Who is Zeus in ancient Greece. Zeus (Diy), the supreme god of the ancient Greeks

Zeus - younger son Kronos and the Titanides Rhea. Zeus is the most powerful of the Olympian gods, as strong as all the other gods of Olympus combined.

Only his daughters, the Moiras, have any idea of ​​him, as they inevitably embody his destiny. Zeus is usually depicted with lightning and a scepter. He often sits on a throne, which emphasizes his special role as God.

Description of Zeus

The freed god did not hesitate for a long time and went to Olympus to take the lightning again and prepare for the next battle. He could strike the giant himself on Mount Heim, where he severely wounded him.

Zeus laid him on the ground and threw the volcano of Etna onto him, which buried the giant Typhon under a massive rock. It is believed that Zeus' wrath still causes Etna to tremble and explode even today.

Beloved and Children of Zeus

Zeus' wife was Hera, who was also his sister, and Metis was the first lover of her father god. However, there are numerous female characters, which played a role in the life of Zeus and for which he felt passion.

He often found it extremely difficult to win the favor of his lovers and thus defeat them. For example, he turned into a bull to communicate with Europa or a swan to seduce Leda.

The wives of Zeus were:

• Metis (swallowed by Zeus)
• Themis
• Hera (the last “official” wife of Zeus). When Kronos ruled the world, Zeus hid their marriage for 300 years.

Zeus had many lovers:

• Eurynoma
• Mnemosyne
• Summer (Latona)
• Europe
• Leda
  And others.

- (Ζεύς, Jupiter). Lord of the sky, greatest of the Olympian gods, son of Kronos and Rhea, brother of Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, Demeter and Hera and husband of Hera. He cast down Kronos and the Titans from heaven and acquired supreme power over gods and people. He dominates... Encyclopedia of Mythology

- (Greek myphos legend and logos story) type of functioning of cultural programs, which assumes their uncritical perception by individual and mass consciousness, sacralization of their content and strict execution. There are: classic M... The latest philosophical dictionary

The word "Zeus" has other meanings: see Zeus (meanings). Zeus ... Wikipedia

- (Greek mythología, from mýthos tradition, legend and lógos word, story, teaching) a fantastic idea of ​​the world, characteristic of a person of a primitive communal formation, as a rule, transmitted in the form of oral narrations of myths, and science ... Great Soviet Encyclopedia

- (from the Greek mutos legend, legend and logos word, story) 1) Fantastic. the idea of ​​the world characteristic of a person of a primitive communal formation. 2) In the narrow sense of the word, a type of oral vernacular. creativity. 3) Science that studies myths and their corresponding... ... Soviet historical encyclopedia

The most ancient elements. Greek mythology, like Greek culture as a whole, is a fusion various elements. These elements were introduced gradually over a period of more than a thousand years. Around 19th century BC. the first carriers known to us... ... Collier's Encyclopedia

Usually gods simply personify some kind of impersonal supernatural force. In mythological tales the supernatural is given a name and an image, so that the anonymous miraculous intervention becomes a god with a name and a role... Collier's Encyclopedia

Zeus- (Greek Zeus) in Greek mythology king of gods and men, son of Rhea and Cronus. Having deprived the power of his father and the gods of the older generation of titans, Z. shared power with his brothers: over the sea with Poseidon, over underground kingdom with Hades, leaving for himself... ...

Mythology ancient- a set of ideas of the ancients, Greeks and Romans about the origin of the world and societies, structure, as well as memories of their past. As one of the forms of societies, consciousness, M. a. is closely connected with religion, ritual, folklore, so holding... ... Ancient world. Dictionary-reference book.

Most of the Western world is familiar with classical mythology primarily in its Roman garb: Zeus is Jupiter, Hera Juno, Athena Minerva, Cronus Saturn, Odysseus Ulysses, etc. Of course, this was not always the case. Under layer Greek culture clearly... ... Collier's Encyclopedia

Books

• , Riordan Rick. Ancient Greek mythology, told by the most famous hero modernity - Percy Jackson, who personally knows all the gods of Olympus. It turns out that everything was not at all what we used to think.…
• Greek gods. Stories of Percy Jackson, Riordan Rick. Ancient Greek mythology told by the most famous hero of our time - Percy Jackson, who personally knows all the gods of Olympus. It turns out that everything was not at all what we used to think.…

Zeus (Diy), Greek, Lat. Jupiter is the son of Kronos and Rhea, the supreme deity of the ancient Greeks.

Zeus was not always the supreme god and did not rule forever: he achieved power over gods and people by rebelling against his father Kronos, who had previously overthrown his father Uranus, the first ruler of the world after the initial Chaos, from the throne. Unlike the highest (or only) gods of many religions, Zeus had his own individual biography; he did not embody only the highest virtues and did not freeze in numb immutability. The Greeks created it in their own image and likeness and in the image of the then earthly rulers. Therefore Zeus has human properties and features human character- naturally, exaggerated and exalted, as befits the ruler of earthly rulers and immortal gods.

Zeus was born in a cave on Mount Dikta on the island of Crete. The birth was surrounded by mystery, because his mother Rhea was afraid that her husband Kronos would swallow the baby, true to his custom, borrowed from his father Uranus. This time, Kronos swallowed an oblong stone, wrapped in swaddling clothes and slipped to him by Rhea. Thus, Zeus avoided the fate of his older brothers and sisters - Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades (Hades) and Poseidon, who continued to exist in the womb of their father. Rhea could not stay with Zeus, so she entrusted him to the care of the nymphs, who fed him with the milk of the divine goat Amalthea and honey from bees. Zeus's safety was ensured by the mountain demons Kureta. When Zeus cried, they hit their shields with their swords and danced to wild screams, so Kronos did not hear him. On Mount Dikta and more high mountain Ida Zeus grew up, matured and came to the decision to overthrow Kronos.

The first thing Zeus did was make Kronos disgorge his sisters and brothers by giving him a sickening potion. He sent Hestia, Demeter and Hera to the ends of the world, and called Hades and Poseidon to join him, and they immediately launched an attack on Kronos with their joint forces. He called for help from his brothers and sisters, the titans, and although not all of them came, the attack of the young people was repelled and they were gradually pushed back to the very top of Mount Olympus. But, as they say, at five minutes to twelve Zeus was rescued by the one-eyed giants Cyclops. They forged lightning and thunder for him, with the help of which he fought back and then launched a counterattack. Zeus' chances increased significantly when tensions arose between the Titans. Ocean, Styx, Prometheus and some others, dissatisfied with the dictates of Kronos, went over to the side of Zeus. However, for ten whole years, a fierce struggle could not lead to victory for either side. With the help of his allies, Zeus eventually won, overthrew Kronos and his allied Titans into the eternal darkness of Tartarus and proclaimed himself the ruler of all that exists and will exist.

However, declaring oneself a ruler and becoming one are far from the same thing, and Zeus soon had to be convinced of this. Firstly, there remained his older brothers Hades and Poseidon, who, thanks to their origin and merits in the fight against Kronos, could lay claim to their share of power. However, the emergence of a new enemy united the brothers. The earth goddess Gaia was angry with Zeus for the severe punishment of the Titans, entered into an alliance with the god of the dark underground depths Tartarus and gave birth to the hundred-headed monster Typhon - specifically to destroy Zeus. Typhon was so huge that the earth caved in under him, he howled with the voices of all wild animals and spewed flames from his dragon mouths. However, Zeus, in a difficult battle, defeated Typhon with his thunder and lightning and also threw him into Tartarus. Then he invited the brothers to divide their spheres of influence by lot, and they agreed. Here Zeus tried to make him lucky: as a result, Poseidon got the sea, Hades - afterworld, and to Zeus - heaven and earth.

At first, Zeus ruled as a tyrant and even tried to destroy the human race twice. The first time he wanted to do this because people seemed too weak and helpless to him. But he was prevented by the titan Prometheus, the creator of people.

Taking care of his creations, Prometheus brought fire and knowledge to people. The second time, Zeus decided to destroy all people because, after receiving the gifts of Prometheus, they seemed too powerful to him. He sent a flood to the world, but Prometheus gave his son Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha the opportunity to escape, and they then populated the world with people again. And Zeus strengthened his power, felt confident and loosened the reins of his rule - and even released some of his former enemies. However, he still retained absolute power not only thanks to his leadership of the victorious uprising and lucky lot, but mainly due to his power.

The gods were aware of the power of Zeus and therefore obeyed him, although not always willingly, and sometimes even tried to rebel. Once they even tried to overthrow him from the throne, but the hundred-armed giant Briareus rescued Zeus. Only one uprising during the entire reign of Zeus posed a serious threat - it was the rebellion of the hairy giants, but Zeus mercilessly suppressed it with the help of the other gods and his earthly son Hercules. But in general, the gods believed that it was better to live on good terms with the supreme god; Most people were of the same opinion. In the era of heroes, Zeus almost no longer abused power and might, and although he had many human weaknesses, he was still much better than all the previous rulers of the world.

Zeus was an absolute, but not omnipotent, ruler. In this he differed from the gods of other religions, without whose will not even a hair could fall from a person’s head. Something higher, inscrutable and inviolable reigned over him, as well as over the other gods and people: fate. It was believed, however, that Zeus was the ruler of destinies; but this was just a metaphor: just like any other god or man, Zeus could command fate only insofar as he acted in accordance with its destiny. Zeus could not go against fate, even if he wanted to. He was not the master of fate, but only its guardian and executor. Let us remember the duel between Achilles and Hector: at the decisive moment, Zeus cast the heroes' lots on the golden scales of fate, Hector's lot fell down - and his fate was decided, he was doomed, and Zeus could only state this.

As the supreme ruler of gods and men, Zeus was the creator and guardian of divine and human orders. He brought kings into possession, protected public assemblies, strengthened order and law, was a witness and oath keeper, punished violations of justice, protected everyone who turned to him for help (although he was not always consistent). He saw everything, heard everything, knew everything (if not immediately, then at least retroactively). And he knew the future, and sometimes he made people aware of it through various signs: natural phenomena, dreams and predictions (especially if people asked him about it by making appropriate sacrifices). Zeus distributed good and evil to people, choosing these gifts at his discretion from two large vessels installed in his palace. His most destructive weapons were thunder and lightning. He himself had an indestructible shield (egis - “goatskin”), made from the skin of the Amalthea goat.

The main residence of Zeus was the forked peak of Mount Olympus in Greek Thessaly, lost in the clouds and reaching into the sky. There stood his magnificent golden palace, built by Hephaestus. In addition, Zeus willingly spent time on the Cretan Mount Ida, on another Ida - in Troas, on the Phokian Parnassus, the Boeotian Kiferon and on other mountains. When Zeus, under the name of Jupiter, also became the god of the Romans, one of his places of residence was the Roman Capitol. Zeus made his trips from Olympus in a golden chariot, but he could also resort to more modest methods of transportation. In practice, he was omnipresent, and one could call on him for help not only in his temple, but anywhere. Sometimes Zeus came into the world, changing his likeness; he could appear in the form of a man, an animal, or a natural phenomenon - however, any god had this privilege.

Zeus did not burden himself too much with his leadership functions. He mostly spent his time at magnificent feasts in the company of the other Olympian gods, where ambrosia was served as the main dish and nectar as a drink. These delicacies, the recipe of which, alas, is unknown to us, provided the gods with immortality and eternal freshness of strength, without which there would be little joy in immortality. At feasts, which were also meetings of the gods, Zeus sat on a golden throne. He was served by the cupbearer of the gods, Ganymede, and the goddess of youth, Hebe; the lovely Charites and the goddess of the arts, the Muses, entertained him with dances and songs. When Zeus exercised his sovereign functions, he was accompanied by the gods and goddesses Kratos, Zelos, Bia and Nike, personifying power, zeal, strength and victory. When Zeus acted as the supreme judge, Themis, the goddess of legal order, and Dike, the goddess of justice, stood at his throne. The goddesses of the seasons, the Mountains, helped him ensure order in nature. The inseparable companions of Zeus were also Tikha - the goddess of a happy occasion, the goddess of peace Eirene and the goddess of the rainbow Iris, who simultaneously served as the messenger of Zeus, as well as Hermes.

Zeus's wife was his sister, the beautiful and majestic Hera. She bore Zeus three children: the god of war Ares, the blacksmith and gunsmith of the gods Hephaestus, and the goddess of eternal youth Hebe. Zeus gave Hera all kinds of honors and highly valued her. But this did not stop him from sometimes looking at other women. To be honest, “sometimes” is not the right word: Zeus was a terrible lover and with equal willingness chose his lovers among goddesses and among mortal women. The goddess Demeter gave birth to Persephone, Mnemosyne - the Muses, Eurynome - Charit, Themis - Horus and Moira, Maya - Hermes, Leto - the twins Apollo and Artemis; Dione is said to have given birth to Aphrodite. He was not always able to immediately achieve reciprocity; even mortal women sometimes shied away from such a high honor. In such cases, Zeus did not hesitate to turn into their spouses, into a bull, a swan, rain - into anything in order to achieve his goal. The list of Zeus's descendants from mortal women looks very solid: Alcmene gave birth to Hercules, Semele - Dionysus, Danae - Perseus, Europa - Minos, Sarpedon and Radamanthos, Antiope - the twins Amphion and Zetas, Leda - Polydeuces and Helen. We don’t really know about many of his descendants - what immortal or mortal woman is their mother? But there were also cases when women attributed paternity to Zeus in order to boast or get out of a sticky situation. But Zeus created his most beloved daughter, Athena, without female help: he gave birth to her himself, from his head, from where she immediately jumped out in full armor. Zeus took good care of all his children, in many cases better than he took care of his beloved ones. They all also played important role in the world of myths (this is discussed in the relevant articles).

It is clear that Hera disapproved of Zeus' hobbies. She pursued his mistresses and their children and staged such scenes of jealousy for him that Olympus shook and storms arose on earth. However, Zeus managed to calm her down: after all, he was not only a husband, but also a god. In addition to his weakness for women (if you can call it that), Zeus was not without other shortcomings. Sometimes he was short-sighted, especially under the influence of the goddess of delusion and clouding of the mind Ata; several times his vigilance was literally lulled by the god of sleep Hypnos; in addition, Zeus loved to brag, although he had absolutely no need for it. The other gods skillfully used these shortcomings of his, as well as his affection and aversion to quarrels. The greatest master in this area was, of course, Hera.

However, Zeus was the most powerful and noble of the gods. He owned titles and epithets that sound much better in ancient Greek than in translation: “all-powerful”, “all-wise”, “cloud-catcher”, “thunderer”, “high-thundering”, “clearly shining”, etc. But most often people just they called him “Olympian” or “Almighty”, and on especially solemn occasions - “Father of gods and kings”. His symbol was thunder and lightning, of birds - mainly the eagle, of trees - oak. The Greeks (and Romans) imagined him as a majestic man with a thick, wavy beard and mustache; his calm gaze reflected the proud consciousness of indestructible strength.

At the modern level of research, Zeus is considered an ancient god of Indo-European origin, a site related to the Indian Dyaus, the Etruscan Tin (Tinia) and the Roman Jupiter. The Greeks brought Zeus with them from their previous places of residence. Initially they revered him as the god of the sky and celestial phenomena, the lord of the weather. He became the supreme god only in the process of anthropomorphizing the ancient gods, i.e., their transformation into creatures similar to people in their own way appearance and properties. At the same time (obviously under the influence ancient population Greece) Zeus acquired a variety of new functions, which were designated by individualizing attributes. Ultimately, the Greeks integrated Zeus, along with the other gods, into a clan system that corresponded to the ideas of clan society, and gave him the appearance of an earthly ruler of those times, only more powerful in all respects. We meet Zeus under his own name already on tablets written in the Cretan-Mycenaean linear letter “B” (14-13 centuries BC). As we know Zeus today, he was first described by Homer in the Iliad and Odyssey, and then by Hesiod in his Theogony.

The Greeks revered Zeus above all their other gods, despite the weaknesses and shortcomings that are attributed to him in myth. They built temples, altars and statues for him throughout their world, which was not limited to the territory of present-day Greece, but included the coastal regions of modern Turkey and southern Italy with nearby islands, and in some places reached the mouth of the Don in the north, to the Lower Nile in the south, to the river Ebro in the west, in the east its branches went far beyond the Tigris.

All the temples dedicated to Zeus lie in ruins today. The most significant of these were the temples at Olympia, Athens and Akragante in Sicily. The first was built in 460-450. BC e. designed by Libo of Elis. The Athenian Temple of Olympion was the largest in what is now Greece (108 x 41 m in plan, 104 columns 17.5 m high - fifteen of them still stand). The foundations of this temple were laid by the Pisistratids ca. 515 BC e., and it was completed only under Emperor Hadrian in 132 AD. e. An even larger temple was built by the Sicilian Greeks in Akraganta at the beginning of the 5th century. BC BC: its area in plan was 113 x 56 m, and in the façade the columns alternated with telamons. Of the altars of Zeus, the most famous is the Pergamon altar (180-160 BC); after it was discovered by Humann, the altar was transported to Berlin, reconstructed and housed in the specially built Pergamon Museum, which is now integral part State museums in Berlin.

Of the statues of Zeus, perhaps the most famous is “Zeus of Otricoli” - a Roman copy of a Greek original attributed to Briaxis (4th century BC). The most valuable is the bronze “Zeus of Artemisium”, attributed to the Athenian sculptor Kalamis (5th century BC) and caught from the sea in 1926-1928. off Cape Artemisia in northern Euboea; it was found among the wreckage of an antique ship transporting looted works of Greek art to Italy. Some art historians saw Poseidon in him; but anyway this is one of the best works antique plastic. The original is in the National Archaeological Museum in Athens, and an exact copy adorns the lobby of the UN building in New York, next to a model of the first Soviet satellite. However, the most famous was the statue of Zeus at Olympia, made by Phidias in gold and ivory c. 430 BC e. The ancients considered it one of the “seven wonders of the world,” but at the beginning of the 5th century. n. e. By order of Emperor Theodosius II, she was taken as a pagan idol to Constantinople, where she subsequently disappeared without a trace. She was written off as a victim of the fire of 475.

If we decided to list the European artists who depicted Zeus, we would actually get a list of almost all the masters of the Renaissance, Baroque, Classicism and many artists of a later time. In all paintings depicting a host of Greek gods, Zeus occupies a central place - for example, in Rubens's painting “The Assembly of the Olympian Gods” (c. 1602, Prague Castle Picture Gallery).

Zeus is the ruler of Olympus, the father of gods and people, the god of sky, thunder and lightning.

Zeus's father was Kronos, and his mother was Rhea. Since Kronos was predicted that he would die at the hands of his own son, in order to avoid this, he swallowed the child born to Rhea every time. Rhea decided to use a trick and, secretly from her husband, gave birth to Zeus, and instead of a newborn, she gave birth to a swaddled stone to Kronos. According to different versions myth Zeus was born in Crete or Phrygia, he was bathed in the river Lusius in Arcadia. The Cretan version of the myth tells that Zeus was given to be raised by the Curetes and Corybantes, who fed him with the milk of the goat Amalthea. In Crete, the baby also tasted bee honey. The cave where Zeus was hidden was guarded by guards. When little Zeus began to cry, the guards banged their spears on their shields so that Kronos would not hear the baby’s cry.

Olympian Zeus, statue by Phidias, one of the 7 wonders of the world.

Finally, Zeus grew up. He came to his father and brought his brothers and sisters out of the womb of Kronos, giving his father a potion on the advice of Metis. As a sign of gratitude, the brothers and sisters of Zeus gave him thunder and lightning, after which his war for power with Kronos and the Titans began. The Titanomachy lasted for ten whole years. In this war, Zeus' assistants were the hundred-armed, and the Cyclopes forged thunder, lightning and Perun for him. In the end, Zeus was victorious and overthrew the Titans into Tartarus.

Three brothers - Zeus, Poseidon and Hades - divided power among themselves. Zeus began to rule in the sky, Poseidon in the sea, Hades in the kingdom of the dead. The establishment of Zeus on Olympus occurred with great difficulty, for example, Gaia rebelled against him and sent Typhon. However, Zeus defeated this creature with fiery lightning. According to one version of the myth, Zeus sent Typhon to Tartarus, and according to another, he dumped Etna on him. However, the war did not end there, Gaia gave birth to new children - giants, and Gigantomachy broke out. Zeus even fought for power with his closest relatives; for example, Hera, Poseidon and Pallas Athena (according to another version, Apollo) rebelled against him. However, with the help of Thetis, Zeus summoned the hundred-handed men to Olympus, who tamed the conspirators.

Zeus's first wife was Metis, who was swallowed by him. Soon the ruler of Olympus married Themis, who was the goddess of justice. Their daughters were Ora and Moira - goddesses of fate. The daughters of Zeus from Eurynome, the Charites, brought joy, fun and grace into life. Demeter was also the wife of Zeus. Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory, gave birth to nine muses. From Leto to Zeus - Apollo and Artemis. The third but first most important wife of Zeus was Hera, the goddess of marriage and patroness of marriage laws.

Interesting to know: in the guise of a snake, Zeus seduced Demeter, and then Persephone, in the guise of a bull and a bird - Europa, in the guise of a bull - Io, in the guise of an eagle - Ganymede, in the guise of a swan - Nemesis or Leda, in the guise of a quail - Leto, in the guise of an ant - Eurymedus , in the guise of a dove - Phthia, in the guise of fire - Aegina, in the form of golden rain - Danae, in the guise of a satyr - Antiope, in the guise of a shepherd - Mnemosyne.

Zeus was the father of many heroes who carried out his divine will and good intentions. His sons are Hercules, Perseus, Dioscuri, Sarpedon, famous kings and sages: Minos, Radamanthos and Aeacus.

Despite the fact that Zeus is the “father of men and gods,” he is a formidable punitive force. It was on his orders that Prometheus was chained to a rock, who stole the spark of Hephaestus's fire to help people doomed by Zeus to a miserable fate. Several times Zeus destroyed the entire human race, so he tried to create a perfect man. The flood is his doing. Only Deucalion, the son of Prometheus, and his wife Pyrrha escaped. The Trojan War is also a kind of punishment of people for their wickedness.

The attributes of Zeus were an aegis (shield), a scepter, a double ax, and sometimes an eagle.

He is the highest god of Olympus, the god of all gods. But how much do you know about Zeus beyond this? So, we present to your attention 10 interesting facts about the main hero of Olympus.

The men's spring/summer 2014 collection from Dolce&Gabbana - “Mythological Sicily” (Sicilia Mitologica) - is literally imbued with Magna Graecia and its amazing temples, such as those located in the Valley of the Temples of Agrigento: the temples of Taormina and the Temple of Apollo in Syracuse became a source of inspiration for all collections. Here is a fantastic triumph of prints of the ancient gods: Zeus, representing power and creation in Greek mythology, and Apollo, representing light, sun, kindness and beauty. But did you know that Zeus had almost 70 children? We offer you 10 facts that you probably didn’t know about the king of all gods and goddesses.

1. Zeus’s father wanted to eat him.

Kronos and Rhea had several children: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades and Poseidon. However, he ate them all as soon as they were born, because Gaia and Uranus predicted to him that he would be overthrown by his own son, as he himself had overthrown his father.

Rhea, pregnant with Zeus, found Gaia to ask her to save her son, who could punish Kronos for crimes against Uranus and his own children. Rhea gave birth to Zeus in Crete, and gave Kronos a stone wrapped in the baby's clothes to eat.

2. Zeus was raised by... things.

For example, a goat named Amalthea. And the Corybantes - soldiers and minor gods - at that moment danced, shouted and banged their spears on their shields so that Kronos would not hear the child’s cry.

He was also raised by a nymph named Adamantia. Kronos ruled on Earth, in the skies and on the sea. Adamantia hid Zeus, hanging him on a rope from a tree, so that he hung between the earth, sea and sky and was inaccessible to his father's gaze.

He was also raised by the nymph Kinosura. In gratitude, Zeus then placed her among the stars.

He was also raised by Melissa, who fed him goat milk and honey.

He was also raised by a shepherd's family on the condition that their sheep would be saved from wolves.

3. Zeus saved his brothers and sisters.

Having become a man, Zeus forced Kronos to vomit first a stone, and then his brothers and sisters into reverse order ingestion. In some versions of the myths, Metis gave Kronos an emetic medicine to force him to do this, and in others, Zeus ripped open Kronos' stomach. Zeus then freed Kronos' brothers - the Giants, Hecatoncheires and Cyclopes - from their prison in Tartarus, killing their guard Kampa.

As a token of gratitude, the Cyclopes gave Zeus thunder and lightning. Along with his brothers and sisters, as well as the Giants, Hecatonchires and Cyclopes, Zeus overthrew Kronos and the other Titans in great battle Titanomachy. The defeated titans were then exiled to a dark corner underworld- Tartarus. Atlas, one of the Titans who fought against Zeus, was punished by having to hold up the sky.

4. His wife Hera was his sister, and his other wives were also his relatives.

In most ancient myths, firstborns had to marry each other, regardless of relationship, because there were few people with whom to continue the family line. Therefore, Zeus married his sister Hera (who, according to some versions of the myths, was also his twin). A nymph named Pluto was the mother of King Tantalus of Lydia (by Zeus), and since Pluto's father was Kronos, this means that she was also Zeus's sister (or at least a paternal sister). Zeus cheated on Hera with one of his sisters, but it was not Demeter. According to Hesiod's Theogony, Zeus was married six times before he took Hera as his wife.

5. Since he had so many wives, he had dozens of children.

He had many children with goddess or demigoddes or mortal wives. In total, he had about 70 women, and accordingly, there were even more children.

6. Zeus has many names.

Zeus Olympus refers to Zeus' rule over all the gods. Zeus Panellenios, Zeus Gorky - i.e. Zeus, keeper of oaths. Zeus Agora: Zeus oversaw affairs in the agora and punished dishonest merchants. Zeus Xenius, Philius and Hospides: Zeus was the patron of hospitality (xenia) and guests and was ready to take revenge on anyone who harmed strangers. Zeus Egiokh - this term comes from the word αἴξ ("goat") and is taken from the myth of how he was suckled by Amalthea.

7. Many mountains are associated with Zeus.

Many mountains were dedicated to Zeus: in the Thessaly region, Olympus, Pelias and Eta; in Arcadia - the Lyceum and Mount Itoma in Messenia; in Attica - Parneta and Imetto; in Boeotia - Kytheron; in Phocis - Parnassus; in Troy - Ida, another mountain called Ida on the island of Crete and many others.

8. Zeus has been represented in different ways.

Zeus was represented in different images, but one detail was always present: he was always depicted with the symbol of kings and gods - the scepter, which mortal kings received from him to administer power and justice.

9. He wasn't THAT good.

Zeus was also revered as a multiple god, with a two-way soul, and therefore he was both a good and an evil god.

10. Zeus is a truly unique type of god.

For all its vicissitudes, the image of Zeus cannot be compared with any of the other Indo-European gods with the same powers or names (for example, Varuna, or Wodan). The trait of the father of the universe, expressed in the epic phrase "father of mortals and gods", dates back to the prehistoric era, as well as power over the weather.