ABOUT THE GREEK GOD ZEUS

What Greeks say about Zeus

Zeus was the supreme ruler of all Greek gods. He was also known as the god of the sky and the god of justice. Many Greeks believe that Zeus was last seen on top of Mount Olympia (located in Olympia, Greece) Greeks think that Zeus has can control the weather, gather up all the clouds and create rain, or create other storms that involve the sky.

Punishments, Rewards, and Weapons

The way Zeus punishes people, who lie or break oaths, is by striking them with his weapon, a thunderbolt. Zeus’ punishments were either extremely severe, or his rewards were extremely generous.

Myth about Zeus

A myth is a story or tale that is not real. People said there was a war between the Titans and Olympians. The Olympians were gods who disagreed with the ruler and his rules. The Titans were the rest of the gods. The leader of the Olympians was Zeus. The leader of the Titans was Cronus, Zeus’ father. They were supposed to have a common ruler, but Zeus and some other gods decided to declare war. Luckily Ares, the god of war and Nike, the goddess of victory were on the Olympians’ side. They won because most of the strong gods were on their side. Also these gods were strategic and intelligent. All gods were powerful, but the Olympians had powers that would come handy in war. Zeus became the supreme ruler of all gods since he was the ruler of the Olympians.
There is another myth that gives a whole different story of how Zeus became the supreme ruler of all gods. It says that when baby Zeus was born, his father, Cronus, had a bad habit of swallowing his children. He did this because he was afraid that his children might grow up and defeat him in a fight for the throne of supreme ruler. Rhea, Cronus’ wife, didn’t want him to eat their newest son, Zeus. Instead of giving Zeus to his father, she gave him a stone wrapped around a blanket to eat. She hid Zeus in a cave in Mt. Olympus. She took care of him secretly because she knew that one day, Zeus would bring all his brothers and sisters back. He would also take the throne and become the ruler of all gods. After he grew up, he fed Cronus an herb that made him vomit out all of his brothers and sisters. Since Zeus rescued everyone, the gods decided to make him supreme ruler of all gods. But, there was a big fight and Zeus severely hurt Cronus with his thunderbolt. The other Olympians killed the Titans. Zeus knew Cronus could never die, so he sent him to a deserted island.
Zeus had many affairs with many women, but his final marriage was with Hera. Zeus was in love with her for a long time, but they were afraid to tell their parents. He had promised to marry Hera. He was never faithful to her though. Zeus was supreme ruler and had easy access to women. Hera was very angry with Zeus when she found out about his affairs. He had lots of affairs with women like Europa, Io, Semele, Ganymede, Callisto, Leto, and many others. His most famous affair was with Io. Zeus fell in love with her and turned himself into an eagle to look more attractive and get more attention. Hera soon found out about the affair. He loved her so much he disguised her as a cow and told her to run away safely. Unfortunately, Hera found out about that, too. As a punishment, she sent Io to the underworld.

Special Statues and Temples of Zeus

In honor of Zeus, the Ancient Olympics were started. There was a huge gold and ivory statue of Zeus in front of their stadium. It was supposed to give courage to the competitors of the ancient Olympics. It is located in Athens, Greece. There is another great temple in the Livic desert. It is not in Greece, but instead it is in Egypt. Believe it or not, the Egyptians worshipped Zeus too.


source : http://library.thinkquest.org/J0112190/zeus.htm