Who is Zeus
In terms of the number of gods, the ancient Greeks are the leaders among the other peoples of the planet. Without mythology, Greece is unthinkable. Her gods are immortal. The most important and powerful God is Zeus. His counterpart in Roman mythology is Jupiter. The name Zeus is associated with the sky, brightness and light. Myths tell of his difficult temper. He was the god of thunder and lightning and ruler of the whole world, he had a difficult temper and many love affairs. Zeus was also called brilliant. He ruled over the whole sky and everything in it. From one generation to the next, the legends of the deities passed on. They had a huge impact on the culture as well as almost all areas of life. For details on God's history, popularity in the world, see http://www.sigeneration.ca/
Zeus in mythology
Zeus is the son of Rhea and Kronos. Cronus was predicted that his power would end because of his own son. For this reason he ate Zeus' older siblings. When Rhea was pregnant with Zeus, she decided to prevent his death. After he was born, Rhea slipped Cronus a stone wrapped in a diaper. Cronus immediately swallowed it. Rhea hid Zeus in a cave. There he was raised by a nymph who sometimes turned into a goat. To make the boy invisible to Cronus, the nymph placed him between heaven, earth and sea. She also made sure that the soldiers made noise so that Cronus would not hear the cries of little Zeus. The nymph gave Zeus nourishing honey, which contributed to his rapid growth. As Zeus grew older, he forced his father to bring his sisters and brothers back to life. All six defeated the cruel tyrant Kronos. Zeus began to rule the sky, his brother Hades became ruler of the underworld and his second brother Everyday was ruler of the seas.
Zeus in the myths represented good and evil. The Greeks pictured him as a strong, middle-aged man. He had thick hair and pleasant facial features. In the myths, he repeatedly had an affair with earthly women, from which demigod children were born. Zeus also charmed many goddesses. Among them: Demeter, Europa, Eurynome. The wives of Zeus were Metida the goddess of wisdom, who was also his cousin, Themis the goddess of justice (the goddess of fixed order and divinity) and Hera the goddess of marriages.
Zeus was famous for his love affairs. He had many children, apart from those born to Hera. Zeus contributed a large number of divine and semi-divine descendants. Using the nymph Echo, Zeus tried to hide his love affairs from Hera.
From the bond between the titaness Leto and Zeus were born twins: Artemis and Apollo. Artemis is the goddess of the hunt and Apollo is the ideal of male beauty. Ares and Aphrodite are also considered children of Zeus.
Zeus frightened the earthlings with clouds and acted as the father of gods and men. He tried to make the world more harmonious and instilled shame and conscience in man. Zeus supervised order and protected the weak and the offended. He could not only punish the guilty with lightning, but also foretell the future. Zeus controlled people's destinies from Mount Olympus. This was also where the other gods lived. In the realm of Zeus, there was eternal summer. And on Earth, there were frequent thunderstorms and rain. People thought Zeus was angry at them for something, so he sent thunder and lightning. That is why they called him the Thunderer and the Thunderer.
The Greeks believed that social order was a direct credit to Zeus. He gave people law and power.
Zeus transformed the whole world. He gives birth to the gods who bring law and order to the world. The significance of Zeus plays a huge role. He is the patron saint of city life and acts as a protector of people.
The name "Zeus" comes from the Indo-European language. Zeus had many other names. He was called Xenios: lord of guests, Soter: saviour, Basileus: king and many other names.
The popularity of Zeus in the world
Zeus was worshipped in ancient Greece. Many shrines and sanctuaries were dedicated to him. The most famous and popular places where he is worshipped are
- Ideon on Mount Ida.
- Dodona.
- The Deltas are considered to be the centre of the world. A stone monument to the Delphic Omphales is erected here.
There was a cult of Zeus Lyckechos in Arcadia. It used to be the place where sacrifices were made.
Zeus is usually represented as an old man with a long beard. His main symbols are: bull, eagle, oak, lightning. He is usually depicted with a lightning bolt in his raised hand.
Zeus played a major role. He represented the religious interests of the Greeks and was the most important in the Greek Olympian pantheon. Zeus is the father of the most famous and great Greek heroes. His figure is found in many of the local cults of the Greeks. He is the lord of the clear sky, thunder, clouds and rain. Here he brought them, through his power, to earth.
Prometheus stole fire and gave it to men. Zeus punished him for this, he chained Prometheus to a rock. Every day an eagle flew to this rock and fought Prometheus' liver, which then grew back. Orpheus had to betray the secrets of the gods, for which Zeus struck him with a stroke of lightning, Zeus' main weapon.
Zeus was the guardian of the world. He acted as mediator between the gods. Zeus was the God of weather. He could shroud everything in black clouds and cause rains with storms that had the most dire consequences.
Zeus was also the lord of victories. He guarded cities and strangers. According to the laws of Zeus, they had to be welcomed as guests. According to mythological legend, there is a tomb of Zeus. It is listed in several places in Crete. In one of the Cretan caves Zeus must die and be reborn every year.
Where the name Zeus is used in contemporary culture
There are so many films made in the modern world about Zeus:
- "Jupiter by Jorden" by Axel Ringwall: the first film adaptation featuring Zeus.
- "Jason and the Argonauts by Niall McGinnis.
- "Battle of the Titans" by Laurence Olivier and the sequel "Wrath of the Titans".
- Disney's animated film Hercules.
- "Thor: Love and Thunder" by Russell Crowe.
Famous series about Zeus:
- "Hercules": the 1990 TV series. The role of Zeus was played by Corey Burton.
- Netflix animated series "The Blood of Zeus".
- The series Three: The Fall of the City.
There are also various video games that feature the character of Zeus:
- God of War II, God of War III, God of War: Ascension.
- Dota 2.
- Ensemble Studios Age of Mythology