Zeus: The First Greek Gods

Zeus is the God of the sky, lightening, order law, and justice. He was the youngest son of Kronos and Rhea, and rose to power and became the ruler of all the Gods on Mount Olympus. Since Zeus was the most powerful God on Mount Olympus he had many different partners, which resulted in many different kids. Leto is the kid to the Titans Coues and Pheobe, she grew up to be the Goddess of Motherhood for the Titans. Leto lived on Mount Olympus where she met Zeus and they ended up falling in love.

I chose to write about Zeus for my independent project. By the time my paper is written and finished, I can only hope to have discovered more and more information about him than at the beginning of this essay. Some things I do want to remember and learn about him are what made him so great, is he the Greek God’s leader, and what did he accomplish? When somebody speaks about Greek mythology, it seems as though everyone wants to talk about Zeus. Another thing that I hear very often when Zeus is mentioned is the fact that he controls/carries the lightning bolt. That is Zeus’s symbol. I have for a long while been itching to take in more about him yet never thought to consider his history until today.

The supreme ruler and king of gods, Zeus, is often mentioned as Jupiter and the sender of thunder, lightning, rain, and wind (Britannica.com). “Zeus was the first of the gods and a very imposing figure. Often referred to as ‘the father of gods and men,’ he is a sky god who controls lightning.” (Britannica.com) Although the god is labeled most powerful and the mightiest of all, he is not perfect. Zeus is known for his promiscuous action. Often times he fell in love with one woman after the other and attempted to disguise his infidelity from his wife. Zeus left no woman behind in his crazy love-life, the god married and had children with his sister, Hera and. Hera was not Zeus’ only siblings. He also had two brothers, Poseidon and Hades and another sister named Hestia. His parents are known as Cronus and Rhea. Zeus was not just handed the title “god of the sky,” instead him and his two brothers drew lots. The sea was given to Poseidon, the underworld to Hades, and Zeus was named lord of the sky, rain god, and cloud gatherer. The eagle is considered sacred to this god. Zeus also treasures the oak tree. It is often told that the gods will was revealed by the rustling of the oak tree. (Hamilton 27)

Beginning around 700 B.C., stories by Homer and other Greek poets told of the lives of powerful gods who involved themselves in human affairs. Supreme among these gods was Zeus, but to the Romans he was known as Jupiter. 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 are the most popular names dating back to ancient Greek history and mythology.

Zeus, he was the king of the gods and the supreme ruler of people. He originally was a god of the sky. In time, the Greeks regarded him as the only god who concerned him-self with the whole universe. They also associated Zeus with justice and believed that he punished the wicked and rewarded the good. He belonged to the race of Titans, and was the son of Cronus and Rhea. After overthrowing Cronus, Zeus took his father's place and ruled from Mount Olympus. He headed a family of twelve major gods, called the Olympians.

Zeus was considered to be the leader of the Olympian gods of Mount Olympus. He was the god of the sky and thunder. He had many powers but the most significant was the power to wield lightning bolts. He could hurl lightning bolts at people who defied him or other gods who he was displeased with. He was the youngest child of Cronus and Rhea and was planned to get eaten by Cronus like all of his brothers and sisters before him, but he was hidden from Cronus at Mount Dicte. He then went on to overthrow Cronus and control the gods. He had twenty-four children and some of them were powerful gods. He also had some half god children like Hercules. He lives on the top of Mount Olympus with Hera, his wife.

As Hephaestus is notified of Thetis’ arrival, he explores what their relationship has meant to him. Hephaestus recalls that “Thetis saved my life when the mortal pain came on me after my great fall…” (P. 480) After Hephaestus falls out of Zeus’ good graces, Thetis is able to lend her helping hand, displaying the hierarchical dynamic between the gods. The gods are indebted to each other, the likely reason that Hephaestus felt as though he needed to make Thetis the ornate shield. The duty and obligation to each other fuels the mutualistic relationships between the gods. Thetis’ motivation to help Hephaestus was not solely out of kindness; rather Thetis saw the opportunity to make a strategic move and put Hephaestus in her debt, knowing that she very well could use his services in her future. Hephaestus describes the pain that he felt as “mortal pain” signifying a distinction between the discomforts and vulnerability of mortals and gods.

“The supreme deity of Greek mythology has his lusty, tempestuous story recast in engaging fashion by Stone”(ProQuest). Zeus was thought of as the father of gods and men. While he did not make them, he protected them, and therefore was considered a father to them. He ruled over the sky and air, and controlled everything that happened in his domains from his throne on Mount Olympus. To gain his throne, he overthrew his father, Cronos, with the help of his siblings, and then dividing up the realms between him and his two elder brothers. Zeus became lord of the sky and rain, Poseidon took the title lord of the sea, and Hades became ruler of the underworld. He then banished his father to the shadowy Tartarus in the underworld. Zeus was the most

Zeus can be compared to Superman in the sense that he is powerful, he protects the weak, and punishes the wicked. He is a human-like god in a sense he commits adultery, and is often to his wife Hera. The real life ideals represented by Zeus’s role, is one of a just and powerful character that gets justice against those that are bad and by protecting the good and weak. For Zeus being the god over all the Olympian gods it is quite easy to be powerful and just. In real life instance the justice system is the one to execute injustice through the law, the police and court system. This enables the victims that a sense of justice has been served.

Zeus in Greek mythology was chief and father of all Gods and mortals. He corresponds to the Roman god Jupiter. He lived atop Mt. Olympus, at the center of the earth where all the gods lived and held court. Sometimes Olympus was thought of as an actual mountain in Greece, but more often as a lofty reign in the heavens. Zeus was pictured as a kingly, bearded figure who supposedly hurled thunderbolts from the mountain to announce his anger.

Zeus, his name is synonymous with Greek mythology and religion. God of the weather and sky he used his powers of wind, lightning, and thunder to uphold the law and keep order. He ruled Mount Olympus as well as the pantheon of gods who lived there. Watching over mankind he would punish those who defied him and help those who were wronged. However, Zeus did have his flaws. His quick tempered nature combined with his lust for women made him relatable to the common man. From his coming to power until the beginning of Christianity, this complex god would have no equal.

Zeus: He is the king of all gods and goddesses, ruler of Mount Olympus. Zeus is the god of sky and thunder. His symbols would be the thunderbolt, Eagle, Bull, and the Oak tree. In relation to the other gods and goddesses Poseidon and Hades are known as his brothers and Hera is known as his sister and his wife. Cronus and Rhea were the parents of Zeus. His father wanted to swallow him like the rest of his older siblings because Cronus was afraid of his children gaining more power than him. Before Cronus had a chance to swallow Zeus, Rhea took him to Mount Crete. When Zeus got older he caused his father to throw up his brothers and sisters and together they destroyed Cronus.

Zeus was the supreme god and ruler of Olympus. He was known by many names: Lord of the Sky, the Rain-god, the Cloud-gatherer, and Zeus the Thunderer. Zeus was the sixth child born to Cronus and Rhea behind Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, Dementer, and Hera. The high soaring eagle was sacred to him, and to the Romans he was known as Jupiter. Zeus was a strong, mighty, awesome, glorious, and wise god. Although, he was very foolish and naïve with hiding his love affairs from Hera.

Zeus is one of the most well-known Greek gods because of his relations and powers .One reason he is famous is because he ruled over the other Greek gods. He was the father of some other Greek gods like Apollo, Perseus, Heracles, Hermes, Artemis, and Dionysus. As well as his relationships, Zeus was also well-known for his powers. He could throw lighting bolts which would shatter mountains. Zeus could also control the weather and cause huge storms. The last reason is Zeus assigned all the positions to the other Greek gods. He assigned Aphrodite

Zeus is the God of the sky and thunder. He plays important role in the Iliad as he is the God that many mortals pray to and rely on for help. Even other Gods look up to him and ask him for favors. In the Iliad Zeus along with other Gods are overlooking the Trojan war and using his God like powers to sway the results. Though others look up to him he feels an obligation to please others which causes him to influence the Trojan war on both sides. I chose this character because of how he appeases to mortals and Gods, though he makes promises to help the other side he stays loyal to the Trojans, and mortals and Gods pray to and look up to him.