provided refuge to escaped slaves in their sanctuary, this is important to note how the Ancient Greeks incorporated other pantheons into their mythology. Okay, I lied, THIS ONE will be the last non-Hellas originated myth, unless I accidentally include more.

12: This also occurs as a poetic epithet, such as in Homer’s Iliad.

13: Although the word used to describe Zeus’s reaction to seeing Nyx isn’t translatable, “fear”, or perhaps “awe-struck in respect”, is an acceptable translation given the scenario.

14: She’s my favorite deity :-}

15: This will probably be the only reference to Orphism in my posts EVER. Only added it because I thought it was important.

#zeus #Hellenic pantheon #arg

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