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Zeus
Mythology
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Even in Greece, home of Olympus and the pantheon of Greek gods,
the story of Creation has many faces. One version contends that,
in the Beginning, Euronome, the Goddess of All Things rose from
Chaos and, as she danced, she caught the wind and created the
serpent Ophion. As she danced, ever more wildly, Ophion coiled
himself around her and a child was conceived. In the form of a
dove she laid the Universal Egg and, on Euronome's instructions,
Ophion wrapped himself seven times around the egg until the time
that it cracked and opened. From the egg sprang every single thing
that exists. Another myth insists that all gods and living creatures
came from Oceanus, the river that encircles the world, and that
Tethys was the mother of all his children. Yet another story says
that the powerful goddess Night was wooed by the Wind. Eros was
hatched from the resultant silver egg which was laid in the womb
of Darkness. Night, who was the triple goddess of Night, Order
and Justice, lived in a cave with Eros and, in front of this cave,
was Rhea striking a brazen drum to command the attention of man
to the goddess. Eros created the earth, sky and moon but Night
ruled the universe until her power passed to Uranus.
This story of Zeus starts as Mother Earth emerged from Chaos
and the child Uranus was born. As she slept he looked down upon
her and living things came into being as a gentle and fertile
rain fell upon her. As the rain continued to fall, rivers, lakes
and seas were created. Her first off-spring were the hundred-handed
giants Briareus, Gyges and Cottus. Following them were the three
one-eyed Cyclopes, Brontes, Steropes and Arges, who were builders
and smiths. (After Apollo killed them in revenge for the death
of Asclepius, their ghosts were said to dwell in the volcano of
Mount Etna). Following these came the races of men: the golden,
silver, brazen and a seond brazen, each of which was destroyed
and, finally, the fifth, and present race which is that of iron.
Uranus took his unruly sons, the Cyclopes, and banished them
to Tartarus, in the further reaches of the Underworld, and then
fathered the seven Titans. Their mother, Mother Earth, was angered
at the banishment of the Cyclopes and persuaded her Titan sons
to attack their father, Uranus, in revenge. To the youngest, Cronus,
she gave a flint sickle with which he castrated Uranus. Drops
of his blood fell upon Mother Earth and, as a result, she gave
birth to Three Errinyes, the Furies, named Alecto, Tisiphone and
Megaera. The Cyclopes were released from imprisonment and Cronus
was given earth to rule. Immediately, with his supremacy confirmed,
he returned the Cyclopes to Tartarus along with the Hundred Handed
giants. He took his sister, Rhea, to whom the oak is sacred, as
his wife. Uranus' dying prophecy was that Cronus would be toppled
from his throne, by one of his own sons, as Uranus was. Alarmed
by this, every time Rhea bore a child, Cronus swallowed the baby.
First was Hestia, followed in time by Demeter, Hera, Hades and
finally Poseidon. Full of rage, and determined that the same fate
shouldn't befall her next child, when Zeus was born Hera gave
Cronus a stone wrapped in the swaddling clothes and, being deceived,
he swallowed it. Rhea carried away the infant Zeus and gave him
to Mother Earth for safe-keeping. She took the child and carried
him to Crete where he was hidden in the Dictean Cave. There he
was cared for by Adrasteia and her sister Io and by the Goat -nymph
Amaltheia. His food was honey and to drink he shared the milk
from Amaltheia with his foster-brother, Goat-Pan. Zeus' cradle
hung from a tree, between heaven and earth, and was guarded by
Rhea's sons, the Curetes. They struck their spears against their
shields and shouted loudly to disguise the sound of the child's
crying so that Cronus wouldn't hear and suspect the truth.
Zeus approached manhood on the mountain slopes amongst the shepherds.
When he was a man the Titaness, Metis, advised him to approach
Rhea and ask to be made Cronus' cup-bearer. This he did. Together
they prepared a poisoned drink. As he drank the poison Cronus
vomited and the children he had swallowed spilled from his mouth.
First came the stone followed by Zeus' brothers and sisters. Cronus,
with his powers curtailed by Zeus, had to watch as they went to
war against the Titans whose leader was Atlas. For 10 years the
war raged but, at last, as Mother Earth had prophesied, Zeus was
victorious when he took, as his allies, Cronus' prisoners in Tartarus.
In gratidude for freedom, the Cyclopes gave Zeus the thunderbolt
as his weapon; the Hundred-handed giants gave him strength through
divine food and drink; Hades gave him a helmet of darkness and
Poseidon gave a trident. Hades stole Cronus' weapons whilst Poseidon
engaged his attention by threatening him with the trident. Zeus
struck him down, fulfilling the propehcy, with his thunderbolt.
The defeated Cronus, along with the Titans, was imprisoned in
Tartarus and guarded by the hundred-handed giants. Atlas, their
leader, was condemned to carry the weight of the world on his
shoulders. Zeus, Poseidon and Hades, the sons of Cronus, drew
lots for who should have lordship of sky, sea and the underworld.
(Lordship of the earth would be shared). Zeus won the sky, whilst
Poseidon took the sea and Hades the Underworld.
Although Zeus is deemed to be the father of the gods and the
most powerful it is also believed that there are some forces over
which he does not have absolute authority. He is considered to
be subject to the Three Fates, off-spring of Night by Erebus.
They are named, Clotho, Lachesis and Atropos.
Zeus controlled the argumentative and rebellious family of gods
and goddesses on Mount Olympus by the force of his own personality
and the threat of his fatal thunderbolt. He was answerable to
no-one and not even his mother, Rhea, could control or influence
him.
Hera, who had the gift of phophecy, was the daughter of Cronus
and Rhea, and Zeus' sister but, after Cronus had been banished,
Zeus decided to take her as his wife. At first she resisted him
but when she saw him in the guise a poor, bedraggled little cuckoo
she pitied it and took hold of him. He immediately resumed his
own shape and forced her to agree to marry him. All the gods attended
the wedding and brought wonderful gifts for the couple. Mother
Earth gave to Hera a tree with golden apples (which would later
be guarded by the Hesperides on Mount Atlas). Hera's children
were Ares, Hebe and Hephaestus. Zeus, however, was unfaithul to
Hera and fathered many children with numerous other goddesses,
nymphs, and even mortal women. Numbered amongst his many children
were the Three fates whose mother was Themis; The Charities, whose
mother was Eurynome; and the Three Muses, whose mother was Mnemosyne.
Zeus continued to populate the world with his numerous off-spring,
including Hermes, the son of Maia who was a daughter of Atlas.
His son Apollo and daughter Artemis, were the children of Leto.
Dionysus was the son of the mortal Semele. Hera, in her jealousy
of Semele, who was 6 months pregnant, disguised herself as an
old woman and sowed the seeds of distrust in Semele's mind. Semele
subsequently turned against Zeus, not knowing he was a god. Zeus,
in his turn, was so angry that he appeared to her as thunder and
lightning and destroyed her. The baby was saved by Hermes, who
inserted him inside Zeus' thigh for the final 3 months of his
gestation. When his time came he was born again and named Dionysus,
and 'the twice born'.
Powerful Zeus turned his unwelcome attention to the Titaness,
Metis who changed shape many times to escape him. She was finally
caught and Mother Earth prophesied that the forthcoming child
would be a girl but, if she conceived again, the child would be
a boy who would destroy Zeus as Zeus had destroyed his own father
Cronus, and Cronus had destroyed his father Uranus before him.
Determined to circumvent this prophecy, Zeus tricked Metis into
coming to him and then he swallowed her together with her unborn
child. In due course Zeus suffered agonising pains in his head
and the whole universe shook with his rage and shouts. Hermes
discovered the reason and persuaded Zeus to allow his skull to
be cracked open. From the split sprang Zeus' latest child, Athene,
full grown and armed,
Arrogance and selfishness were almost the undoing of Zeus. Hera
and many of the gods and goddesses on Mount Olympus became angry
and resenful against Zeus on account of his behaviour. They rebelled
against him, surprising him and binding him tightly so that he
couldn't reach his thunderbolt. Ignoring his threats of death
and punishment they celebrated their success and argued over who
should replace him at the head. Thetis, fearing the consequences
of their actions, secretly went to the hundred-handed Briaeus
and together they freed Zeus. Zeus' anger was terrible and retribution
for the offenders followed swiftly. Hera, whom Zeus considered
to have led the conspiracy, he hung from the sky with golden bracelets
and an anvil at each ankle. Ringleaders Poseidon and Apollo were
banished and sent as bond-servants to King Laomedon for whom they
are said to have built the city of Troy. The others, he pardoned,
considering them to have been forced into the deed. Eventually,
under pressure from the other gods he released Hera on condition
that they all swore never to plot against him again. Reluctantly
they agreed and she was released. Zeus' absolute authority had
been confirmed.
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