Zeus

Zeus he was an important god of the religiosity of the Greeks, considered the commander of the Universe and the one who ruled and supervised human beings and the gods. He was the son of the titan Kronos and became commander of the Universe after freeing his brothers from their father's stomach and defeating him in battle. He was known as the god of the sky, lightning and thunder. The Olympics were a way of worshiping him.

Login also :Cretans and Mycenaeans — the peoples of civilizations that preceded the Greek city-states

Summary on Zeus

• Zeus was known as the god of the sky, lightning and thunder.

• he could control the weather and use it to help or harm humans.

• he was the son of Kronos and Rhea.

• he rescued his brothers, devoured by their father, Kronos, and fought against the titans.

• He was married to Hera, but had several extramarital affairs.

• The Greeks worshiped him, including the Olympic Games.

Zeus, the supreme god of the Greeks

Zeus was one of the deities that were part of the religiosity of the ancient Greeks, being considered the most powerful god of all. He resided on Mount Olympus, ruling the Universe and controlling the heavens. He ruled over humans and the other gods and was considered by the Greeks to be the God of Thunder , dos heavens and the radius . The Romans knew Zeus as Jupiter.

As he was the god of the skies, Zeus had the power to control the weather , being able to use it for the benefit or harm of human beings. In addition to these attributes and powers, Zeus was seen by Hesiod, a poet who narrated the origin of the Greek deities, as the god responsible for maintaining justice . Contemporary historians, however, claim that Zeus' concept of justice was influenced by his own will.

Zeus, like many other Greek gods, could be given epithets that highlighted specific qualities. These nicknames were adopted in certain places, such as religious temples. Among its various epithets, we can highlight:

• Zeus Agoreu :evidenced it as good for business and responsible for punishing dishonest traders.

• Zeus Orchid :distinguished him as a deity who protected oaths and punished those who did not fulfill them.

Zeus was known to severely punish people who crossed his path and who committed actions he considered wrong. An example of this is the punishment he decreed on the titans who fought him in the Titanomachy. The titans were imprisoned for eternity in Tartarus, one of the underworld realms. Greek mythology is replete with examples of these punishments.

He could be the cause of conflict between the gods and between humans, but he was also known as a deity who could intervene and resolve disagreements . One of the most famous myths narrates the action of Zeus to broker a deal between Hades and Demeter on behalf of Persephone.

Greek myths also narrate that Zeus was married twice, with his two wives being Metis and Hera . Mythology narrates that Hera, goddess of marriage and protector of women and childbirth, was extremely jealous and punished anyone who got involved with her husband. Hera's jealousy was due to the fact that Zeus was extremely unfaithful.

Zeus' extramarital affairs were numerous and gave him dozens of children , among which stand out Persephone, Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, Aleteia, Dionysus, Perseus, Heracles, etc. From Zeus' relationship with Metis, Athena was born. With Hera, Zeus had Ares, Illythia, Eris, Hebe, Hephaestus and Angelos.

Read also :Athenian ostracism — banishment or exile of a member of society

Origin of Zeus

Zeus was son of Kronos , a titan that ruled the Universe. Cronos was the son of Gaia, personification of Earth in Greek mythology. Kronos' history had been marked by his fight against his own father, Uranus. After defeating his father, Kronos received a prophecy that one of his sons would dethrone him, just as he had done with his sire.

After that, he decided to devour all the children he had with his wife, the Titaness Rhea. So he did, but when Zeus was born, his mother Rhea tricked Kronos by giving him a stone with baby clothes for him to eat. Kronos ate the stone, and Zeus was sent to Crete not to be killed by your father . There, he was taken care of by Gaia or by nymphs who inhabited the island — there is this variation among the myths.

So Zeus grew up far from Kronos, and when he became an adult, came back to rescue his brothers that were swallowed . Zeus poisoned his father so that he would vomit and thus free all those he had devoured. This freed Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades and Poseidon. This rescue culminated in the event of two wars:

• Titanomachy: a war between the gods and the titans. As we have seen, the Titans were defeated and imprisoned by Zeus in Tartarus.

• Gigantomachy: a war between the gods and the giants, which was instigated by Gaia, dissatisfied with the defeat of the titans, who were her children. The gods have won again.

These victories, in addition to consolidating Zeus as the king of the gods , since he led the war against the titans and was responsible for freeing his brothers, they allowed:

• Zeus took heaven for himself;

• Poseidon take the waters;

• Hades ruled the underworld.

See also :What was education like in Greek civilization?

Did the Greeks worship Zeus?

Worshiping Zeus was one of the practices established in Greek religiosity , and for that, there were temples and statues built to him in different places in Ancient Greece. There were also oracles, that is, priests who worshiped Zeus and who presented themselves as people who could offer advice and visions about the future.

Also, the Greeks held festivals for Zeus. The best known of these were the Olympic Games, which took place in Olympia from 776 BC. Every four years, this city brought together men from all over Greece — women were not allowed — to practice different sports competitions.

The city of Olympia had, in addition, a giant statue of Zeus that was made of wood, ivory and gold, with a height of 12 meters. This statue was particularly known for being on the list of the seven wonders of the ancient world. In addition, Athens had a temple to Olympian Zeus and an altar to Zeus Agoreus.

• Video Lesson on Ancient Greek Religion

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