Zeus Essay, Research Paper

Zeus was the son of Cronus and Rhea, an earlier race of

ruling gods called Titans. Cronus was king of all the Titans. Zeus

was the brother of Hades and Poseidon, Hades was the god of the

underworld and Poseidon was the god of the sea. Together they

overthrew their father and the rest of the Titans. All thanks was

due to Zeus for the dethrowning of Cronus. You see, before cronus

ever had children he heard a prophecy that one of his offsprings

would overthrow him, so whenever his wife would have a child he

would swallow it. Then, after he had swallowed many babies, she

gave birth to Zeus. She grew very fond of him, until Cronus called

her to give him the baby so he could swallow it. She hid Zeus in a

cave, and she gave Cronus a rock wrapped in cloth. he swallowed

it whole just like the other babies. Over the years Zeus grew

stronger and wiser. Then, when the time was right he confronted

his father and kicked him in the stomach. The shock from this

made Cronus vomit up the gods, which were all fully grown now.

Zeus and his fellow gods overthrew Cronus and the Titans. Zeus

and his brothers decided who would rule over what-

Zeus…god of the heavens

Poseidon…god of the sea

Hades…god of the underworld

All the gods shared the earth together.

In all of Zeus’s pictures he is depicted with a beard and

muscles. He’s also usually holding a lighting bolt. Zeus married

Hera, whom was also his sister. He disguised himself as a

wounded sparrow, and Hera took him in and tended to him. She

grew very fond of him, and one day she said to the sparrow, "I love

you." Then, Zeus turned into his true image exclaiming, "Now

you must marry me!" She didn’t want to marry him, but she felt

obligated to. She hated her brother for this.

Zeus, along with all the other gods, had symbols. His animal

symbol was the eagle. His earth symbol was the oak tree. Zeus

was known as the god of justice and mercy, the protector of the

weak, and the punisher of the wicked. He was father of gods and

men, protector of kings, supporter of law and order, and avenger

of broken oaths and other offenses. By one move of his hand he

could send a lighting storm to anywhere on the earth. He guided

stars and he gathered rain clouds. He ordained the changes of

the seasons and regulated the whole course of nature. Zeus, with

the other gods on Mt. Olympus, ruled over the affairs of mankind.

Zeus’s and Hera’s marriage was regarded as the divine

prototype of all earthly marriages, even though Zeus was not

always faithful to Hera. Some authorities explain his indiscretions

by saying that many adventures of the other gods were ascribed to

Zeus.

One of 7 wonders of the ancient world was said to be a statue

of Zeus by Phidias in the great temple of Zeus at Olympia. The

figure stood about 40 feet high, it was made of ivory and gold in

about 430 B.C. The design is known from its image stamped on

certain greek coins.

Zeus was by far the greatest, grandest, and fairest of all the

gods. Mortals feared him and gods laughed at his boastful and

egotistical behavior. He stands out among all the greek gods.