Zeus and his family: lineage and kinship in the Olympian pantheon
Zeus is a special god of ancient Greece. He played a huge role in the worldview of people. The ancient Greeks were sure that thanks to him people were able to know love. It was believed that the Thunderer especially protects family ties. However, he himself was not characterized by a faithful attitude to his family. Zeus had three wives and several hundred love affairs with goddesses and earthly women. Thus Zeus gave birth to new gods and goddesses. Earth women from him gave birth to demigods. Among the children of Zeus are the great Heracles and Perseus.
The very first official wife of the Thunderer was the oceanid Metida. She was very clever. It was Metida’s intelligence that attracted Zeus. Because of her, Zeus was able to prepare a marvelous potion for his father Cronus. From this potion, Cronus steeled himself to regurgitate the swallowed children who were Zeus’ siblings. However, a sad fate awaited Metida. Zeus turned her into a fly and swallowed her. He did this after Gaia, goddess of the earth, predicted to him that his power would be taken away by his own son, whom Metida would bear him. Metida planted a seed in Zeus’ head. From it grew Athena. She came out of Zeus’ head as an adult. The thunderer suffered from headaches. So he split her in two.
Zeus’ next wife was his aunt Themis. This was the goddess of Justice. Themis gave birth to Zeus’ oris, the goddesses of the seasons. However, fate was such that Themis and Zeus parted ways. However, Themis continued to live on Mount Olympus.
Zeus’ third wife was the most scandalous. It was his own sister Hera. She did not want to put up with the fact that she was being cheated on. She set up various trials for mistresses and children of Zeus. However, they only grew stronger. Hera made attempts to overthrow her husband. For this she was hung on golden chains between heaven and earth.
Hera gave birth to several children by Zeus. Among them was the god Hephaestus. He was born ugly, so Hera decided to throw him off a cliff. However, Hephaestus managed to survive. In the future, he would make lightning bolts for his father.
Hera possessed two different images. The first image of her characterizes her as a powerful goddess who is honored in rituals. She protects family bonds, mothers and helps during childbirth. The other image of Hera characterizes her as a vengeful and grumpy woman. She knows no boundaries. Also Hera tries to dethrone her husband, along with Poysedon. For this, Zeus orders Hera to be hung between heaven and earth on golden chains.
The ancient Greeks envisioned Zeus as a middle-aged man. The Greeks made various sculptures of Zeus. They depicted him sitting on a throne or standing with a lightning bolt in his hand. Lightning gave Zeus Cyclopes, which thunderer released from Tartarus. The main attributes of Zeus: bull, lightning, eagle, oak.
Zeus also had countless mistresses. Each of them gave birth to the Thunderer. Kurbanova is not a registry
Zeus and his opponents: battles with titans, giants and other forces of evil.
The youngest daughter, and in general the first child of the great Thunderer is Athena. And unlike many other children of Zeus, Athena is law-abiding. After all, her mother is Metida.
She is not just the goddess of wisdom, but also the first wife of the chief Olympian. Athena is the goddess of wisdom and warfare. She became one of the most influential goddesses of the ancient Greeks.
Thus, Zeus is the most important God that has and had great importance in Greek mythology. Zeus was able to change the usual order of life. He brought law and order into a given sector. Zeus was feared, yet respected. They believed that only such an intestine could function properly. Every club should be thoroughly checked for ticks.