Zeus the Father of the Greek Gods
Zeus is the father of all the gods and humans, he is the most
senior of the Olympian gods Master of the Heavens and Lord of the
Universe. He was a third generation god. His grandmother was Gaea
the first mother and he was the youngest child of the first race of
deities, his parents being Cronus and Rhea. He escaped the fate of
his brothers and sisters of being swallowed by his father and was
brought up in secret by the Nymph, Neda and the wives of the
Corybands, Idaeon, Andron, dictaie and Melliai who were assisted by
Adrastea and the goat Amalthea. He led the younger generation of
gods in the battles against the older race of Titans and afterwards
the Giants and finally conquered the mighty serpent Typhon to win
his position of King of all the Gods.
As king, Zeus created the world from scratch and after Prometheus’
attempt to help mankind, created a new race of humans that did not
have the arrogance of the old human race but instead honoured their
gods. He did this by sending a tremendous flood to the world with
only Deucalion and Pyrrha surviving, then allowing them to create
new humans from the rocks that they threw behind them.
He was married to Hera although he is known for his erotic
philanderings, endless abductions and seductions of other women,
appearing as either human or an animal to trick women to lay with
him. He fathered many children, some godly but others heroic
semi-gods. These included Athena, Aphrodite, Apollo, Artemis,
Hermes, Persephone, Dionysus, Perseus, Heracles, Helen (of Troy),
Minos, the Muses, Ares, Hebeand and Hephaestus. By fathering a whole
generation of gods and semi-divine heroes he usurped the powr of
procreation from the Mother Goddess, Gaea.
As guarantor for the order and harmony of the world he would avenge
and exterminate any god that went against him and upset this
harmony. He was, however, also a protector and a fair god, who
judged the actions of both gods and mortals with compassion. He
protected the states and defended cities during wars. He granted
freedom to those who were under his protection, protected the homes
of humans, their peace and safeguarded the institution of marriage
and friendship. Besides caring for families he protected the poor,
strangers and refugees. He also was responsible for the climate and
the changes in weather, sending rain to make the fields fertile.
His symbols of the eagle and the thunderbolt were linked to his
powers with the eagle being the sacred bird which flies higher in
the sky than any other bird and faster than everything but
lightening. As well as these two symbols the oak tree is sacred to
Zeus and in Zeus’ oracle in Dodona, Epirus, an oak tree was in the
centre of the temple and the priests would divine the god’s
pronouncements by interpreting the rustling of its leaves. Finally,
the bull is a sacred animal that symbolizes Zeus. The god took the
form of a white bull when he seduced the mortal Europa and in his
seduction of Io, changed her into a heifer to conceal her from his
jealous wife Hera.
As the sky god Zeus had easy access to the women of the world and
took full advantage of it. Also, his power as a supreme god made him
difficult to resist. Prior to his marrage to Hera he was married
first to Metis, then Themis. He was interested in Demeter but she
resisted him. His third wife was Mnemosyne.
Zeus was the most powerful god. He had overturned his father
Cronus and seized power, and everything was ultimately in his hands.
Zeus was a weather god, as well as the protector of the law, the
state, the society, the city, the family and strangers. According to
the myth, Zeus was the son of Cronus and Rea and born in Crete. He
was the God of all gods and belonged to the second generation of the
gods of Olympus. The story told is that before the birth of Zeus,
Cronus was told by an oracle that one of his children would seize
his power and so, rather then let this happen, he murdered all his
children by eating them.
His wife, Rea, determined not to let this happen again on the birth
of the baby Zeus, tricked Cronus by presenting him with a rock
disguised as a newborn wrapped in swaddling clothes.
She then sought refuge in a cave on top of Mt. Dikti in Crete to
give birth to her baby. Soon after this, the infant was moved to
another lonely cave, Idaion Andro on Mt. Idi where he was raised by
Nymphs and was suckled by a goat, Amalthia. In order that Cronus
should be kept in ignorance about his secret son, the baby,s cries
were drowned out by the giant gods, the kourites who
created a cacophony by beating on their drums and singing loudly.
When Zeus became an adult, he defeated his father and so became the
king of the Gods.
All the other Olympian gods were either his siblings or his children. His wife was Hera but he had countless trysts with other goddesses as well as mortal women. One of these mortals was Europa whom he brought to Crete. The rock that tricked his father was put in Delphi to remind all mortals and gods of his magnificence.
Zeus main shrine was in Dodona, where it was believed one could hear the future being told by the wind blowing through the the leafs of the holy oak trees that grew there. In Olympia he was honoured every four years with the Olympic Games and Phidias statue of him there was considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
The Nemean Games were also held in his honour. The birds, especially the
eagle, were believed to be Zeus messengers and so his priests were careful
to try and foretell the future through the birds flight. Mountains were
often named after Zeus and still today there are mountains of Zeus all over
Greece, for example on Crete and Naxos.
On Crete Zeus was especially worshipped since it was believed he grew up
there, in hiding from his father who would have eaten him had he known of
Zeus existence. On Crete his worshippers believed he was born there, and
that he also died there. There was even a tomb there said to be his.
The name Zeus is believed to originate in the Sanskrit dyaus which means
heaven. The ancient Greeks also called him Dias, and this name has through
the Latin Deus become a common word for God in many languages.
Apart from being the highest God, Zeus was also a mischievous one.
Constantly unfaithful to his jealous wife and sister Hera, Zeus had many
children with other women, both mortal and immortal. With Hera he had Ares,
Hebe, Hephaestus and Eileithyia.
In the guise of a swan he had seduced queen Leda of Sparta, and she bore
Helen of Troy and Polydeukes as a result. As a bull he kidnapped the
Phoenician princess Europa and she gave birth to Minos and Rhadamanthus..
With the goddess of memory Mnemosyne he became the father of the nine
muses and with other goddesses and mortal women he had amongst others
Apollo, Artemis, Dionysus and Heracles.
He was also the sole parent of Athena, whose remarkable birth had happened
after Zeus had suffered a terrible headache. Hephaistus then hit him over
the head with a sledgehammer, and out of Zeus head sprung the goddess, fully
grown and in armor.
Not only women were his victims. The young Trojan prince Ganymedes was kidnapped by Zeus and taken to Mount Olympus, where he was made the servant of the gods.
Zeus and Europa
Europa was a Phoenician princess, the daughter of the Aginor the king of Tyre (modern day Lebanon), and his queen, Telephassa. According to the legend, Zeus fell in love with her after watching her playing on a beach with her friends. In order to lure her back to Crete he turned himself into a fabulous but amiable white bull with golden horns and, the unsuspecting but foolish, Europa climbed upon his back to frolic in the waves.
However, once she was astride he rushed into the sea and carried her off to
Crete. As a gesture of his love for her he gave her a quiver of arrows that
never failed in hitting their target, a golden dog as a guardian angel and
the giant Talos to protect the island. It is claimed that the consummation
of their love was in the area of Gortys, under a plane tree which then
became evergreen.
Alternatively, it was at Diktaion Andron where their bridal bed was prepared
by nymphs. They had three sons: Radamanthys, Sarpedon and Minos (who later
became king). Unfortunately the faithless Zeus grew tired of her and passed
her on to Asterionas, the king of Crete, who married her and took on her
children. On her death, the Cretans paid tribute to her memory by naming one
of the earth's continents after her.
In Rome Zeus was worshipped under the name Jupiter. He also had the
following epithats:
Acraeus, Actaeus, Aeneius, Aethipos, Agamemnon, Agetor, Agoraeus, Ambulius,
Ammon, Anchesmius, Apemius, Apesantius, Aphesius, Apomyius, Arbius, Areius,
Astrapaeus, Atabyrius, Athous, Basileus, Bolaeus, Cappotas, Caraos, Carius,
Cassius, Catharsius, Cenaeus, Charmon, Cithaeronius, Clarius, Coccygius,
Conius, Cosmetas, Croceatas, Ctesius, Cynthius, Dictaeus, Dodonais,
Eleutherius, Epacrius, Epidotes, Euanemus, Genethlius, Hecaleius,
Hecatombaeus, Hetaareius, Homagyrius, Homarius, Homoloius, Horceius,
Hyetius, Hymettus, Hypatus, Hypsistus, Icmaeus, Ithomatas, Laphystius,
Larissaeus, Lecheates, Leucaeus, Lycaeus, Lycoreus, Maemactes, Mechaneus,
Meilichius, Messapeus, Moiragetes, Morius, Nemeius, Ombrius, Olympius,
Panhellenius, Parnethius, Phyxius, Phratrios, Plusius, Poleius, Scotitas,
Semaleos, Soter, Teleius, Thaulius, Thenatias, Tropaeus
