Zeus: birth, children, wives, movies

The birth of Zeus belongs to the third generation of gods who succeeded in overthrowing the second generation, the Titans. The father of Zeus https://whoiszeus.ca/ was the god Kronos, who was predicted by fate to die by his own son. So as not to be dethroned by his own children he swallowed every new baby that came into the world. His wife Rhea did not quite like this arrangement, so she hid Zeus in secret from her husband on the island of Crete. Together with the newborn child, Rhea let Cronus swallow a stone wrapped in diapers. She was very worried that her husband would notice her deception, but Cronus didn't even realize that he had swallowed the stone. Meanwhile, the newborn Zeus was bathed in the river Lucius in Arcadia.

Little Zeus was given to the Curets, who fed him with bee honey and goat's milk. He was considered a true deity and patron of thunder and lightning. In ancient Greek mythology he was portrayed as a character known for his wisdom and powers of foresight.

The story of how Zeus gained power

Zeus understood that life under his father would be unbearable for him, so he began to think about his future and possible options for gaining power. Thanks to his beloved Oceanid Metide, he devised a plan to overthrow Cronus and free his brothers and sisters. Zeus asked his mother to arrange for Metide to be his father's cupbearer. She put salt and mustard in Cronus' favorite drink, which caused him to vomit a lot. He spat out not only the stone, but all five other children as well. Hades and Poseidon joined Zeus to overthrow their father.

Zeus' mother Rhea advised her sons to free the imprisoned Cyclopes from Tartarus, the smiths managed to forge super-powerful lightning bolts and gifted them with thunder. The 10-year war with Kronos was difficult, first Zeus fought off his assaults, then he himself stepped into the counterattack. Hope arose when a controversy arose between the titans. Dissatisfied with the dictatorship of Cronus, the titans Oceanus, Styx, and several others sided with his sons. Still this was not enough, Zeus unleashed the hundred-armed giants Hecatonheir, imprisoned by Uranus, from the bowels of the earth. A huge number of allies and great effort helped Zeus to defeat his father and send him, along with the titans, into the eternal darkness of Tartarus. From that day forward Zeus proclaimed himself ruler of the world.

The Love Line: Zeus' Wives and Lovers

The thunder god was very fond of female attention and constantly entered into countless love alliances with many women, both mere mortals and celestials. One of his passionate favorite women and his first wife was Metida, the goddess of wisdom. Zeus wooed and harassed the girl for a long time, after which she gave in and agreed to become his lover. Through their marriage Athena, the goddess of military strategy and tactics, was born. Zeus was afraid that Metida would give birth to a child stronger than he was, so he swallowed his wife, destroying all ties with her. His second wife was Themis; their marriage was arranged by his aunt and his beloved's counselor. She bore him six daughters and always accompanied him. The husband's constant amorous adventures gave rise to cracks. He often disguised himself as an animal to please the new girl. So Zeus acquired as many as seven mistresses, the list of which included:

• Eurynome;
• Demeter;
• Lamia;
• Mnemosina;
• Summer;
• Io;
• Leda.

Zeus' third wife was the insufferably jealous and vengeful Hera, who turned one of her husband Io's lovers into a cow to avoid a family scandal. Their secret liaison began long before the wedding, Hera played an active role and tried by all means to gain the thunderer's favour by drawing his attention to herself.

In what movies and TV series can the image of Zeus be found?

The image of Zeus is often used in various books, paintings, TV series and movies. Some of the most popular movies where the role of Zeus is present include:

• Thor: Love and Thunder;
• Percy Jackson and the Lightning Snatcher;
• Hercules;
• Battle of the Titans;
• Alexander;
• The Adventures of Little Hercules;
• Troy;
• Wrath of the Titans.

Of the famous TV series stand out the Blood of Zeus and Kaos. Also the image of the thunderer is often glimpsed in computer games, such as God Of War, Zeus: Master of Olympus and Immortals: Fenyx Rising.