Zeus

Zeus
Parents	Cronus and Rhea
Siblings	Poseidon (older brother) Hades (older brother) Hera (older sister, wife) Demeter (older sister) Hestia (older sister) Chiron (half-brother)
Immortal children	Many
Mortal children	Many
Wife/husband	Metis (formerly), Hera
Names	Lord of the sky
Titles	God of the heavens, lightning, justice, honor
Weapons	Thunderbolt, lightning, storms
Allies	Olympians
Enemies	Titans

Zeus is the Greek god of honor, justice, lightning, the weather and the skies. He is the lord of Olympus and the son of the Titans, Kronos and Rhea.

History

Birth

Zeus was the youngest child of Kronos, the Titan King of Mount Othrys, and his sister-wife Rhea. All of Zeus' elder siblings, Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades and Poseidon, had been devoured by Kronos, who was terrified of one of his children overpowering and usurping him, as he had done to his own father Ouranos. Hence, determined to retain his place as king, Kronos consecutively swallowed his first five children as soon as they were born, imprisoning them in his stomach.

Rhea, unable to keep her previous children safe, was advised by Gaea to give birth to her sixth child in secret on the island of Crete. Claiming that Koios, her clairvoyant brother had advised her to do so, Rhea successfully departed for Crete without any question from Kronos. On Crete, in a cave at the base of Mount Ida, Rhea gave birth to her sixth and final child. His name would be Zeus. Rhea gave her newborn son to the nine nymphs that attended his birth (including Hagno), and returned to Mount Orthys before Kronos became too aware of her absence.

Knowing that Kronos was expecting another child to swallow, Rhea was given a huge smooth boulder by Gaea to deceive him, wrapping it up in swaddling clothes, and pretending that it was her final child. Kronos swallowed it without even looking, and was successfully deceived. Throughout his childhood, Zeus was raised by Rhea (who visited him often), the nine nymphs, the loud Kouretes, and the goat Amaltheia. Rhea would often tell Zeus about his brothers and sisters, all of whom he was destined to rescue from his father's stomach. With this sense of duty brewing in the young god, he set out to ultimately become king.

Rescuing his siblings

When Zeus grew to adulthood, he successfully infiltrated Mount Othrys. Upon meeting Kronos and his Titan brethren, Zeus began to greatly entertain them, using the great singing and dancing skills he had learned in his youth. Kronos would gain admiration for the stranger, and asked him who he was. Zeus told the Titan King that he would tell him his true identity if he could beat him in numerous drinking contests. Zeus offered to serve the Titan King as his eternal cupbearer if he lost. Shortly thereafter, Zeus encouraged all of the male Titans to participate in his drinking contests. As the Titan King of Mount Othrys, Kronos would always win, since he could not let his siblings or nephews overcome him in anything. Finally, the Titan King began trusting Zeus completely, which is exactly what the latter was waiting for.

That night, Kronos dined together with his Titan brothers and nephews around a magnificent banquet, and Zeus prepared a glorious array of drinks for them all. In secret, he had prepared one drink in every set for himself, each with completely untainted nectar. All other drinks were a mixture of nectar and a sleeping draft.

Zeus began the contests by once again, entertaining the Titans with excellent singing, dances and hilarious jokes. The contest lasted the entire night, with Kronos winning every contest. Eventually, the mixture of nectar and the sleeping draft took its toll on Kronos and the other Titans, causing them to fall asleep. Zeus pretended to also be falling asleep, and declared to Kronos that he had won the contest. Kronos would retreat to his bed. Around Zeus, the other Titans fell fast asleep, giving Zeus his chance to free his siblings. To declare his service as Kronos' cupbearer, Zeus offered him a final drink, made specially for the winner, declaring that it was more divine than nectar. Without thinking twice, Kronos drank the winning cup. Moments later, Kronos' stomach erupted in pain, forcing him to instantly disgorge all of the contents of his stomach. The drink Zeus had offered him was in fact an extremely powerful emetic made from Nectar and Mustard.

In reverse order, he vomited up the boulder Rhea had given him in place of Zeus, followed by Poseidon, then Hades, Hera, Demeter, and finally Hestia. Zeus was unsurprised to know that his siblings were now fully grown, having matured inside Kronos' stomach due to their immortality. Zeus quickly introduced himself to his elder siblings, and they all promptly escaped Mount Othrys, before their Titan uncles and cousins came to their senses. In Zeus' cave, at the base of Mount Ida, all six of them happily reunited with their mother, Rhea, who embraced all of her rescued children for the first time. In gratitude for freeing them, all five accepted Zeus as their leader, and they reached a unanimous consensus on declaring war against their father. However, with the Titans being armed with powers far beyond their own, Zeus decided to release the Elder Cyclopes and Hekatonkheire, the brothers of Kronos from Tartarus, knowing they would be able to craft weapons that would give them a winning chance.

Recruiting their allies

Zeus' and his siblings made their way under the Earth, to the Underworld where they sought the aid of the goddess Styx. Styx and her siblings, Lethe, Acheron, Phlegethon and Cocytus helped the gods make their way into Tartarus, through its collection of tunnels. There, guarded by the ferocious monster Kampe, they found the imprisoned Elder Cyclopes and the hundred-handed giants the Hekatonkheires. Zeus told Hera, Demeter and Hestia to distract Kampe, while he, Poseidon and Hades talked their imprisoned uncles. The makeshift weapons that that Cyclopes had created during their imprisonment were quickly given to three brothers. Who harnessed their power around them. Zeus and his brothers battled Kampe while their sisters aided the prisoners in their escape. Kampe held out against the brothers, however Zeus would strike the final blow, destroying Kampe. With his exhausted weapon, Poseidon shattered the chains of the Cyclopes and Hekatonkheires, releasing them fully. In return for their release, all six of their uncles agreed to fight on their side in the upcoming war with the Titans.

The Titanomachy

After escaping Tartarus and returning to the upper world, the gods took refuge on Mount Olympus, the mountain which rivalled that of Mount Othrys, taking it as their official base of operations. The Cyclopes forged three mighty weapons for the three brothers; the Lightning Bolt for Zeus, the Trident for Poseidon, and the Helm of Darkness for Hades. With these weapons and a fighting chance, Zeus and his siblings officially declared war on Kronos and the other Titans.

The Titans initially had the upper hand in the war, having been more experienced warriors and possessing absolutely raw strength. However, as their 10-year long war war continued on, the gods quickly became great warriors as well, and with the help of the Lightning Bolt, the Trident and Helm of Darkness, as well as the mighty crafting skill of the Cyclopes and the immense strength the Hekatonkheires possessed, the gods finally prevailed. The Titans Atlas, Hyperion, Iapetus, Krios, and Koios had held out the longest, and were the last to be overwhelmed, and were chained atop Mount Olympus, where they were forced to kneel before the gods and watch as Zeus defeated Kronos.

Kronos, knowing his defeat was imminent, called upon his mother Gaea to help him. In response, Gaea and Tartarus birthed a great and monstrous being, Typhon. The great beast arose from Mount Etna, and at first overwhelmed the gods and their allies, causing many to flee from battle and the Greek lands. Tartarus, along with Echidna, birthed untold numbers of monsters and giants across the lands; many who could aid the Titans and continue the war. Zeus refused to surrender however, telling his siblings that together, they could defeat Typhon. Together, with their weapons joined as one, they defeated Typhon and imprisoned him inside Mount Etna. Kronos, still consumed with pride, refused to flee, and even though he put up a worthy fight against his son Zeus, the latter defeated him. Knowing he could not imprison Kronos alongside his kin, Zeus took his father's scythe and sliced Kronos into a thousand pieces, casting him down into Tartarus, as Kronos had done to his own father Ouranos. Zeus enacted the final blow, hurling lightning as Mount Othrys, destroying Kronos' temple, along with Kronos' throne, reducing them to rubble

Back on Mount Olympus, Zeus declared their victory before the other Titans, and carried out his punishments for all of them; Atlas was banished to the northwest of the African continent, and was punished to hold up the weight of the sky for all eternity. The other Titans were casted down in Tartarus, where they would be imprisoned where the Cyclopes and Hekatonkheires had been. The Hekatonkheires agreed to return to Tartarus, this time to became the jailers of the Titans.

Becoming King

With the Palace on Mount Othrys in ruins, the gods chose Mount Olympus as their official residence and place of power. The Elder Cyclopes built a magnificent new palace on top of it. As a result, the gods started to call themselves the Olympians, and began the official council of the gods. Shortly thereafter, Zeus spoke with Poseidon and Hades, telling them that they should divide the three earthly domains, the Sky, the Sea, and the Underworld between themselves. At first, Hades told his brothers that as Kronos' eldest son, it was in fact his birthright to succeed their father, but nonetheless agreed to divide power between themselves.

On the ruins of Mount Othrys, the brothers drew from lots. Poseidon drew first, drawing the middle sized lot, and therefore gaining the Seas, Oceans and authority over all sea gods, spirits and animals. Zeus drew next, and to Hades' disbelief, Zeus drew the longest lot, gaining the Sky and Heavens, and authority over all gods, spirits and animals of his new domain. Hades, left with the shortest lot, gaining dominion of the Underworld, the realm of the dead and authority over all gods, spirits and creatures of his new domain. Shortly after this division, the three sons of Kronos came to be known as the "Big Three." However, Zeus' authority was recognised as superior to that of his brothers, with his realm encircling the entire world, and so he became King, not only of Olympus itself but of all Gods.

Days later, the goddess of love herself, Aphrodite, made her way to Mount Olympus, escorted by the Horae, the goddesses of the seasons. Struck by Aphrodite's beauty, offered her Hades' throne on Olympus.

Marriage to Metis

Seeking his first wife, Zeus married Metis, an Oceanid (the daughters of the Titans Oceanus and Tethys). Metis had been Zeus' mentor since his infancy, and by his side she became his "wise council". When Metis became pregnant with their child, Zeus began to fear one of his children overthrowing him. Like his father and grandfather before him, Zeus tried to forestall this fate and, as Metis was about to give birth to their first child, he promptly swallowed her.

Marriage to Hera

Centuries after swallowing Metis, Zeus' fear of being usurped had somewhat dimmed, and so he set his eyes on marrying Hera, and with her being extremely intelligent and beautiful, Zeus could think of no other goddess more worthy to be his Queen. Although Hera had strong feelings for him as well, she had begun to fear marriage, having spent centuries taking council from both Rhea and Gaea, and so she refused any proposal for marriage he made to her. However, Zeus had become a stubborn god, and would not be dissuaded. Hera made a promise to Zeus that if she ever confessed her love for him, she would become his bride, and Zeus made Hera swear upon the River Styx to keep this promise.

A few days later, Zeus proceeded to generate a tremendous thunderstorm around Olympus, and cunningly disguised himself as an injured cuckoo. The cuckoo flew into Hera's chambers, just as she was shutting her windows, and proceeded to fall on the marble floor. The sympathetic goddess took what she thought was a defenseless creature in her arms, dried its feathers, and revived it with some divine nectar. On the next morning, the cuckoo did not seem inclined to leave, and affectionately rubbed its beak against Hera's finger. Hera admitted having grown quite fond of the bird herself, and gently cuddled it in her arms. At that very instant, the cuckoo transformed into mighty Zeus himself, still in Hera's embrace. Although she was embarrassed and outraged by her brother's deception, Hera was still very impressed at Zeus' cleverness and resourcefulness. She finally agreed to become his consort on the condition that he married her, and remained loyal to her.

Their wedding was held in a spectacular celebration on Mount Olympus, and was attended by many gods and neutral Titans. It was described as the most magnificent and grandiose wedding in history: Zeus and Hera arrived on a huge golden chariot, steered by Eos (who illuminated the bride and bridegroom with brilliant rosy light), and the ceremony was lead by the three Fates themselves. Through her marriage to Zeus, Hera became the Queen of Mount Olympus and the Olympian gods. Zeus and Hera received great gifts from all of their wedding guests, but Hera's favorite was a magnificent apple tree (with golden apples) that she received from Gaea. Hera had the tree taken far off to the west, and planted in a beautiful orchard. Hera employed the Hesperides, daughters of Atlas, to guard the tree, but as the nymphs would occasionally pluck an apple from the tree themselves, she put a fierce one hundred headed dragon named Ladon there as well. This orchard was later named the Garden of the Hesperides.

The newlyweds were both very happy with each other for 300 years, and had five divine children together: Ares (God of war), Hebe (Goddess of youth), Eileithyia (Goddess of childbirth), Hephaestus (God of fire and blacksmiths) and Enyo (Goddess of war). However, Zeus eventually became restless, and it was not long before he began the first of his many affairs. Hera was infuriated and frustrated to no end by his infidelity, and devoted most of her time to keeping Zeus in sight, as well as making the lives of his mistresses and illegitimate children miserable. Her hatred is most evident in the story of Heracles, whom she tried to kill repetitively.

Rise of Athena

One day, the child of Zeus and his first wife Metis, now having continued to grow inside of Zeus' head, began giving Zeus a terrible headache, and so Hephaestus offered to put Zeus out of his misery by splitting open his head with a hammer. While most of the other Olympians held Zeus down on his throne, Hephaestus created a fissure, thick enough for Athena to squeeze her way out, after which she grew into a full-size goddess wearing armor, much to the astonishment of the other gods.

Despite the misgivings of the other gods, Zeus insisted that they welcome Athena into their ranks. She officially became one of the Olympians as the Goddess of Wisdom and Warfare. She taught the Greeks numerous skills essential for their evolution, such as mathematics, utilizing the oxen to plow their fields, and artisan activities such as weaving. Despite her being the Goddess of Warfare, Athena didn't actually enjoy combat, but accepted it as an inevitable necessity at times. She was more focused on minimizing casualties and achieving victory through wise strategies. Through her actions, Athena quickly became Zeus' favorite daughter.

The Olympian Plot

Hera, enraged at her husband's many infidelities, decided to start the first Olympian riot against Zeus. Hera managed to gain the support of Poseidon, as well as Apollo, and Athena. That evening, Apollo, Poseidon, and Athena hid themselves in the hall adjacent to Zeus' royal chambers, awaiting Hera's signal. As soon as Zeus had fallen asleep, all four of them quickly tightly bound the King of Olympus with unbreakable and tightening golden chains. Even chained up and completely immobilized, an infuriated Zeus still looked very intimidating. Finally, Hera and Poseidon attempted to reason with their brother, and demanded that Zeus be a better ruler. Zeus refused, which prompted Hera to advocate leaving him chained up in his chambers until he agrees. Shortly thereafter, the four Olympians departed for the Throne Room for the first (and last) democratic meeting of the Olympian Council, which proved to be a very cumbersome task.

Fortunately, the violently trashing and bellowing King of Olympus was found by the Nereid Thetis. After convincing Zeus to be merciful towards the rioting Olympians, Thetis managed to find the Hekatonkheire Briares by the sea shore. He was more than happy to save Zeus, recalling that he owed his own freedom from Tartarus and Kampê to him. Briares quickly unchained Zeus, after which the latter seized his Master Bolt, and barged into the Throne Room, violently ending the meeting. Zeus remained true to his word, and was merciful towards the rioters, but he still punished them all accordingly.

Poseidon and Apollo were temporarily stripped of their divinity and godly powers and subsequently forced to serve Laomedon, the mortal King of Troy. Laomedon ordered Apollo to shepherd his herds, and Poseidon to build huge new walls around the city of Troy with his bare hands. The famous Walls of Troy came to be extremely durable, and would later keep the Greek forces at bay for 10 long years in the Trojan War.

Hera, however, received the most severe punishment of all: Zeus chained her right above the terrifying Void of Chaos. Every day, Zeus would visit her, and threaten to severe the chains with his Master Bolt, and watch her tumble into the Void. Hephaestus could hear the wails of his mother all the way from Mount Olympus, which infuriated him, as he could not bear to hear her suffering such a harsh punishment. As a result, he finally set her free. Hera tearfully embraced him, and promised to never to call Hephaestus ugly ever again. Zeus, however, was infuriated. Hence, he violently stormed into Hephaestus' chambers, easily overpowered him, and flung Hephaestus all the way from Mount Olympus down to Lemnos, breaking every bone in his body. In time, however, Hephaestus' wounds were healed, and he returned to Olympus. Zeus was somewhat ashamed of his past angry fit with his son, and (in a rare act) apologized and welcomed his son back with open arms.

A number of years later, after accomplishing his mission, Poseidon himself returned to Olympus, where Zeus finally ended Poseidon's exile, restoring his divinity and powers. However, due to Poseidon's riot, Zeus would gain a strong and lasting distrust for his brother.

Birth of Dionysus

Zeus took notice one day of Semele, a priestess who was sacrificed a bull at one of his alters. Zeus would finally meet Semele while she was swimming in the River Asopus, and began to fall in love with her. Zeus, after revealing himself to the priestess, began to repeatedly visit her. Hera would soon discover this affair, and that Semele was pregnant. Taking the appearance of an old crone, Hera befriended Semele, who confided in her that her lover was actually Zeus. Hera pretended not to believe her, and planted seeds of doubt in Semele's mind. Curious, Semele asked Zeus to grant her a wish.

Zeus, eager to please his beloved, promised on the River Styx to grant her anything she wanted. She then demanded that Zeus reveal himself in all his glory as proof of his divinity. Though Zeus begged her not to ask this, she persisted and he was forced by his oath to comply. Zeus tried to spare her by showing her the smallest of his bolts and the sparsest thunderstorm clouds he could find. Mortals, however, cannot look upon the gods without incinerating, and she perished, consumed in lightning-ignited flame. Zeus rescued the unborn Dionysus, however, by sewing him into his thigh. A few months later, Dionysus was born.

The Age of Heroes

Although he swore eternal love and devotion to Hera, Zeus broke his promise, and sired many demigod children with mortals and nature spirits, which made Hera furious causing her to usually curse the child. His demigod children were numerous, including Perseus, Minos, Tantalus and Heracles.

The Trojan War

In the war, Zeus favored both sides, both the Greeks and Trojans, and so he did not scheme and plot as maliciously as the other gods and goddesses did. He did show favor to the Trojans on a few different occasions, even though he knew they were fated to lose:

• He gives advantage to the Trojans at the request of Thetis, although he already favored Hector. 
• He removes Hector from the worst of the fighting, and holds him back until Agamemnon is badly injured. 
• He sends Hector extra strength to cast a large stone against a wall blocking the Achaean ships. 
• He sends Apollo to help Hector in battle after Poseidon helps the Achaeans.

Appearance

Zeus was tall, muscular and imposing, with long dark gray hair with a gray-and-black beard.

Personality

Zeus, as the King of the Gods, was very proud and commanding. He demanded respect and precedence from mortals and the other gods. He was a great enforcer of justice and law.

He was at times extremely paranoid, as well as self-centered and easily insulted. If he thought someone was plotting against him or insulted him, he can be very unforgiving. Most notably, Zeus was extremely lustful, perhaps more so than any other Olympian. His rampant unfaithfulness to his wife Hera was very notable, and often placed his mistresses and even his own demigod children in dangerous situations all in attempt to hide his affairs.

Zeus was also ambitious and lustful for power, evidenced by him being King of the Gods and having great fear of being overthrone. He also had great distrust for his brother Poseidon because he had once tried overthrowing Zeus from his throne.

Being often viewed as a source of order and justice, Zeus maintained control over the other gods by preventing their feuds from getting out of hand and ensured the overall order of the world by handing down and enforcing justice, even if his actions sometimes contradicted it.

Capabilities

Zeus, being the king of the gods, held dominion over the earth. He was the god of lightning, able to control storms and the weather. The god of justice, he dealt punishment on mortals and gods who offended him and the gods.

Names

• Abrettenus: In Mysia
• Aegiduchos: The bearer of the Aegis.
• Aethiops: On the island of Chios.
• Ambulius: preventer of death.
• Anchesmius: derived from the hill Anchesmus in Attica