The Great God Zeus: Who He Is and How He Came to Be

The most famous and most important God in Greek mythology is the God Zeus. He ruled the whole world, the whole universe. He obeyed all the people and all the gods. Zeus could control nature itself, could transform himself into the phenomena of nature. Zeus asked for rain in times of drought, asked for peace in times of war. The ancient Greeks believed that it was thanks to this deity that people learned about laws, about justice and about peace.

There are several versions as to how Zeus came into being. The most common is that he was born of the titans Kronos and Rhea. They belonged to the second generation of the Gods. The first generation was thought to be Uranus, God of the sky, and Gaia, Goddess of the earth. The third generation of Gods included Zeus when he came to power.

When Cronus was predicted that he would be dethroned by one of his offspring, he went mad. Cronus began to swallow all the children his wife Rhea bore him. Despite her entreaties, five daughters and sons were swallowed by Cronus. Then Rhea decided to save the last child from death. Pregnant with Zeus, she escaped to the island of Crete and hid in one of the caves. To Cronus, Rhea slipped a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes, pretending it was a baby. Thus Zeus was born in the cave. Already from a young age, he was distinguished by his strength and intelligence. Feeding the child with honey and milk of sacred goats. And his upbringing was done by a nymph. When Zeus cried, the Cretan guards beat their drums, so that Cronus would not hear the crying. This is how Zeus grew and matured.

Zeus’ difficult path to God’s power

Zeus’s path to ruling the world was not an easy one. He had to go through many difficulties and many years of wars with the Titans. Born and raised in a Cretan cave Zeus was determined to save his brothers and sisters who had been swallowed by their father Cronus. Zeus prepared a special drink, after drinking it Cronus spit out all the babies. They were now adults. After that, the great war between the gods and the titans began. It lasted for ten years. During the war, Zeus and his brothers were aided by the one-eyed Cyclopes who freed him from Tartarus and the hundred-armed giants. The cyclopes made lightning bolts for Zeus with which he struck his enemies. Even the earth goddess Gaia herself rebelled against Zeus. She smote the terrible monster Typhon to defeat Zeus. But the gods were able to kill him as well. Eventually, the Titans were defeated and sent to Tartarus, and the third generation of Gods, led by Zeus, came to power. Power over the world was divided between the three brothers, Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades. Zeus got the power over heaven because he freed everyone else from the titan Kronos. Poseidon was given the rule of the sea and Hades was given the rule of the underworld.

Personal life of Zeus: his wives and lovers

According to the legends, Zeus was a very loving God. He had many love affairs, both with other goddesses and with earthly women. From this other gods and demigods were born. When Zeus visited ordinary women, he could turn into beasts, such as an eagle, or into some element, such as rain. Famous heroes who were born to earthly women by the Thunderer were Hercules and Perseus.

Officially Zeus had three wives. The first wife was Metida. She was notable for her intelligence. It was she who prepared the potion that made Cronus regurgitate the swallowed children, the brothers and sisters of Zeus. A sad fate awaited Metida. Zeus turned her into a fly and swallowed her. He did this because he had been foretold that his power would be taken away by his son, who would be born to him by Metida. Once inside Zeus, Metida planted a seed in his head from which Athena, the future goddess of war and justice, grew. Zeus suffered from severe headaches, which caused him to split his head open. Thus, as an adult, Athena was born.

Zeus’ second wife was Themis. She gave birth to three oras, the goddesses of the seasons. Zeus’ third wife was his sister Hera. Hera was very jealous. She did not want to put up with her husband’s non-marital affairs. Hera sent all kinds of difficulties and trials to Zeus’ mistresses and illegitimate children. But this only made them stronger. Hera gave birth to Hephaestus by Zeus. The boy was born ugly, so Hera decided to throw him off a cliff. But Hephaestus managed to survive. He became the best blacksmith in the whole world. Hephaestus made lightning bolts for Zeus. The goddess Hera was suspended on golden chains between heaven and earth for trying to dethrone Zeus.

Zeus also had numerous relationships with other goddesses: Leto, Demeter and others.

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