Greek Myth ~ Zeus (Part 1)

As I am working on the Olympian's right now I've decided to share some of my findings on Zeus, the God of Mortals and Weather, Father of the Gods.

Zeus

Father of Gods & Mortals

Associations

Pantheon: Olympian

Element: Air

Sphere of Influence: Weather & Fate

Colours: Yellow, Green, Blue

Associated Symbol: Aegis, Fist of Lightning Bolts

Animals: Eagle

Day: Thursday

Offerings: Flame (Candle, Fire), Sage, Violets, Peppermint

Planet: Jupiter

Overview

Zeus was the king of the Olympian Gods & Goddesses and God of men, named so by Hesiod and Homer to show that he was the ruler of the Gods and the creator of mankind.  Zeus could strike the Earth with thunderbolts from Heaven, given that he was also the God of weather; he also controlled the fertility of Earths soil and good weather was essential to the Greeks as Greece was a nation of farmers.  This explains why Zeus was such an important God to them.  Hesiod called Zeus the “Cloud Gatherer”, “Earth-Shaker” and the “Thunderer”. 

Cronos & Rhea

Cronos and Rhea - both Titans - had many children, but Cronos was afraid of them all and refused to allow them to live.  On the birth of each child he would swallow them whole, but he allowed the last born to live – a boy, called Zeus.  Rhea had given birth to Zeus in secret.  She had entrusted Mother Earth to keep Zeus safe, she took him to the island of Crete.

Mother Earth had previous warned Cronos that one of his children was to become the most important deity of all, the God of Gods, greater than Cronos himself.  Cronos believed that if he killed all of his children then he would have nothing to worry about.  Mother Earth failed to mention the baby Rhea had in secret.  Rhea had given Cronos a rock wrapped in clothes and told him that it was baby Zeus.  Cronos swallowed the rock and believed that it was the baby.

Zeus was cared for by nymphs on the island of Crete, they fed him milk and honey, and he grew strong.

Metis & Athena

Zeus’s first wife was Metis (meaning wisdom), he was told that their first child would be a girl but he was worried that the arrival of a son could overthrow him.  So, following in the steps of Cronos, he swallowed Metis, along with his unborn daughter, so ensure that this would never happen.  Some time later Zeus had a terrible headache, to which Hephaestus opened his skull with his axe, and out popped Athena (Goddess of war) who became Zeus’s number one child. 

Pandora’s Box, Hera & Io

Jealousy escaped Pandora’s Box to Mount Olympus and made everyone so suspicious that they forgot all the good in their lives.  Hera (Queen of Gods), wife of Zeus, was affected by the jealousy, even more so when Zeus spent time away due to the fact that he had numerous wives and even more children.  

After Zeus visited Earth, he fell in love with Io and in a rage Hera rushed to him.  Zeus noticed Hera’s arrival and swiftly changed Io into a white cow to keep her hidden from Hera, this plan backfired as Hera admired the cow so much that Zeus gifted the cow to her.  Io return to Mount Olympus with them, in form of a cow, to live amongst the other cattle.  After a while Hera realised there was something strange about this cow so sent her servant, Argus (monster with 100 eyes), to guard it. 

Zeus wanted to change Io back to a woman, but he knew that he would not get passed Argus, so he sent his messenger, Hermes, who played a tune on his pipes that soon made Argus close all 100 of his eyes.  Once Argus had fallen asleep, Hermes removed his head and led the cow back to Earth.  Hera saw everything and travelled by her chariot, drawn by peacocks, to Argus’s head.  She rested beside the head and those 100 eyes became the eyes on the feathers of her peacocks.

Io (still a cow) was stung by a fly, sent by Hera, which caused her to break free from Hermes.  The cow fled until she arrived at sea, she then swam across the Bosphorus waters (meaning cow’s crossing) which divides Europe from Asia.  Io fled into Egypt where she then changed back into a woman, although cow horn’s grew from her head to remind her of what she had been. Io was worshipped in Egypt, as a Goddess, she gave birth to their first Pharaoh, Zeus’s son. 

Reference:  Pagan News

John Malam

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