Zeus is the son of the Titans, Kronos (Cronos) and Rheia (Rhea). The Titans, not just Kronos and Rheia, were perhaps the most self indulgent of all the Immortals but their children tended to be more noble and therefore more benevolent towards each other as well as towards the mere mortals who populated the earth. The elevation of the children of the Titans to positions of power was not an easy transition ... Zeus, like his father before him, had to resort to violence in order to sit upon the Throne of Eternity.
Kronos’ father had become too overbearing and, at the wish of his mother Gaia (Earth), Kronos attacked his father and assumed his throne. As Kronos was about to attack his father, Ouranos (the Heavens), he was warned that his own son would someday depose him. When Rheia became pregnant, Kronos devised a plan whereby he could prevent any of his children from ever becoming a threat to his authority. With fear and greed in his heart, Kronos swallowed each of his children as they were born, but Rheia tricked Kronos ... when the sixth child, Zeus, was born, she substituted a stone for the infant and Kronos swallowed it down, not knowing that his doom was sealed.
After escaping the clutches of Kronos, Zeus was hidden and raised in a secret cave on the island of Crete and nurtured by the Kouretes (Curetes) of Mount Ida until he was old enough to fulfill his destiny. The Kouretes were semi-divine beings who would make a ruckus to drown out the cries of the infant Zeus and keep his existence a secret from Kronos and the other Titans. When Zeus reached maturity, he ambushed Kronos while the aged god was out hunting. Zeus kicked Kronos in the stomach so hard that he vomited up the stone and the five children he had swallowed. In this way Demeter, Hades, Histia (Hestia), Hera and Poseidon were born. Zeus took the stone that Kronos had vomited up and placed it at the foot of Mount Parnassos (Parnassus) near the city of Delphi and proclaimed that the stone would be a portent and marvel for the mortals of the earth for all time. The stone was called the Omphalos (which means Navel) and its location became known as the Navel of the Earth. Zeus’ son, Apollon, built his temple at Delphi and the will of Zeus was made known through the priestesses, known as Pythia, to all who humbly approached the shrine. (Theogony, lines 495-506) (Argonautika, book 2, line 1232)
The ancient Immortals, especially many of the Titans, were not pleased to see the power demonstrated by Zeus ... they were afraid that this new generation of gods and goddesses would deprive them of their dominions. Zeus called to all the Immortals and promised that any of the ancient Immortals who willingly stood beside him would retain their power and authority but any who stood against him would surely be cast into the Underworld with his devious father, Kronos. As a demonstration of his fairness, Zeus freed the three giants, Briareos, Kottos (Cottos) and Gyes, which his father had imprisoned under the earth. Styx and her children were the first of the ancient Immortals to declare obedience to Zeus and, for that reason, she has always been held in honor by Zeus and the other Olympians.
Zeus’ claim to ultimate authority was not settled with the defeat of Kronos ... a bitter war ensued ... commonly called the War of the Titans. The primitive mortals on the surface of the earth cowered in their caves when the unimaginable destructive powers of the Immortals were unleashed ... finally, after ten years of war, Zeus let loose all his fury and the earth and heavens trembled under his thunderbolts ... at that moment, Briareos, Kottos and Gyes bombarded the rebel Titans with three hundred boulders and buried them, thus ending the war.
In gratitude, and bowing to destiny, Zeus was unanimously declared leader of the Immortals. The whole of creation was divided between Zeus and his brothers, Poseidon and Hades, with minor dominions being allotted to the sisters, Histia, Demeter and Hera. Zeus made his domain the mountain tops and clouds; Hades became lord of the Underworld; Poseidon became lord of the Sea; Histia became goddess of the Hearth; Demeter became goddess of the Harvest and Hera became queen of the Immortals.
Zeus had a series of wives ... the first being Metis and the last being Hera. The following is a list of Zeus’ wives, lovers and children:
Metis ... Zeus took the goddess Metis as his first wife and she soon became pregnant ... Gaia (Earth) and Ouranos (Heavens) warned Zeus that Metis’ children would have the power to depose him. Being fearful and prudent, Zeus swallowed Metis and, in the vastness of his being, the goddess Athene (Athena) was born. Metis gave her daughter weapons and clothed her in armor ... Athene then burst from Zeus’ head, fully armed and armored to become the goddess of wisdom and craft. Hera, not yet Zeus’ wife, became annoyed at the beauty and perfection of Athene ... she (Hera) had given birth to a lame son, Hephaistos (Hephaestus), and his inferior appearance, compared to that of Athene, compelled her to create the monster Typhoeus to spite Zeus.
Themis ... Zeus took Themis as his second wife and fathered the Horae (Hours): Eunomia, Dike and Eirene; and the Moirai (Fates): Klotho (Clotho), Lachesis and Atropos.
Hera ... As the last wife of Zeus, Hera is mother to Hebe (Youth), Ares (War) and Eileithyia (Childbirth).
In The Iliad, Zeus is mentioned on almost every page. He is referred to in many ways and by numerous names:
Regardless of what started the Trojan War, Zeus had several goals to accomplish before the war could end. With Hera, Athene, Poseidon on the side of the Achaeans (Achaians), i.e. the Greeks, there was never any doubt that Troy would fall and the Trojans would be murdered or enslaved. Otherwise, Zeus would face a rebellion on Mount Olympos (Olympus).
After Aphrodite and Ares were wounded fighting for the Trojans, Zeus ordered all Immortals to stay out of the fighting. Zeus went to Mount Ida and directed the combat so as to give glory to the beloved Trojan commander, Hector. There were many sons of the Immortals in the battle for Troy. Zeus let his son Sarpedon die on the battlefield at the hands of another of his sons, Aias (Ajax). Aphrodite was wounded protecting her son Aineias. Ares’ son, Askalaphos, was killed, and, of course, Achilles, son of the goddess Thetis, was to be the grand sacrifice.
At one point, the war was going so badly for the Achaeans that Hera could not contain her eagerness to help. Under false pretenses, she received glamour and love charms from Aphrodite and, with the help of Hypnos (Sleep), seduced Zeus on the peaks on Mount Ida. When Zeus saw her coming to the mountaintop, he was so overwhelmed with desire that he praised her beauty and then went on to tell her that she was more beautiful than the wife of Ixion, who bore him Peirithoos; and sweet Danae who bore him Perseus; and Europa who bore him Minos and Rhadamanthys; or Semele who bore him Dionysos; or Alkmene (Alcmene) who bore him Herakles (Heracles); or Demeter, who bore him Persephone; or glorious Leto, mother of Apollon and Artemis ... according to Zeus, Hera’s beauty surpassed them all. (Iliad, book 14, line 315)
While Zeus slept after the love making, Poseidon had secretly entered the battle on the side of the Achaeans. Poseidon was bellowing and shrieking from the battlefield and the mighty sound awakened Zeus from his slumber. Zeus, realizing the deception of Hera and the boldness of Poseidon, sent Hera to Mount Olympos to fetch Iris and Apollon. Wind footed Iris was sent to warn Poseidon of his folly and commanded him to withdraw. Zeus sent Apollon to revive the wounded Trojan commander, Hector. Zeus then ordered Apollon to charge against the Achaean defenses and push them back to their beached ships ... wielding the aegis of Zeus, Apollon drove the Achaeans back in terror.
After Zeus was satisfied with giving his glory and punishment, he ordered all the Immortals to assemble on Mount Olympos. He told them to choose sides and enter the battle as they saw fit. The war was almost at an end, but The Odyssey was just beginning.
The poet, Hesiod, in the poems Works and Days (line 50) and Theogony (lines 561+), tells the story of the creation of women by Zeus. Prometheus, the son of the Titans, Iapetos and Klymene (Clymene), had stolen fire from Zeus and given it to the shivering mortals on the earth. In his anger, Zeus had Prometheus bound to a rock and tortured by an eagle eating at his imperishable liver, until Herakles, also doing the will of Zeus, killed the eagle and set Prometheus free. As an additional punishment for the effrontery of Prometheus, Zeus, with the help of other gods, created an evil thing in the form of a young woman, and thus called her Pandora, ‘Giver of All’ or ‘All-endowed.’ Hephaistos designed her body from the earth and waters and gave her a voice; Athene gave her dexterity and skill; Aphrodite put a veil of enchantment around her head; Hermes put treachery in her petty mind. All this was done exactly as Zeus had instructed. When she was complete, Zeus unleashed Pandora on, what Hesiod called, ‘the fourth generation of mortal men.’ She was given as a gift to Prometheus’ brother, Epimetheus. Prometheus had warned Epimetheus not to accept gifts from Zeus but Pandora was so beautiful and literally irresistible that Epimetheus could not refuse. When the gift was ‘opened’ all the woes and sorrow therein escaped into the wide world, only Hope remained inside. (Theogony, line 522) (Works and Days, line 96)
The creation of men had five transformations. In Works and Days, Hesiod recounts the ages of men: the Golden Age, the Silver Age, the Age of Bronze, the Age of Heroes and finally, the time of Hesiod, the Age of Iron. (Works and Days, line 106)
The Golden Age of mortal men was, as you might expect, wonderful. They extended friendship to all mortals and respect to all Immortals. They lived without disease or hardship. When it came time for them to die, they laid down to sleep and awoke as a blessed spirit, roaming the earth and doing good deeds for all the righteous souls they met.
The Silver Age was not as good as it may sound, in fact, it was quite inferior to the previous golden generation. This generation of mortals stayed as children for one hundred years and then, reaching their adulthood, were disdainful of their creator, Kronos, and incurred his wrath and were destroyed. After death, they were transformed into blessed spirits. They are secondary and underground but still deserving of worship.
The Bronze Age mortals were made from the ash spear. They were men of war-craft and violence. They finally extinguished themselves and Hesiod does not say if they were turned into spirits.
The Age of Heroes, the fourth age, was the period prior to, and including, the Trojan War. It was the Age of Blood and Glory. It was an age where the sons and daughters of the Immortals populated the earth alongside the mere mortals. The lesser creations of Zeus, mortal men, were the pawns of the Heroes and the toys of the Immortals. Zeus established a godly domain for the spirits for the deceased heroes at the end of the world. Zeus also released his father, Kronos, from Tartaros (Tartarus) to join the heroes in their paradise.
The Age of Iron was the age of Hesiod (800 BCE) and, I assume it’s also the age we live in now. If that is true, by the will of Zeus, we are doomed to hardship and, finally, pitiless destruction. There’s absolutely nothing we can do about it ... resistance to the will of Zeus is futile.
