The undisputed master of the universe, so they called me.
gods and mortals alike tremble at my wrath. I cause rain, I cause drought.
I command tempests, I command storms. I am a god of many forms,
not a rapist, not a monster. I am the wind, the storm in the clouds, the
rumbling thunder. I am the eagle on the mountain, the ram in
the rut, the snake in the pantry. I am the bull with crescent horns.
I am the sky God and king of all. I am, Zeus.
Zeus was the youngest child of the Titan - Kronos and the Titaness Rheia, others being; Hestia, Hades, Hera, Poseidon, and
Demeter. Kronos had heard a prophesy that his children would overthrow him, so he
devoured each of his children as soon as they were born to prevent the fulfillment of the
prophesy. But Zeus narrowly escaped this fate when his mother sought the help of her parents,
Gaia and Uranus, to hide him away in a distant cave.
Rheia then handed Kronos a huge stone wrapped in swaddling cloth, which he promptly swallowed,
thinking it was the baby Zeus.The god - Zeus was raised in a secret place, on Mount Dikte,
in Crete, where he was nursed by nymphs on the milk of the goat, and guarded by the dancing
Kouretes who drowned out the sound of his crying with their shield-clashing battle-dance.
When Zeus came of age, he served his Titan father Kronos, a concortion which caused him
to disgorge the young gods he had swallowed.Zeus also liberated the giants, the Cyclopes and
the Hekatonkheires, from the pit of Tartaros. Thus, during the war between the Titans and
the gods, and as a form of gratitude, the Cyclopes gifted him with lightning-bolts,
and the Hekatonkheires aided him by hurling boulders at the Titans.
Zeus and his siblings eventually defeated Kronos and his allies, and banished them to
a prison in Tartaros.
After the fall of the Titan, Zeus presided over the heavens, Poseidon presided over the
sea and Hades presided over the underworld.Zeus commanded storms, tempests, lightening and
thunder. His most notable symbol is his magnificent
lightning bolt which he often wields in his hand like a javelin. His other symbols are,
a royal sceptre, an eagle, and the aegis - (a goat-skin arm-guard).
In art, Zeus is often depicted wearing a long robe or cloak, and crowned with a wreath
of olive leaves. His sacred animals being the eagle and the bull. As King of the gods,
he was served and attended to by a quite a number of lesser gods. His throne was guarded
by four winged spirits, two male and two female, named Kratos (representing Strength), and
Zelos ( representing Rivalry), Nike ( representing Victory) and Bia ( representing Force). His
personal messenger was Iris, the winged goddess of the rainbow, and his councillor was
Themis, the goddess of law and order.
Most of his divine family, except Hades, god of the underworld and Poseidon, the sea god,
resided in Olympus. Zeus' virgin sister Hestia, also resided in
Olympus, where she tended the ever-burning, hearth-fire in the center of his palace. Ganymede
and the goddess Hebe, were Zeus' cupbearers, who served ambrosia and nectar at the feasts
of the gods.
The winged Harpies, also known as the "hounds of Zeus", were cruel creatures tasked by the
Zeus, with harrassing mortals. While Pegasos, the winged horse, carried Zeus'
lightning bolts, and four other immortal horses drew his chariot through the sky.
Zeus married his sister Hera, queen of the heavens, after seducing her in the guise of
a cuckoo-bird. But their union was one of constant quarrels, mostly because of Zeus'
infidelity. Zeus is known throughout Greek mythology as an ardent womaniser. He seduced
many mortal women, few of who included Europa in the guise of a bull, Leda in the guise
of a swan, Danae as a shower of gold, Callisto in the guise of the goddess Artemis, Alkmene,
disguised as her own husband, and Antiope in the guise of a satyr. His favourite mortal
son was Heracles, whom he supported throughout his trials and eventually set him on Olympus
as a god.
Zeus is also known for his terrible wrath, which was unleashed on certain occasions,
such as when he punished deviant gods, including Ixion who attempted to violate Hera, Tantalos
who stole ambrosia from heaven, Lycaon who offered human flesh to the gods, and Salmoneus
who tried to imitate Zeus and steal the worship of the gods.