Zeus

Zeus was the Olympian god of the sky, thunder, lightning, kingship, honor and justice. He was the youngest son of the Titans, Cronus and Rhea, and the brother-husband of the goddess Hera.

Etymology
The name  Zeus  comes from the proto - indo - european root / word Deus, meaning god. D evolved into Z in Greek, but was specifically used for Zeus's name. Both gods and mortals referred to Zeus as Pater Zeus (Father Zeus) or Zeus Pater (Zeus Father). The Romans called him Jupiter, Jove, latin for Zeus, and piter, which evolved from the Greek pater, meaning father, thus father of the gods.

Circumstances of Zeus' Birth
Zeus was the youngest child of Cronus, the Titan King of Mount Othrys, and his sister-wife Rhea. All of Zeus's elder siblings had been earlier devoured by Cronus, who was terrified of one of his children (who were gods, a more powerful race of immortals than the Titans) ultimately overpowering him as predicted by his father Uranus before Cronus cut him into pieces. Hence, determined to retain his place as king, Cronus consecutively swallowed Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades and Poseidon as soon as they were born. As a result, Cronus became known as "King Cannibal." Rhea pleaded with Cronus to spare their children, but with no success, since even Cronus' great love for Rhea was not enough to overpower his selfish and evil nature. A distraught Rhea soon heard the voice of Gaia, advising her to give birth to her final child (who would save his other siblings) on the island of Crete. Claiming that Coeus, her clairvoyant brother had advised her to do so, Rhea successfully departed for Crete without any question from Cronus.

Rescuing his Siblings
On Crete, in a cave at the base of Mount Ida, Rhea gave birth to her sixth and final child. His name would be Zeus. Rhea gave her newborn son to the nine nymphs that attended his birth (including Hagno), and returned to Mount Othrys. She used a huge smooth boulder the same size and shape as a newborn (given to her by Gaia) to deceive Cronus, by wrapping it up in swaddling clothes, and pretending that it was her final child. Cronus swallowed it without even looking (which gave him an intense stomach ache), and was successfully deceived. Throughout his childhood, Zeus was raised by Rhea (who visited him often), the nine nymphs, the loud Kouretes, and the goat Amaltheia. Rhea would often tell Zeus about his brothers and sisters, all of whom he was destined to rescue from his father's stomach.

When Zeus grew to adulthood, he successfully transformed into a Titanic version of himself, and (with help from his mother) infiltrated Mount Othrys by convincing Cronus to hire him as his royal cup bearer. With the help of his great singing and dancing skills (as well as his knowledge of many outrageously hilarious "satyr jokes"), Zeus was able to constantly entertain all of the Titans at Mount Othrys, even Cronus himself. Shortly thereafter, Zeus encouraged all of the male Titans to participate in drinking contests. As the Titan King of Mount Othrys, Cronus would always win, since he could not let his siblings or nephews overcome him in anything. Finally, the Titan King began trusting Zeus completely, which is exactly what the latter was waiting for.

One evening, when Cronus was dining together with his Titanic brothers and nephews, Zeus prepared a special set of drinks for them all. The god prepared nectar mixed with sleeping potion for Cronus' guests to knock them out, while he prepared an extremely powerful emetic (made from nectar mixed with mustard) for Cronus himself which would make him vomit everything that he had once eaten out. As before, Zeus entertained them all with his excellent singing, wild Kouretes' dance moves, and outrageously hilarious satyr jokes. Near the end of the Titanic banquet, Zeus encouraged all of the Titans to have yet another drinking contest, and handed out the prepared goblets. As before, Cronus won the contest, but Zeus' emetic was so powerful, that it forced him to instantly disgorge all of the contents of his stomach, in reverse order of swallowing: first the boulder, then Poseidon, followed by Hades, Hera, Demeter, and Hestia. All of them had been growing undigested in Cronus' stomach, being immortal gods. The other titans were also knocked out and unable to retaliate.

Zeus quickly introduced himself to his elder siblings, and they all promptly escaped Mount Othrys, before their Titanic father, uncles and cousins came to their senses. In Zeus' cave, at the base of Mount Ida, all six of them happily reunited with their mother, Rhea, who tearfully embraced all of her rescued children. Shortly thereafter, the gods accepted Zeus as their leader, and reached a unanimous consensus on declaring war against their father. However, since the Titans were well-armed, and the gods still had no weapons, Zeus decided to release his Elder Cyclopes and Hekatonkeries uncles from Tartarus first so that they could craft weapons for them.

Rescuing the Elder Cyclopes and Hekatonkeries
Zeus' eldest brother, Hades, was very skilled in navigating under the earth, and was able to lead them all into Tartarus (through a network of Underworld tunnels). There, imprisoned in the maximum-security zone, surrounded by huge bronze walls, and a lava moat, guarded fierce demons, were the Elder Cyclopes and Hekatonkeries. Their guardian, Kampê, was the most ferocious and fearsome monster in all of Tartarus, and even Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades initially shuddered with horror when they saw the infernal monster for the first time. However, the gods overcame their fear, and were able to sneak in. Zeus managed to talk to the Cyclopes Brontes, and convinced him to forge powerful weapons for him and his siblings behind Kampê's back. The three Elder Cyclopes forged three incredibly powerful weapons: the Master Bolt (for Zeus), the Trident (for Poseidon), and the Helm of Darkness (for Hades). With these weapons, Zeus killed Kampê, and Poseidon shattered the chains of the Elder Cyclopes and Hekatonkeries, releasing them. Afterwards, Hades safely guided his siblings and uncles back out of Tartarus. In return, for their release, all six of Zeus' uncles agreed to fight on his side in the upcoming war with the Titans.

First Titanomachy
Shortly after their return from Tartarus, Zeus and his siblings officially declared war on Cronus and the other Titans, which resulted in the terrifying 11-year-long Titan War. The Titans initially had the upper hand, because they were much more experienced warriors. However, as the years of the war passed, the gods quickly became skilled warriors as well, and with the help of their new extremely powerful weapons (such as Zeus' Master Bolt, Poseidon's trident and Hades' Helm of Darkness, as well as the aid of the Elder Cyclopes and Hekatonkeries (whose immense strength became extremely useful as the war progressed), the gods finally prevailed.

While preparing for the final battle of the war, Zeus and his siblings ascended to Mount Olympus (the tallest mountain in Greece after Mount Othrys). During the final battle, Zeus used his Master Bolt to shear off the top of Mount Othrys, and hurl Cronus from his Black Throne, defeating the Titan King. Shortly thereafter, the gods invaded the ruins of Mount Othrys, and finally overwhelmed the remaining Titans Atlas, Hyperion, Iapetus, Crius, and Coeus.

In the aftermath of the battle, the Elder Cyclopes chained up all of the defeated Titans, while the Hekatonkheires forced them to kneel before Zeus, Poseidon and Hades. Zeus took his father's scythe and sliced Cronus into a thousand pieces. While the remaining titan lords hung their heads down in shame, Atlas laughed and mocked Zeus saying the sky would fall if the titans of the north, south, east and west were to be cast down to Tartarus. However, Zeus had already thought of that and punished Atlas by making him hold up the weight of the sky while the other titans involved in the war were banished down to Tartarus. Afterwards, Zeus offered the Hekatonkeries to return to Tartarus, this time as the jailers of the Titans, to which they readily agreed.

Becoming the King of the Olympian Gods
The gods chose Mount Olympus as their official residence, and the Elder Cyclopes built magnificent palaces there for them all. As a result, the gods started to call themselves the Olympians. Shortly thereafter, Zeus had a private meeting with his brothers, Poseidon and Hades, and the three brothers agreed to divide the world between themselves. Although it was Hades' birthright (as Cronus' eldest son) to be named his father's successor, he agreed to divide the Titan King's former domain with his brothers. Hades received the Underworld, Poseidon seized the seas (despite Oceanus still being there though he accepted this without conflict), and Zeus claimed the heavens as his domain. Shortly after this division, the three sons of Cronus came to be known as "The Big Three." However, Zeus' authority was recognized as superior to that of his brothers (probably due to him freeing his brothers and sisters), and so he became the king of the Olympian gods.

Marriage to Metis
Zeus took his childhood sweetheart Metis as his wife after the war. Metis had served the King of Olympus as his adviser and mentor for much of his life. When his wife was pregnant, Zeus learned from her that she would give birth to two children; first a daughter and then a son who would one day overthrow him. Like his father and grandfather before him, Zeus tried to forestall this fate and, as Metis was about to give birth to their daughter, he tricked her into transforming into a fly and promptly swallowed her. Trapped inside Zeus, Metis gave gave birth to their daughter, Athena. Centuries later, after he had married Hera, Zeus suffered an unbearable headache and to relieve him of it, Hephaestus split Zeus' head open, and Athena, the goddess of wisdom and warfare, sprang forth.

Marriage to Themis
Shortly after swallowing Metis, Zeus took Themis, the Titaness of Divine Law and Justice, as his second wife. Themis gave birth to two pairs of triplets: the Horae (goddesses of the seasons), and the Fates (the three white-robed personifications of destiny). The Fates were already born as old women, which horrified both of their parents. After becoming the father of the Fates, Zeus, fearing the prospect of having even more intimidating children with Themis, advocated to end their marriage, to which the Titaness agreed, and peacefully stepped aside.

Hestia's Reluctance to Marriage
Meanwhile, Hestia decided to never marry due to numerous reasons: the first being that she could still remember her father swallowing her when she was a newborn, and how her mother had suffered under a husband who was a baby-swallowing cannibal. The second reason was Zeus himself swallowing Metis. Last but not least, when she saw the children of Zeus and Themis (particularly the Fates, who were feared by all), Hestia did not want to risk having children who were either disabled, or different, or strange.

Hence, when Poseidon and Apollo tried to court Hestia for marriage after Zeus had given them both permission to do so, she refused them both as courteously as she could, and declared her wish to never marry and be a virgin goddess eternally. She even offered to care for the hearth for all time, and do whatever she could to help out her family so long as her wish of eternal virginity and chastity was granted. Though somewhat confused by Hestia's explanations and subsequent requests, Zeus still approved of them, and henceforth his oldest sister became the official Goddess of the Hearth.

Relationship with Demeter
Shortly after ending his marriage with the Titaness Themis, Zeus courted his beautiful sister Demeter. After transforming into a serpent, he successfully seduced her. Zeus' and Demeter's affair resulted in a very beautiful daughter named Persephone. Though their romantic relationship eventually ended, Demeter was still overjoyed as she loved Persephone dearly and would spend all her spare time with her. Persephone grew up without want, always staying close to her mother, and later became the goddess of springtime and flowers, and her mother even shared some of her power over the earth with her. Demeter cherished Persephone as the most important thing in her life, and spent all of her time with her.

Marriage to Hera
Soon after her return from Oceanus and Tethys (whom she stayed with to learn to control her quick temper) Hera caught the attention of Zeus himself. Since she was extremely intelligent and the most beautiful goddess in creation (before Aphrodite's birth), it was only natural that he would be attracted to her, but while Hera had strong feelings for him as well, she refused to be another conquest for the King of the Gods. However, Zeus was just as stubborn and would not be dissuaded. He applied his excellent singing, dancing, and joking skills to entertain and woo Hera, but she would not initially give in. Zeus made a bet with Hera that if she would ever confess her love for him, she would become his bride.

A few days later, Zeus proceeded to generate a tremendous thunderstorm around Olympus, and cunningly disguised himself as an injured cuckoo. The cuckoo flew into Hera's chambers, just as she was shutting her windows, and proceeded to fall on the marble floor. The sympathetic goddess took what she thought was an injured, defenseless creature in her arms, dried its feathers, and revived it with some divine nectar. On the next morning, the cuckoo did not seem inclined to leave, and affectionately rubbed its beak against Hera's finger. Hera admitted having grown quite fond of the bird herself, and gently cuddled it in her arms. At that very instant, the cuckoo transformed into mighty Zeus himself, still in Hera's embrace.

Although she was embarrassed and outraged by her brother's deception, Hera was still very impressed at Zeus' cleverness and resourcefulness. She finally agreed to become his consort on the condition that he married her, and remained loyal to her which was a promise Zeus broke by then siring many demigod children with mortals and nature spirits, which made Hera furious, causing her to usually curse the child. Their wedding (which was described as the most magnificent and grandiose wedding in history) was held in a spectacular celebration on Mount Olympus, and was attended by many gods and neutral Titans. Zeus and Hera arrived on a huge golden chariot, steered by Eos (who illuminated the bride and bridegroom with brilliant rosy light), and the ceremony was lead by the three Fates themselves. Through her marriage to Zeus, Hera became the Queen of Mount Olympus and the Olympian gods. Zeus and Hera received great gifts from all of their wedding guests, but Hera's favorite was a magnificent apple tree (with golden apples) that she received from Gaia. Hera had the tree taken far off to the west, and planted in a beautiful orchard. Hera employed the Hesperides, daughters of Atlas, to guard the tree, but as the nymphs would occasionally pluck an apple from the tree themselves, she put a fierce one hundred headed dragon named Ladon there as well. This orchard was later named the Garden of the Hesperides.

The newlyweds enjoyed a wonderful honeymoon, and were both very happy with each other for 300 years, and had five divine children together: Ares (the god of war), Hebe (the goddess of youth), Eileithyia (the goddess of childbirth), Hephaestus (the god of fire and blacksmiths) and Enyo (the goddess of war). However, Zeus eventually became restless, and it was not long before he began the first of his many affairs. Hera was infuriated and frustrated to no end by his infidelity, and devoted most of her time to keeping Zeus in sight, as well as making the lives of his mistresses and illegitimate children miserable. Her hatred is most evident in the story of Heracles, whom she tried to kill repetitively.

Olympian Riot
Hera, enraged at her husband's infidelity, decided to start the first Olympian riot against Zeus. Hera managed to gain the support of Poseidon, as well as Apollo, and Athena. That evening, Apollo, Poseidon, and Athena hid themselves in the hall adjacent to Zeus' royal chambers, awaiting Hera's signal. As soon as Zeus had fallen asleep, all four of them quickly tightly bound the King of Olympus with unbreakable and tightening golden chains that Athena had created. Even chained up and completely immobilized, an infuriated Zeus still looked very intimidating. Finally, attempted to reason with his brother, and demanded that Zeus be a better ruler. Zeus refused, which prompted Hera to advocate leaving him chained up in his chambers until he agrees. Shortly thereafter, the four Olympians departed for the Throne Room for the first (and last) democratic meeting of the Olympian Council, which proved to be a very cumbersome task. Fortunately, the violently trashing and bellowing King of Olympus was found by the Nereid Thetis. After convincing Zeus to be merciful towards the rioting Olympians, Thetis managed to find the Hekatonkerie Briares by the sea shore. He was more than happy to save Zeus, recalling that he owed his own freedom from Tartarus and Kampê to him. Briares quickly unchained Zeus, after which the latter seized his Master Bolt, and barged into the Throne Room, violently ending the meeting. Zeus remained true to his word, and was merciful towards the rioters, but he still punished them all accordingly.

Poseidon and Apollo were temporarily stripped of their divinity and godly powers and subsequently forced to serve Laomedon, the mortal King of Troy. Laomedon ordered Apollo to shepherd his herds, and Poseidon to build huge new walls around the city of Troy with his bare hands. The famous Walls of Troy came to be extremely durable, and would later keep the Greek forces at bay for 10 long years in the Trojan War. A number of years later, after accomplishing his mission, Poseidon returned to Olympus, where Zeus finally ended Poseidon's exile, restoring his divinity and powers. However, due to Poseidon's riot, Zeus would gain a strong and lasting distrust for his brother which several thousand years later would cause him to suspect Poseidon stealing his Master Bolt. Zeus would also become very distrustful of Apollo as well.

Hera, however, received the most severe punishment of all: Zeus chained her right above the terrifying Void of Chaos. Every day, Zeus would visit her, and threaten to severe the chains with his Master Bolt, and watch her tumble into the Void. Hephaestus could hear the wails of his mother all the way from Mount Olympus, which infuriated him, as he could not bear to hear her suffering such a harsh punishment. As a result, he finally set her free. Hera tearfully embraced him, and promised to never call Hephaestus ugly ever again. Zeus, however, was infuriated. Hence, he violently stormed into Hephaestus' chambers, easily overpowered him, and flung Hephaestus all the way from Mount Olympus to Lemnos (which broke every bone in his body). In time, however, Hephaestus' wounds were healed, and he returned to Olympus. Zeus was somewhat ashamed of his past angry fit with his son, and (in a rare act) apologized and welcomed his son back with open arms.