ZEUS
Greek Mythology
God of the Sky, Weather, Social Life and Oaths.
He was the father of the gods and mortals.
Attributes: Thunderbolt, Eagle and Scepter
Roman: Jupiter
Son of Cronos and Rhea
ZEUS is one of the 12 OLYMPIANS who ruled after the overthrow of the TITANS. All of the OLYMPIANS are related to each other in some way. They are also named after the place they resided MT. OLYMPUS.
ZEUS overthrew his Father CRONOS. He then drew lots with his brothers POSEIDON (god of the sea) and HADES (god of the underworld). ZEUS won the draw and became the supreme ruler of the gods. He is lord of the sky, the rain god. His weapon is a thunderbolt, which he hurls at those who displease him. He is also known to punish those that lie or break oaths.
As the god of the sky ZEUS found it very easy to attract woman and he took full advantage of that gift. The fact that he was the supreme ruler of the gods also helped him in his romantic endeavors. Prior to his marriage to HERA, he was married first to METIS, then THEMIS. His eye fell on DEMETER but she did not give into him. His third marriage was to MNEMOSYNE. He continued to have lovers after his marriage to HERA and among them were EUROPA, IO, SEMELE and GANYMEDE (he became AQUARIUS).
ZEUS had 7 children. These children were had in many ways and with many women. These children also became gods.
Both HERA and ZEUS disliked ARES, and he was the god of war.
ATHENA another child of ZEUS was born full-grown from his forehead in body armor and no mother. She is the goddess of the city, handicrafts, and agriculture.
A href="http://myths.freshcaffeine.com/2006/05/apollo.html">APOLLO was the son of ZEUS and LETO. He is the twin brother to ARTIMIS. He is the god of music.
APHRODITE is the daughter of ZEUS and DIONE (there are actually 2 accounts about her birth). She is the goddess of love. She was the wife of HEPHAETUS.
HERMES was the son of ZEUS and MAIA. He was the messenger of ZEUS. This meant he was the fastest of the gods. He is the god of the thieves and of commerce; he also guides the dead to the underworld.
ARTIMIS is the daughter of ZEUS and LETO. She is the twin sister of APOLLO. She is the goddess of hunting and all things wild. She like APOLLO hunts with a silver arrow. She is also a virgin goddess and a goddess of chastity. She presides over childbirth despite her own lack of experience because of the fact that she caused her mother no pain when she was born.
HEPHAESTUS was the son of ZEUS and HERA. There are accounts that say he was produced without a father and is only the son of HERA. He is the only one of the gods that is physically ugly. He is the god of fire and a blacksmith. He however is very kind and a lover of peace. His wife is APHRODITE, also called AGLIAIA.