ZEUS ~ THE KING OF THE GREEK GODS

Zeus is the Olympian God of the sky and the thunder, the King of all other Gods and men, and, consequently, the chief figure in Greek Religion. The son of Cronos and Rhea, He is also well-known for having children with women other than His sister and wife, Hera.  Athena, Apollo and Artemis, Hermes, Dionysus, Heracles, Helen of Troy, and the Muses are all children of His numerous erotic affairs. Hephaestus, Hebe, and Ares are His legitimate children.

Usually, Zeus is portrayed with a scepter in one hand and a thunderbolt in the other – both symbols of His authority. Sometimes He wears a crown of oak leaves – the oak is deemed to be His sacred tree. Homer repeatedly describes Him as “aegis-bearing”: the Aegis is an enormous shield which Zeus frequently carries with Him, lending it to His daughter Athena from time to time. In addition, He owns a pet: a giant golden eagle called Aetos Dios.

Considered the ruler of heavens and the governor of weather, Zeus is also associated with wisdom and awareness, with authority and destiny, with battles and power. In fact, Homer says that before the fight between Achilles and Hector, Zeus weighed their lots and blessed the outcome. Further down, the poet even claims that Zeus owns two urns filled with ills and blessings – the gifts which He gives to every mortal in the amount He decides.

In relation to the many other roles Zeus has, he acquired many different epithets. Some of them are: “warlike,” “oath-keeper,” “guest-patron,” “All-Greek,” and “Savior.”

Paradoxically, Zeus is both the youngest and the oldest son of Cronos and Rhea. Namely, soon after the Creation of the world, the then-ruler of the Gods Cronos – who had learned that one of his children would overthrow him – swallowed Zeus’ three sisters and two brothers at birth: Demeter, Hera, Hestia, Hades, and Poseidon. Zeus would have been eaten as well, if Rhea hadn’t given Cronos a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes in his place, hiding Her youngest child in a cave on the Cretan Mount Ida.

There, Zeus was raised by nymphs and met his first wife, Metis – or Wisdom. On Her advice, He masked himself as an Olympian cupbearer and tricked His father into drinking poisoned wine. The wine made Cronos vomit so much, that he ultimately disgorged Zeus’ siblings – intact and ready for revenge. This, Their second birth, made the youngest among them – Zeus – actually Their oldest brother.

Thus, They had no problem in acknowledging Zeus' authority. Led by Him, and helped by the one-eyed Cyclopes and the hundred-handed Hecatoncheires (Zeus freed all of them from Cronus’ imprisonment), the siblings overthrew Cronos and the Titans during a decade-long war called the Titanomachy.

Zeus and His brothers drew lots to share the world among them. Poseidon got the sea, Hades the underworld, and Zeus the sky. Finally, Zeus was crowned to be the Ruler of all Gods and Men, referred to universally as Father.

SOURCE:Wikipedia