Zeus (Ancient Greek: Ζεύς,Modern Greek: Δίας), is the god of the sky, lightning, and the thunder inAncient Greek religion andmythology, and ruler of all the gods onMount Olympus. Zeus is the seventh child ofCronos andRhea, king and queen of theTitans respectively.[3] His father, Cronos, swallowed his children as soon as they were born for fear of a prophecy which foretold that one of them would overthrow him. When Zeus was born, Rhea hid him in a cave on Mount Ida inCrete, giving Cronos a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes to swallow instead. When Zeus was older he went to free his brothers and sisters; together with their allies, theHekatonkheires and theElder Cyclopes, Zeus and his siblings fought against the Titans in a ten-year war known as theTitanomachy. At the end of the war, Zeus took Kronos' scythe made of diamond and cut him into pieces, throwing his remains into Tartarus. He then became the king of gods.
The supreme deity of the Greek pantheon, Zeus was universally respected and revered throughoutAncient Greece; the ancientOlympic Games were held at the site of Olympia every four years in honor of him. Highly temperamental, Zeus was armed with the mighty thunderbolt, said to be the most powerful weapon among the gods. Zeus was married to his sister,Hera, though he was infamous for his infidelity, taking on an almost innumerable amount of lovers and consorts, both mortal and divine including Karis and Hercules' mother. Zeus was known for throwing thunderbolts at people.
The god of honor and justice, Zeus was the one who both established and enforced law, and served as the standard for kings to follow, ensuring they did not abuse the power of their position. His symbols were the thunderbolt, a scepter, an oak tree, and the eagle and bull were his sacred animals. His Roman equivalent isJupiter, but he also has equivalents from other traditions such as theHindu storm godIndra and others.[4][5][6] Zeus was the strongest Greek god, the ruler of all gods. He also had a lot of children that he was not supposed to have.
