{"id":30,"date":"2014-09-19T18:18:28","date_gmt":"2014-09-19T18:18:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/greekgodsandgoddesses.net\/?page_id=30"},"modified":"2023-12-06T19:33:08","modified_gmt":"2023-12-06T19:33:08","slug":"zeus","status":"publish","type":"gods","link":"https:\/\/greekgodsandgoddesses.net\/gods\/zeus\/","title":{"rendered":"Zeus – Greek God Of The Sky and King of the Gods"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Zeus is the Greek God of The Sky and Thunder and king of all the Gods. He was the first of the gods<\/a> and a very imposing figure. Often referred to as the “Father of Gods and men”, he is a sky god who controls lightning (often using it as a weapon) and thunder. Zeus is king of Mount Olympus<\/strong>, the home of Greek gods, where he rules the world and imposes his will onto gods and mortals alike.
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Zeus was the last child of the titans Cronus and Rhea<\/a>, and avoided being swallowed by his father (who had been told one of his children would overthrow him) when Rhea sought help from Uranus<\/a> and Gaea. Cronus had previously swallowed Demeter<\/a>, Hestia<\/a>, Hera<\/a>, Hades<\/a> and Poseidon<\/a>.
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Along with Hades and Poseidon, Zeus shared the rule of the world and became king of Olympus as the children of Cronus<\/a> were filled with admiration for their noble brother and sided with him against their unjust father – even following Zeus into The Battle of the Titans<\/em>.
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Zeus mated with many goddesses<\/a> and mortals (including Aegina, Alcmena, Calliope<\/a>, Cassiopea, Demeter<\/a>, Dione, Europa, Io, Leda, Leto<\/a>, Mnemosyne<\/a>, Niobe, Persephone<\/a> and Semele<\/a>) but was married to his sister Hera – goddess of marriage and monogamy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Roles and Responsibilities of Zeus<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

As the king of the gods and sitting atop the golden throne on Mount Olympus<\/a>, Zeus was revered by all. Mortal kings would boast that they were descendants of Zeus. With this supreme power came a number of roles and responsibilities.
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Hesiod described Zeus as a god who “brought peace in place of violence”<\/strong><\/em> and referred to him as the “lord of justice”<\/strong><\/em>.
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Though he is most well known as god of the sky<\/a> and thunder, Zeus was the supreme cultural embodiment of Greek religious beliefs. He had many epithets (titles) that emphasized different aspects of complete and wide ranging authority.
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