by Austin Koenig

Created on: May 28, 2009

Zeus, called the Thunderer, was king of the Greek deities. The Greeks referred to him as "the father of gods and men." Zeus was the most powerful and influential of all the Greek gods.

Zeus was the son of Chronos and Rhea. Chronos ate all of his children except Zeus, who later caused his father to regurgitate his children. Zeus was married to Hera, who was also his sister. Poseidon, god of the sea and earthquakes, and Hades, god of the underworld, were Zeus' brothers. Zeus' famous thunderbolts were made for him by his son Hephaestus (the god of fire and blacksmithing). Zeus was a notorious philanderer of both goddesses and human women. He is famous for appearing in different forms to seduce women. He appeared as a bull to Europa, a shower of golden rain to Danae, and an eagle to carry off Ganymede. Most other gods were his children by various goddesses. Many famous heroes, such as Perseus and Hercules, were his children.

Zeus was also notorious for doing a remarkably bad job of protecting his mistresses from his wife. He turned Io into a cow, which Hera chased around the world with a gadfly. Callisto was turned into a bear by Hera and came within an ace of being speared by her own son. Hera planted doubt in the mind of Semele as to whether her lover was actually Zeus. Semele asked for a favor and Zeus swore that he would perform it before he knew what it was. Semele requested to see him in his full glory, but it was to much for her mortal nature, and she died. Hera was also the one who sent the two snakes after Hercules, which he famously strangled. Hera was also the ultimate cause of the Twelve Labors of Hercules. In the Iliad, Zeus is the recipient of Thetis' request that the Greeks be made to feel the loss of Achilleus (her son). Thus, he consistently helps the Trojans against the Greeks. Hera points out that he can change the fate of Troy if he wishes. He does not, and the Greeks almost win on their own, definitely giving the impression that he is only halfheartedly on the Trojan side. Even though one of his sons is fighting for Troy, he allows the city (and his son) to fall.

Zeus would carry over from Greece to Rome, as Jupiter (or Jove), Though he is not a major character in the Odyssey, the Iliad an the unaffiliated storied tell us all we need to know about his character. The king of the gods, with power to change even fate, is not that different from the humans he rules over. The Greek deities were just as human as the Greeks themselves, and the father of gods and men is no exception.

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