Zeus— Greek God"King of the Gods"

The Rise to Power

Zeus was the youngest son of the Titans Kronos and Rhea. Fearing a prophecy that his children would overthrow him, Kronos swallowed each of his offspring at birth. But Rhea, desperate to save her last child, hid the infant Zeus in a cave on Mount Ida in Crete, giving Kronos a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes instead.

Raised in secret by nymphs and fed on the milk of the goat Amalthea, Zeus grew to adulthood and returned to challenge his father. With the help of Metis, he forced Kronos to regurgitate his siblings—Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon—who joined Zeus in the great war against the Titans known as the Titanomachy.

The Titanomachy

For ten years, the Olympians battled the Titans from Mount Olympus while the Titans held Mount Othrys. The war only ended when Zeus freed the Cyclopes and Hundred-Handed Ones from Tartarus. In gratitude, the Cyclopes forged Zeus's thunderbolts, Poseidon's trident, and Hades's helm of invisibility. With these weapons, the Olympians achieved victory and cast the Titans into Tartarus.

King of Gods and Men

After the victory, the three brothers divided the cosmos by lot. Zeus received the sky and became supreme ruler, Poseidon took the seas, and Hades claimed the underworld. The earth and Mount Olympus remained common ground.

As king of the gods, Zeus enforces cosmic order and justice. He protects guests and suppliants (Zeus Xenios), witnesses oaths (Zeus Horkios), and punishes those who violate sacred laws. His thunderbolt serves as both weapon and symbol of divine authority.

Famous Myths

Zeus is central to countless Greek myths. He battled the monster Typhon to secure Olympian rule, punished Prometheus for giving fire to humanity, and sent the great flood that only Deucalion and Pyrrha survived. His numerous love affairs—with goddesses like Leto, Demeter, and Mnemosyne, and mortals like Europa, Io, and Alcmene—produced many of mythology's greatest figures, including Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, Dionysus, Perseus, and Heracles.