Zeus: birth and path to power, his wives and mistresses

Who is Zeus? Zeus is the most famous and greatest God in ancient Greece. There are many versions of how he came into the world and how he came to power. The main version is the one according to which Zeus, was the son of the titans Kronos and Rhea. They belonged to the second generation of gods. The first generation of gods was the sky god Uranus and the earth goddess Gaia. When Cronus was predicted that he would be overthrown by his son, he decided to swallow every child his wife Rhea gave birth to. No matter how hard Rhea tried to persuade her husband to stop, it was all in vain. Cronus swallowed nine children. Then Rhea decided to save the last child, Zeus. She escaped to the island of Crete and hid in one of the caves. Rhea slipped Cronus a stone wrapped in diapers. Cronus swallowed it at once, unsuspecting. Zeus was brought up by a nymph and fed with her milk by the goat Amalthea. From an early age he was distinguished by his strength and intelligence. When he cried, the Cretan guards knocked on their shields so that Cronus would not hear anything. As Zeus grew and matured, he decided by all means to save his swallowed siblings and overthrow his father.

How Zeus came to power

Growing up in a cave, Zeus decided to overthrow Cronus and free his brothers and sisters. With the help of his wife, Metida, Zeus prepared a wonderful potion. It was slipped to Cronus by Rhea. After drinking the drink, Cronus began to regurgitate all that he had consumed. Zeus' brothers and sisters came out of it all grown up. They were very grateful to Zeus. After the release, a long war between the Titans and the Gods began, which lasted ten years. It was called Titanhomania. Zeus enlisted the help of the one-eyed Cyclopes, whom he had freed from Tartarus, then he enlisted the hundred-armed giants. It was only after a disagreement arose among the titans and some moved to Zeus that there was hope of victory. Eventually, Kronos was imprisoned in Tartarus, and the gods took control of the world. The mother of the earth, Gaia, was angry with Zeus for this attitude toward the titans and spawned the terrible hundred-headed monster Tiphon. But Zeus managed to defeat him, too, with his thunderbolts.

The gods began to divide power among themselves. As Zeus saved everybody, he became the ruler of heaven, and he became the main god who rules all the gods and people. The reign of the underworld went to Hades, and the sea element was ruled by Poysedon. Thus the gods seized power. They settled on Mount Olympus. From there Zeus ruled over all.

The Wives and Lovers of Zeus

According to the legends, Zeus was very amorous. He had many mistresses and children. Zeus had an affair with both Goddesses and earthly women.

Zeus's first official wife was Metida. She was a titanid, the goddess of wisdom. Zeus took on different images in front of her to subdue her. She was the one who helped Zeus prepare the drink that made Cronus regurgitate the children he swallowed. Gaia and Uranus predicted to Zeus that Metida would give birth to a son who would dethrone him. Zeus did not want to repeat his father's fate. He decided to turn Metida into a fly and swallowed her. Then the goddess of war, Athena, was born. She went out of Zeus' head when she was already an adult.

Zeus' second official wife was Themis. She was his aunt. She is the goddess of justice, a titanid. Daughter of Gaia and Uranus. She kept order in the world. Zeus was won over by Themis with her intelligence and desire for order. In the temples of Themis justice was done. Themis gave birth to Zeus to three ors, the goddesses of the seasons.

The third wife of Zeus was his older sister Hera. She was very jealous. Hera sent all kinds of trials to Zeus' mistresses and illegitimate children. But this only made them stronger. Hera gave birth to Zeus...

1. Hephaestus, goddess of fire and blacksmithing,
2. Hera, goddess of youth,
3. Ares, goddess of war.
4. Ilithyia, goddess of child-bearing.

Hephaestus was born ugly. He was lame and ugly. Hera was very annoyed by this. She threw him down from Mount Olympus. Hephaestus fell into the sea, but he was picked up by Nereis Thetis and Okeanides Eurynome. They began to bring him up. In the future, Hephaestus became the most skilled blacksmith. He made lightning bolts for his father, Zeus.

Hera tried to dethrone her consort, for which she was hanged between heaven and earth on golden chains.

Zeus' mistresses include: Demeter, Leto, Europa, Leda, and many others. Among the mistresses of Zeus were also earthly women. They gave birth to half gods and half men. Among them, it is worth highlighting the great heroes: Hercules and Perseus. To seduce women, Zeus appeared before them in different images: in the form of animals or as a natural element.