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.