Zeus was the mighty ruler of the gods, yet he achieved his power through violence and deceit. He divided up the world into three, with himself ruling the sky. He gave his brothers rule of the ocean (Poseidon) and the underworld (Hades).
Zeus was a womanizer. He was married three times. The first was to Metis who helped him to power. He swallowed her so that he could not be defeated the way his father was. Next he married Themis. With Themis he had the Fates, the seasons, justice, peace, and good order. I have no idea what happened to her, for she was not his last wife. He finally “settled down” with Hera, his sister. Their children were Ares, god of war, Hebe, goddess of youth, Eileithyia, goddess of childbirth, and Hephaistos, the craftsman god.
Even though Zeus was married, he was constantly having affairs. Read about each of his affairs here
He had many children with these women. His affairs caused Hera to have bouts of jealousy, and she did many cruel things to those women. In order to sneak around Hera, Zeus used his imagination, and chose to change his, or the woman's, form. Surprisingly, their marriage represented the importance of wedlock to the Greek culture.
He was the king of kings, and represented the power of kings and law. His symbols were the thunderbolt, and the eagle. He was also the protector of oaths and social order. He was the guardian of hospitality, and the upholder of “guest friendship”.
He was a powerful god, yet the Greeks gave him many undesirable characteristics. For all his faults, he was considered the greatest of the gods, and his power was unquestioned. When he is mentioned in later articles, I will come back and provide links here.
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