The stories of Greek mythology are entirely fascinating and thought provoking. Nevertheless, these myths have become so popularized because of the teachings found within the strengths and battles of each Greek figure. The chronicled lives of Greek gods and goddesses is a compilation of oral stories that have been passed from generation to generation.1 Although these didactic stories are all intriguing, one compelling one is the upbringing of Zeus, God of the Sky and the King of the Gods. Zeus’s admiration and notorious reputation in Olympus was not an easily achieved title. He endured various struggles throughout young adulthood within himself, his family, and those who sought for control.2 Despite great obstacles, Zeus fulfilled a destiny that would lead him to reign over Olympus.
Son of Cronus and Rhea, Zeus was the last-born child of six siblings. His father, Cronus, managed to seize domination of the skies from his own father, Ouranos, and was cautious that his actions would repeat itself with his own children. To prevent a detestable takeover before his death, Cronus consumed his children Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon. Luckily, Rhea, Cronus’s wife, spared Zeus by giving her partner a stone wrapped in a blanket.3 Assisted by Titans, Uranus and Gaea, Rhea managed to send her son to Mount Dikte, on a Greek island in Crete, so that he would be far away from his father’s tyrannical greed. Zeus was nurtured by Nymphs, or divine spirits, and was fed by Amaltheia, a goat nurse, that acquired milk for him through one of her cracked horns.4 His unknowing escape resulted in Zeus’s ignorance regarding his powers and potential ability to be the God of all Gods.
As his coming of age grew closer, Zeus’s powers became increasingly dominant, and could not go unnoticed. Since Zeus was unaware of his true beginnings, and was raised by Amaltheia, he held great adoration toward her. On one occasion, Amaltheia got trapped on a tree branch, and in her attempt to become untangled, her horn broke off. She proceeded to fill the horn with fruits and handed it over to Zeus as a keepsake of protection. To show her his appreciation, he transformed Amaltheia’s horn into a cornucopia. Symbolically, this is the “horn of plenty,” and has all the food and drink that the owner desires.5 Having the cornucopia in his possession, Zeus’s powers increased, and fruits were never scarce, becoming richer than they were before. Gaea noticed Zeus’s extraordinary powers, and she entrusted to him his fate to overthrow his father for his total rule.
Upon learning of his origins, Zeus returned to gain control of Olympus from Cronus. Initially, Zeus got his father to eat a special herb, which caused him to eject Zeus’s siblings from his stomach.6 Ungovernable Titans wanted to battle for jurisdiction over all Olympian gods, and a decade-long battle emerged, which came to be known as Titanomachy. The Titans were siblings of Cronus, and Zeus gained assistance from a cyclops. The cyclops provided Zeus with his signature lightning bolt, and Zeus’s brothers, Poseidon and Hades, managed to take supreme authority from Cronus.7 Much of Zeus’s struggles came to him when he realized that he possessed his supernatural powers. Fortunately, he instinctively chose to do what was morally right, while being able to implement his powers on others.
Ultimately, Zeus and his brothers chose to rule over distinct parts of the cosmos. Zeus secured the heavens, Poseidon ruled the seas, and Hades became lord of the underworld.8 The limitations that Cronus once wished to deprive Zeus of were no longer an obstacle. According to Homer, Zeus reigned at the top of Mount Olympus, where he observed the affairs of men.9 Zeus also married his sister, Hera, and embodied the divine dimension of the code of ethics that ancient Greeks aspired to live by. Artistically, Zeus is characterized as a bearded and honorable man. When the topic of Greek gods and mythology arises, it is typical for one to envision Zeus and his lightning bolt.
- Salem Press Encyclopedia, 2017, s.v. “Zeus(Deity),” by Trudy Mercadal. ↵
- Elaine Margery, Greek Mythology: Ancient Myths of the Gods, Goddesses, and Heroes-Zeus, Hercules and the Olympians (n.p., 2016), 30. ↵
- Russel Robert, Zeus (Hockessin, DE: Mitchell Lane Publishers, Inc., 2008), 10. ↵
- Robin Waterfield, The Greek Myths (London: Quercus, 2013), 6. ↵
- Karoly Kerenyi, The God’s of the Greeks (London: Thames and Hudson, 2006), 3. ↵
- Elaine Margery, Greek Mythology: Ancient Myths of the Gods, Goddesses, and Heroes-Zeus, Hercules and the Olympians (n.p., 2016), 23. ↵
- Russel Robert, Zeus (Hockessin, DE: Mitchell Lane Publishers, Inc., 2008), 33. ↵
- Salem Press Encyclopedia, 2017, s.v. “Zeus(Deity),” by Trudy Mercadal. ↵
- Russel Robert, Zeus (Hockessin, DE: Mitchell Lane Publishers, Inc., 2008), 15. ↵
85 comments
Antoinette Johnson
Zeus has always been a key figure in Greek mythology. I have known Zeus through numerous made about him and the stories about him having children with human, nymphs, and other creatures. I did not know the real origin of Zeus. Zeus did go through hardships having to be abandoned so that his father would not consume him with the rest of his siblings. After Zeus came of age and he saved his siblings and took over Olympus. He did the right thing, a lot of people who noticed that they had great power like Zeus would have forsaken their siblings and taken over the whole Cosmos for themselves. This article slightly changes my opinion of Zeus to a more positive opinion.
Michael Hinojosa
It was quite the exciting time reading about the origins of the strongest god in the greek pantheon! Asides a few Percy Jackson Books, the Disney movie, and a few other social media interpretations of Zeus I honestly didn’t really know a lot about him up until now so it was enjoyable to read about the greek mythology and learn about the head honcho of the greek gods!
Caden Floyd
I’ve never been super interested in Greek mythology, but this article is very fascinating and I love the story it tells. Movies like “Clash of the Titans” and the Percy Jackson films gave me a little bit of an insight on the subject, but that was the extent of my knowledge until know. Everyone knows who Zeus is and now I feel like I can go and talk to anyone about him with confidence. The horn of Plenty was really cool due to the fact that it would always have food for whoever needed it. One thing I found a little disturbing was how Zeus ended up marrying his sister. This article was very well written and immediately captured my attention from the beginning.
Diego Aguilera
Mythology is a awesome thing to do research about as it is so interesting and so much to learn. I feel that Zeus is so powerful and its crazy when the article said ” his powers were so dominant and he went unnoticed”, to read that and put it in perspective is crazy! I really enjoyed this article and how it told me about the origin of one of the most powerful mythology Gods of all time. Next I wanna read the article about Hades which is a son of Zeus. Im super interested in mythology and in fact will do more research on it to learn more and maybe use it for a article in the future.
Luis Magana
Greek mythology has always grabbed my attention immensely especially the Greek God, Zeus. Their lifestyle is so interesting and the decade long battle to gain control of Olympus. This article is extremely well written and I have never done deep research into Greek mythology so this article helped inform me a little more. As a child I always looked up at Zeus and believed that Hades was evil. Since I read this article it has helped me understand the story of the Greek Gods a little more.
Alyssa Garza
I have always like the Greek mythology because every god and goddess are just unique in their own way and they all have a different story to tell. I knew that Zeus had made his father Cronus eject his siblings, but I never knew it was because of a special herb. This article is very well written, and it had me hooked and wanting to read more about Zeus.
Raymond Munoz
I was first intrigued with Greek mythology in elementary school after I had read “The Lightning Thief”. I know that the fictional kids book isn’t the strongest reference for Greek mythology but the series as a whole gave me a basic understanding and interest of the Greeks gods. From there I would go on to read informative books and articles, such as this one, to just expand my knowledge of the myths. This article does a good job of introducing the characters of the myths, but I feel that it puts too much emphasis on Zeus being the protagonist. In this particular part of the myths Zeus is on the “good side” but it should always be remembered that everyone has a dark side and it shouldn’t be overlooked.
John Berka
I knew quite a decent amount of greek myths, and I knew the story of the origins of Zeus already but I always enjoy reading these stories again and again. Also it blows me away how the Greeks always used stories about the Gods to explain how different things came to be, such as the cornucopia was explained in this article. Nowadays we just see a cornucopia, usually around thanksgiving, and we don’t give it a second thought about where it came from, but the Greeks had an answer and explanation for everything and it all revolved around the gods being so involved in the affairs of men.
Montserrat Moreno Ramirez
Greek mythology has always been interesting to me and this article helped me clarify some aspects of Zeus life from where he came from, who raised him, how he saved his brothers and finally how he came to reign the great Olympus. Such an interesting history and many interesting details. Also as it says all these myths have been popularized form mouth to mouth but the main essence remains and it’s great that people are still into this kind of reading and like to share their thought on the topic.
Stephanie Silvola
I love that the article was able to shed light on Zeus’s upbringing and his rule on Mt. Olympus. Zeus is one of the most interesting character that I like to read about a lot along with the other rulers, Poseidon and Hades. The Zeus that is usually depicted in Greek mythology stories is that he is arguably the most problematic and stubborn of all the gods and goddesses. It is refreshing to see that this article talks about his backstory and illustrates that he has morals.