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William Shakespeare
Mr. Stowers
English 108/1st
20 April 2017
The All-Powerful God of Lightning
Above all other Greek gods and goddesses, Zeus reigns supreme as the king of all. In his
article, Ron Leadbetter explains how “he upheld law, justice and morals, and this made him the
spiritual leader of both gods and men.” Even though his name is famous in Greek mythology, he
is also known by his Roman name Jupiter or Jove (Hamilton 25). As the ruler of all the gods,
Zeus is associated with many symbols of power. “His breastplate was the aegis, awful to behold;
his bird was the eagle, his tree the oak” (Hamilton 27). As the god of lightning and thunder, he is
also known for the symbol of the lightning bolt when it was given to him as a gift from the
Cyclopes. “To Zeus they gave the thunderbolt and lightning…invincible weapons, they would
enable Zeus to rule immortals and mortals with absolute authority” (Rosenberg and Baker 26).
Zeus was the sixth child born from his parents, the titans Cronus and Rhea. As the titan
Cronus overthrew his father Uranus, he heard the prophecy “that one day he, too, would be
overthrown by his son” (Rosenberg and Baker 22). In order to prevent this, Cronus would
swallow each of his children whole to stop them from growing up and taking over the power.
“While Cronus appeared calm and loving as he reached out for his child, as soon as he held her,
his eyes gleamed with a wild fire…He quickly opened his gigantic mouth and swallowed his
infant daughter whole; head, arms, legs, and all” (Rosenberg and Baker 22). Cronus continued to
do this with all of his brothers and sisters until Rhea finally tricked her husband. “When Rhea’s
sixth and last child was born, and awesome radiance emanated from the powerful infant’s body.
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Rhea named the newborn child Zeus (the shining one)” (Rosenberg and Baker 23). To prevent
Cronus from swallowing their last child, Rhea “wrapped a stone in swaddling clothes in place of
infant Zeus. Cronus thinking it was the newborn baby swallowed the stone” (Leadbetter). This
tricked Cronus for a while, “but the prophecy made Cronus wonder whether his wife had
deceived him” (Rosenberg and Baker 23). “Rhea had her baby taken to Crete, and there, in a
cave on Mount Dicte, the divine goat Amaltheia suckled and raised the infant Zeus”
(Leadbetter). Zeus was raised there away from his cruel father until he grew up and challenged
Cronus for supreme power.
As king of the gods, he is the child of divine titan parents. Cronus is his father, and
Cronus’s sister Rhea is his mother. “Among mortal men, it was inevitable that each generation
would be replaced by the succeeding one…Thus the rule of Cronus repeated the general pattern
of the rule of Uranus. Rhea, the Mother Goddess, bore Cronus six children, and Cronus ruled the
universe by force” (Rosenberg and Baker 21). Cronus “married his fair-haired sister, Rhea,
whom he loved. Unfortunately, in the course of time, she bore him the children he feared”
(Rosenberg and Baker 22). Zeus has five older siblings, who became many of the major gods and
goddesses of Mount Olympus. His oldest sister is Hestia. Cronus and Rhea’s “first child was a
lovely daughter, Hestia” (Rosenberg and Baker 22). This was the first child swallowed whole by
her father Cronus. Zeus’ next sisters are Demeter and Hera and brothers named Hades and
Poseidon. “Each time Rhea presented her husband with his newborn child, she hoped that he
would share her joy. However, each time he beheld one of his children, the fearful prophecy
roared through his mind” (Rosenberg and Baker 22). Eventually, Zeus grew up and helped free
his brothers and sisters, who challenged their father for control in an epic war between the titans
and the gods. “When Zeus had grown into a young man he returned to his father’s domain, and
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with the help of Gaia, compelled Cronus to regurgitate the five children he had previously
swallowed” (Leadbetter). Zeus had many loves, both immortal and human, and was known to
constantly be cheating on his wife Hera with these women through many disguises. Some of
these wives and lovers included Metis and Hera. “According to legend, Metis, the goddess of
prudence, was the first love of Zeus. At first she tried in vain to escape his advances, but in the
end succumbed to his endeavor, and from their union Athena was conceived” (Leadbetter).
Every king needs a queen, and “his sister, Hera, became the goddess of marriage and
childbirth and the queen of Mount Olympus, where most of the children of Cronus intended to
live” (Rosenberg and Baker 30). Zeus also seduced and/or married some other goddesses
including Themis, Mnemosyne, Eurynome, Dione, Leto, and Maia. With his constant lust for
women, Zeus pursued many mortal women as well. Some of these include the Spartan queen
Leda, the princess Danae, and the Phoenician princess Europa (Leadbetter). “The Lord of
Olympus wanted to father a mortal child who would become so strong and so intelligent that he
would be able to defend men and deathless gods against all their enemies…his eyes and heart
came to rest upon Alcmene, the granddaughter of the great hero, Perseus” (Rosenberg and Baker
214). This was how the hero Heracles/Hercules was born. With all of Zeus’s affairs, he always
produced a child with every woman he seduced. These include the immortals: Athena, Ares,
Hephaestus, Hebe, Eileithyia, the twins Apollo and Artemis, Hermes, and Dionysus (Leadbetter).
“Gaia warned Zeus that Metis [Zeus’ wife] would bear a daughter, whose son would overthrow
him. On hearing this Zeus swallowed Metis, the reason for this was to continue to carry the child
through to the birth himself…and it was Hephaestus who, when the time came, split open the
head of Zeus, from which Athena emerged fully armed” (Leadbetter). “Zeus had many offspring;
his wife Hera bore him Ares, Hephaestus, Hebe, and Eileithyia” (Leadbetter). “He is represented
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as falling in love with one woman after another and descending to all manner of tricks to hide his
infidelity from his wife” (Hamilton 26). With his many disguises, he seduced many mortal
women. To seduce the Spartan queen Leda, he became a beautiful swan and she gave birth to
two sets of twins from an egg: Castor and Polydeuces and Clytemnestra and Helen (Leadbetter).
“He visited princess Danae as a shower of gold, and from this union the hero Perseus was born.
He abducted the Phoenician princess Europa, disguised as a bull, then carried her on his back to
the island of Crete where she bore three sons: Minos, Rhadamanthys, and Sarpedon”
(Leadbetter). He is also known to be the father of the Muses and the Graces, deities who
represented the arts and intellectual pursuits, as well as the goddesses of the seasons and the
Fates (Leadbetter).
As king of the gods and with the lightning bolt as his main weapon, Zeus controls the
worlds of man and gods. He is the god of the sky, thunder, and lightning. “Zeus and his brothers
drew lots for their share of the universe. The sea fell to Poseidon, and the underworld to Hades.
Zeus became the supreme ruler. He was Lord of the Sky, the Rain-god and the Cloud-gatherer,
who wielded the awful thunderbolt” (Hamilton 25). “He was the supreme ruler of Mount
Olympus and of the Pantheon of gods who resided there” (Leadbetter). “He has always been
associated as being a weather god, as his main attribute is the thunderbolt, he controlled thunder,
lightning, and rain...He is also known to have caused thunderstorms…against his enemies”
(Leadbetter). Like the sky above that can be calm and peaceful as well as dark and thunderous,
his personality tends to change with the weather. As the supreme ruler who took over power
from his own tyrannical father Cronus, “his power was greater than that of all the other divinities
together. In the Iliad he tells his family, ‘I am mightiest of all. Make trial that you may know.
Fasten a rope of gold to heaven and lay hold, every god and goddess. You could not drag down
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Zeus, but if I wished to drag you down, then I would’ ” (Hamilton 25). According to this version,
he boasts of his amazing power over all beings on the earth and in the sky. In other myths, he is
known for his good humor and light-hearted nature, yet still imposing fairness and justice. “Still,
even in the earliest records Zeus has grandeur…He demanded, too, not only sacrifices from men,
but right action. The Greek army at Troy is told ‘Father Zeus never helps liars or those who
break their oaths’ ” (Hamilton 26). This seems ironic considering how he continuously broke his
marriage “oath” with his wife, Hera.
With Zeus’s many affairs and visits to the realm of the humans, he affected their lives in
both positive and negative ways. The humans feared his wrath from the thunder and lightning
that he controlled so they always tried to honor him. “Zeus had many temples and festivals in his
honor, the most famous of his sanctuaries being Olympia, the magnificent ‘Temple of Zeus,’
which held the gold and ivory statue of the enthroned Zeus…and hailed as one of the ‘Seven
Wonders of the Ancient World.’ Also, the Olympic Games were held in his honor” (Leadbetter).
As much as Zeus delighted in humans, he would not tolerate them dishonoring the gods’ wishes.
There is a story where Zeus disguised himself as a weary traveler and visited the home of
Lycaon in Arcadia. When Lycaon offers a sacrifice of a human boy who is killed, cooked, and
offered as a meal, Zeus becomes furious. Lycaon tried to run away and hide from Zeus, but he
was no match for the almighty god, who transformed Lycaon into a wolf (Rosenberg and Baker
118-120). Zeus is featured in many other myths and stories including the myths of Hercules,
Perseus, Prometheus, Pandora, Theseus, and the epic poems The Iliad and The Odyssey by
Homer.
Even though he was the youngest child of the titan king Cronus, Zeus was born to rule
over all from the day he was born. His divine family of brothers and sisters helped him take over
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power from the titans and that power continued to influence the world of humans and gods alike
as he constantly created more offspring. His powers of the weather and control of the sky make
the humans both respect and fear his judgment as he sits atop Mount Olympus. Even though this
ancient Greek deity was worshipped over thousands of years ago, his name is still synonymous
with power and glory. The largest planet in the solar system is named Jupiter after his Roman
name. The term “jovial” comes from his other name Jove and how he enjoys mingling and
socializing with all beings. Even the term “Olympian” suggests his place as ruler of Mount
Olympus and the amazing athletes who honor his strength as they compete in the Olympic games
that were originally held in his honor. He can be found in popular books such as the Percy
Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan as well as popular movies like Hercules and
Clash of the Titans. With all of his influence over myths, legends, vocabulary, science, and
popular culture, it is easy to see why Zeus was and continues to be king of the gods.
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Works Cited
Hamilton, Edith. “The Gods: The Titans and the Twelve Great Olympians.” Mythology, Penguin
Books, 1969, pp. 24-27.
Leadbetter, Ron. “Zeus.” Pantheon.org, Revision 5, Encyclopedia Mythica, 20 Jul. 2005.
Rosenberg, Donna, and Sorelle Baker. Mythology and You: Classical Mythology and Its
Relevance to Today’s World, National Textbook Company, 1992, pp. 21-32, 117-126,
213-237.