Zeus

** Greek name: ** Zeus Job Description: ** King of all gods; god of heavens and earth; ruler of weather and giver of justice. Thunderbolt: Eagle, Woodpecker; Oak tree
 * __Zeus__**
 * Roman name: ** Jupiter **
 * Symbols and Emblems: **


 * Story: **

After defeating his father, Cronos married his sister Rhea. The two had six children: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon and Zeus. Cronos, after each birth, swallowed the first five children because of a prophecy that climed one of his children would overthrow him. Rhea tricked Cronos with the sixth child. Zeus, instead of handing Cronos the child, she gave him a rock in a blanket. Cronos swallowed it believing it was the baby. Rhea then smuggled the baby Zeus to the island of Crete to be raised by nymphs. Later Zeus would return to defeat his father in the battle between the Olympians and the Titans.

Zeus later married his sister Hera who then became the queen of goddesses considering the fact that her husband Zeus was king. In their relationship they had two(2) children who are known as the gods Ares and Hephaestus. Even though being married to Hera Zeus also had many love affairs with other goddesses and mortal women. From these extra relationships on the side, his children include the gods Apollo, Dionysus, Hermes, the goddess Artemis, the heroes Heracles(Latin for Hercules) and Perseus. He also gave birth to goddess Athena who sprang full grown from his forehead. According to myths Zeus and goddess Mnemosyne became parents of the Muses.


 * Historical Background: **

After the battle with the Titans, Zeus shared the world with his elder brothers, Poseidon and Hades, by drawing lots: Zeus got the sky and air, Poseidon the waters, and Hades the world of the dead (the underworld).Thus making Zeus king of all gods because he was the leader of the titan battle known as the Titannomachy. After winning this battle against the Titans with the help of his brothers and sisters, the defeated Titans were then cast into a shadowy underworld region known as Tartarus. Atlas, one of the titans that fought agaisnt Zeus, was punished by having to give up his throne of the sky to Zues.


 * Zeus in Other Cultures: **

Zeus is the continuation of Dyeus, the supreme god in Indo-European religion, also continued as Vedic **Dyaus Pitar** (cf. Jupiter), and as Tyr (**Ziu**, **Tiw**, **Tiwaz**) in Germanic and Norse mythology. Tyr was however supplanted by Odin as the supreme god among the Germanic peoples and the Germanic tribes did not identify Zeus/Jupiter with either Tyr or Odin, but with Thor.


 * Justice in Ancient Greece: **

There was no public prosecutor. Anybody could start a trial. But you must:


 * Tell the person.** You had to have witnesses. If you wanted to start a trial, you could go to someone’s house, bring along some witnesses, tell the person involved the charges you were bringing. Then, you had to give them a date and a time to appear in court where they would then have a chance to defend themselves.


 * Post a written notice**. You had to write down all the information – the person’s name, your name, the charges, and the date when and location where you are going to trial – and post it near the courthouse.

The judge would ask both sides questions. If the judge felt there was enough evidence to have a trial, a date would be set.

Juries were paid, not much, but they were paid. To be on a jury, you had to be a citizen over age 30. Juries were selected from volunteers. Some juries had as many as 500 people on them, to make sure the jury could not be bribed. (Nobody could be sure of buying the silence of so many different people.) Jurors had to swear that they would be fair and would listen to both sides equally. Nobody was guilty until they were voted guilty by the jury.

**Zeus's Genealogy** Brother to Demeter Brother and Wife to Hera Brother to Poseidon Brother to Hades Father to Ares Father to Hephaestus Father to Eris Father to Athene Father to Persephone Father to Artemis Father to Apollo Father to Hermes Father to Epaphus


 * Connection to Modern Day: **

Zeus represents the most extreme patriarchal aspects of The God. Zeus is authority and abuse of authority -- he sets the rules but breaks them just as easily. When that happens there are consequences to occur. Unfortunately, the last physical remnants of our god (known as the Statue of Zeus) were long destroyed by ancient Greek Philosophers. The only places we see bits and pieces of ancient mythological gods now days is in fictional textbooks and internet resources dedicated just to The Greek Gods. Fortunately, one famous pop culture in particular where Zeus plays as a role in is the Disney Movie known as //Hercules.// In this movie he plays the loving honest father to his son Hercules. Although, the Disney movie had altered the story behind Zeus as many ancient philosophers had in the past as well by not including the fact about how he abused any living creature he wished in order to have an affair with them. Disney did not want any intentions on emphasizing propaganda of morally wrong decisions to little children in order to prevent lawsuits and being sued millions.