Zeus
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| He is known for his [[shapeshifting]] abilities, especially when he wanted to [[seduce]]. He transforms himself into a cloud (he hid himself in a cloud with [[Io]]), a golden shower with [[Danae]], a swan with [[Leda]], a bull with [[Europa]], depending on whether he needed to be charming and beautiful or powerful and frightening in his [[conquest]]. | He is known for his [[shapeshifting]] abilities, especially when he wanted to [[seduce]]. He transforms himself into a cloud (he hid himself in a cloud with [[Io]]), a golden shower with [[Danae]], a swan with [[Leda]], a bull with [[Europa]], depending on whether he needed to be charming and beautiful or powerful and frightening in his [[conquest]]. | ||
| - | ==Divine jealousy== | + | == See also == |
| - | ===Greek mythology=== | + | *[[Divine jealousy]] |
| - | The gods and goddesses of ancient [[Greek mythology]] were no strangers to romantic jealousy. No god or goddess illustrates this better than [[Hera]]. Hera was the wife of [[Zeus]]. Zeus, the leader of the gods on Mt. Olympus, frequently took lovers in addition to Hera. Hera in turn exacted jealous revenge against her romantic rivals: | + | *[[Jupiter]] |
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| - | <blockquote> | + | |
| - | * '''[[Leto]]''' - When Hera discovered that [[Leto]] was pregnant and that Hera's husband, Zeus, was the father, she banned Leto from giving birth on "terra-firma", or the mainland, or any island at sea. Alternatively, Hera kidnapped [[Ilithyia]], the goddess of childbirth, to prevent Leto from going into labor. The other gods forced Hera to let her go. | + | |
| - | </blockquote> | + | |
| - | <blockquote> | + | |
| - | * '''[[Callisto (mythology)|Callisto]]/[[Arcas]]''' - A follower of [[Artemis]], Callisto took a [[vow]] to remain a [[virgin]]. But [[Zeus]] fell in love with her and disguised himself as [[Apollo (god)|Apollo]] in order to lure her into his embrace. Hera then turned Callisto into a bear out of revenge. | + | |
| - | </blockquote> | + | |
| - | <blockquote> | + | |
| - | * '''[[Semele]]/[[Dionysus]]''' - In one of various birth myths of him, [[Dionysus]] was a son of Zeus by a mortal woman. A jealous Hera again attempted to kill the child, this time by sending Titans to rip Dionysus to pieces after luring the baby with toys. Though Zeus drove the Titans away with his thunderbolts but only after the Titans ate everything but the heart, which was saved, variously, by [[Athena]], [[Rhea (mythology)|Rhea]], or [[Demeter]]. | + | |
| - | </blockquote> | + | |
| - | <blockquote> | + | |
| - | * '''[[Io (mythology)|Io]]''' - Hera almost caught Zeus with a mistress named [[Io (mythology)|Io]], a fate avoided by Zeus turning Io into a beautiful white heifer. However, Hera was not completely fooled and demanded Zeus give her the heifer as a present. Once Io was given to Hera, she placed her in the charge of Argus to keep her separated from Zeus. | + | |
| - | </blockquote> | + | |
| - | <blockquote> | + | |
| - | *'''[[Lamia (mythology)|Lamia]]''' - [[Lamia (mythology)|Lamia]] was a queen of [[Libya]], whom Zeus loved. Hera turned her into a monster and murdered their children. Or, alternately, she killed Lamia's children and the grief turned her into a monster. Lamia was cursed with the inability to close her eyes so that she would always obsess over the image of her dead children. | + | |
| - | </blockquote> | + | |
| - | Zeus, or the other gods, would frequently intervene to undo some of the damage caused by Hera's vengeance. However, the message in these stories seems clear-- provoking divine jealousy can result in terrible suffering. | + | |
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Revision as of 10:00, 20 October 2007
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Zeus in Greek mythology is the king of the gods, the ruler of Mount Olympus, and god of the sky and thunder. His symbols are the thunderbolt, eagle, bull and the oak. In addition to his Indo-European inheritance, the classical Zeus also derives certain iconographic traits from the cultures of the ancient Near East, such as the scepter. Zeus is frequently envisaged by Greek artists in one of two poses: standing, striding forward, a thunderbolt leveled in his raised right hand, or seated in majesty.
The son of Cronus and Rhea, he was the youngest of his siblings. He was married to Hera in most traditions, although at the oracle of Dodona his consort was Dione: according to the Iliad, he is the father of Aphrodite by Dione. Accordingly, he is known for his erotic escapades, including one pederastic relationship with Ganymede. His trysts resulted in many famous offspring, including Athena, Apollo and Artemis, Hermes, Persephone (by Demeter), Dionysus, Perseus, Heracles, Helen, Minos, and the Muses (by Mnemosyne); by Hera he is usually said to have sired Ares, Hebe and Hephaestus.
His Roman counterpart was Jupiter, and his Etruscan counterpart was Tinia.
He is known for his shapeshifting abilities, especially when he wanted to seduce. He transforms himself into a cloud (he hid himself in a cloud with Io), a golden shower with Danae, a swan with Leda, a bull with Europa, depending on whether he needed to be charming and beautiful or powerful and frightening in his conquest.
See also
