Questions tagged [zeus]
The supreme sky god of Greek mythology.
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Why did Zeus assume so many different forms for seduction?
The character of Zeus is well-known for seducing many women, both human and goddesses. In many of these stories, Zeus assumes a form other than his true self.
The most famous is perhaps Leda - it is ...
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What did Danae want?
It's well known the story of Acrisius and Danae; Acrisius wants male children, and the oracle says he won't have any, but he'll have a grandson who kills him. So he locks Danae up in a prison, and ...
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Why is rape featured so prominently in Greek mythology?
This question may be a little controversial so try to keep your answers as academically as possible. (take an example from @DukeZhou )
If on the subject general answers are also accepted
I am familiar ...
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How did Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades decide who would rule what?
From Wikipedia article on Hades:
Zeus got the sky, Poseidon got the seas, and Hades received the underworld, the unseen realm to which the souls of the dead go upon leaving the world as well as any ...
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Was Poseidon actually jealous of Zeus?
In Age of Mythology, there is a lot of fairly accurate background info on all the Gods and lore present in the game.
Obviously the story itself is fabricated, but is based around accurate lore. It's ...
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Which cities had chthonic Zeus cults?
The Wikipedia article on Zeus tells us (emphasis mine):
Although etymology indicates that Zeus was originally a sky god, many Greek cities honored a local Zeus who lived underground. Athenians and ...
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What happened to Metis after the birth of Athena?
Zeus swallowed Metis to prevent the prophecy of her future son overthrowing him from being fulfilled, but she was already pregnant, and later her daughter Athena sprang from Zeus' head. What happened ...
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Was Zeus a compilation of gods?
Zeus is a complex character; although he is chief among gods, with many noble qualities, he is also deeply flawed. Among various sites on the internet 1 2 3 4, there's this passage which suggests that ...
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Looking for an obscure myth where Zeus kills one of Apollo's male lovers
I remember reading a myth as a child, but have not been able to find it again ever since.
It starts like a typical Apollo myth: Apollo has a young best friend/lover, and they are inseparable. Then ...
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Status of Euhemerus theory on Zeus
Euhemerus (4th Century BC) is famous for his attempt to interpret myths as deformed historical events. In particular he thought that Zeus was originally a Cretan king whose tomb could be found in ...
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Metis' unborn son
In the myth of Athena's birth it is mentioned that Metis' second child would overthrow Zeus. When Zeus swallowed Metis, he prevented the prophecy's fulfillment and Metis never had a son. But what if ...
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Did Zeus have any male lovers?
Many of the Greek gods were bisexual. Did Zeus have any male lovers?
user28
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Who was Zeus' first child conceived with a mortal?
Zeus was well known for his sexual escapades (both willing or unwilling).
These resulted in many divine (Gods,Olympians) and heroic offspring (demi-gods)
My question is : Who was Zeus' first child ...
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How many sons did Zeus father through mortal women? [closed]
Heracles and Perseus were two well-known sons of Zeus fathered by mortal women.
How many other male offspring did Zeus father by human women?
How many of these (sons of mortal mothers) ...
user28
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Was the rule of Zeus ever challenged?
Zeus became king of the gods and absolute ruler of the cosmos when he overthrew his father Cronus in the Titanomachy.
I wonder if his reign was ever challenged after that?
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Is Zeus ever referred to as Earthshaker?
From my exposure to Greek mythology (The Iliad, The Odyssey, etc.) I had always seen/heard the god of the sea, Poseidon, referred to as Earth-Shaker. Zeus was always given other titles such as Zeus ...
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What do we know of the rebellion against Zeus by Poseidon, Hera and Athena?
In the first book of the Iliad Achilles mentions that Thetis, his sea nymph mother, once saved Zeus from a rebellion by Poseidon, Hera and Athena:
Help your brave son, therefore, if you are able. Go ...
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How did Cronos lose if he was god of time?
I have read in many articles where it is mentioned that Zeus overthrew the Titan Cronos who could control time.
How is it possible? Cronos could just turn back time and correct wherever he went wrong....
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If Athena was born from Zeus' brain, does this mean Athena is a manifestation of Zeus' intelligence?
I have heard that Athena was born out of thoughts, sprang from Zeus' head. In that case, does this mean Athena is a manifestation of Zeus' intelligence?
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What is the earliest source to claim that Zeus and Ganymede were lovers?
On this question, I and another poster claim on the basis of internet sources that Ganymede was Zeus' male lover. A commenter challenged that, however, and I haven't yet found a reliable source to say ...
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Is there any significance to the forms Zeus took?
Zeus often takes many forms to trick his wives and other damsels and some of the more prominent forms that he had taken are:
-the eagle(for Ganydeme)
-the swan(for Leda)
-the bull(for Eurynome)
-...
user1385
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Did the power of Zeus grow considerably after the Titanomachy?
In my previous question, I learned of Typhon's revolt against Zeus. What puzzles me is how Zeus managed to overcome the monstrous giant without any help from the Olympians, or anyone else.
In the ...
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Zeus' Lightning Bolt
Did Zeus'/Iupiters' lightning bolt ever attain it's own personal name, or did the Greeks and Romans only ever use generic words for thunder and lightning?
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Who was the goddess, pregnant with Zeus' child or children, who was denied sanctuary?
A certain goddess, having been impregnated by Zeus, was driven from her home by the ever-angry Hera, and forced to flee, with her children or child, unsure. Everywhere she went she was rejected in ...
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Is there a tale of Zeus having sex with a deer?
I heard about a myth saying Zeus had sex with a deer, but after hours of research, I hold nothing. Can anyone tell me of this myth?
I am especially interested in acquiring any information about a ...
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Are there any studies of the historic phenomenon of the chief god of a pantheon being replaced by the storm god?
We find in at least two instances the chief god of a pantheon being replaced by the younger storm god of that pantheon. For example, in Canaanite mythology, the supreme god El is replaced with the ...
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Persian Zeus in Xenophon's Cyropaedia
In the Cyropaedia, the fictional biography of Cyrus the Great, there are, at least, 26 instances of "Zeus", in many cases used like... "By Zeus!"
This is interpretatio graeca, of course, but, if we ...
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Who did Zeus punish by having poison/acid dripped on them?
I am not sure if this is a real myth, as I learned about it from a Tumblr post:
charlesoberonn:
Hades was the least evil entity in the entire Greek pantheon. Just look at the ...
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Did Galileo or Marius know that Callisto was tidally locked?
Jupiter IV, usually referred to as Callisto in modern times, is tidally locked to Jupiter(Zeus). Callisto of mythology attracted the attentions of Zeus (ostensibly because of her physique, according ...
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When Zeus impregnates Danae, what is the meaning of the shower being golden?
In the myth where Zeus impregnates Danae through a golden shower, what is the significance of the water being golden? Rain is often symbolizing semen, but why is it golden? Does it simply indicate ...
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Why was the goat Amalthea such a dreaded animal?
Amalthea was the goat that fed Zeus when Rhea wanted to protect him from Cronus, hiding him in a cave in Crete. Other versions say that she was actually a nymph, who was in charge of feeding him with ...
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Why are the three Judges of the Underworld Zeus's sons?
The Judges of the Dead in Greek Mythology are Minos, Rhadamanthus, and Aeacus.
Minos was a tyrant king of Crete. He made war with Athens because his son died there. He demanded 14 virgin youths, 7 ...
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Did Zeus give Pandora the box?
Did Zeus give Pandora the box?
So the version I'm most familiar with is that Epimetheus had a box containing the evils of the world, but in some other versions e.g. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=...
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Is Zeus subject to the decrees of the Moirai?
In Herodotus's Histories (I.91) it is said:
When the Lydians came, and spoke as they had been instructed, the
priestess (it is said) made the following reply. “No one may escape
his lot, not ...
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Why doesn't Hera divorce Zeus and marry someone more faithful?
This is something I don't understand. If Hera hates Zeus' infidelity, to the point of cursing his lovers and even trying to overthrow him, why not marry someone else?
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When did Zeus get the aegis?
Every version I have read has Perseus given a shield by Athena. He uses the shield to see Medusa's reflection to cut her head off. Some time later, he gave the shield and the head to Athena. Athena ...
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What power does Hera have over Zeus?
Zeus was king of the gods, and his lightening bolt was something of a supreme weapon in the clash with the titans.
And yet, Zeus is often depicted as a hen-pecked husband, fearful of his wife.
...
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Was there meant to be a connection or comparison between Poseidon's trident and Hades's bident?
In Greek mythology, Poseidon carries a three-pronged spear known as a trident, while his brother Hades carries a two-pronged spear known as a bident. For that matter, the third brother Zeus carries ...
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Do we know of any battles or other specific events that happened during the Titanomachy?
Every account of the Titanomachy I’ve ever seen basically jumps from Zeus getting Kronos to regurgitate his siblings straight to the Olympians’ victory ten years later. A few will reference the ...
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Who in Greek mythology is associated with natural disasters?
For example, tsunamis being water are obvious to be Poseidon's doing, but what about volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, landslides, avalanches, soil liquefaction etc?
Some sources state that Poseidon ...
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Why was the Worship of Zeus and his kin banned?
I read somewhere that before Christianity, the Greeks worshiped the seven Greek Gods and eventually it was outlawed or forbidden.
My question is, Why was the Worship of Zeus and his kin banned?
I'm ...
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Source for claim that white animals were sacrificed to Olympian gods?
The Wikipedia article about Zeus contains these two sentences:
Certain modes of ritual were held in common as well: sacrificing a white animal over a raised altar, for instance.
Olympian gods, by ...
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Why does Hesiod emphasize the fact that Hecate is the only child of her parents?
In Hesiod's Theogony, he dedicates a part to talking about Hecate's birth and the powers she possesses:
And she conceived and bare Hecate whom Zeus the son of Cronos honoured
above all. He gave her ...
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What does Tiresias's answer to the gods mean?
Zeus and Hera once had an argument on which gender enjoyed love making more. They called on Tiresias, a mortal that had been both a man and a woman. his answer was this...
Of ten parts a man enjoys ...
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Specificness of gods
I am by no means an expert or insider on mythology, and maybe I misuse or misunderstand Greek mythology. But there has always been a question that has been on my mind.
Why do the gods have such ...
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Who were all the godly children of Zeus and how many were there?
How many children did Zeus have that were gods? How many were there? I know that the 9 Muses were fathered by Zeus, as well as some of the Olympians (Apollo, Artemis, Dionysus, Athena, Ares, and ...
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How did Prometheus deceive Zeus?
In Hesiod's Works and Days, we learn that Zeus hid fire from humankind in anger because Prometheus had deceived him:
For the gods keep hidden from men the means of life. Else you would easily do work ...
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Are there any myths that prove Athena was the favorite daughter of Zeus?
In Greek mythology, Athena is often said to be favourite child of Zeus.
The only proof that I know of is him gifting her his shield (Aegis).
But are there any other myths that provide proof for this ...
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Why does Cronus have the power to cast hailstones, in the Dionysiaca of Nonnus?
I was reading the page of Cronus on Theoi.com when I saw this passage, which talks about the fight between Zeus and Cronus:
Broadbeard Kronos fanned the flame of Enyo (War) as he cast icy spears
...
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Why did Zeus take half the goodness out of a man?
I found something online mentioning a passage from the Odyssey, Book XVII. I checked it against my own Odyssey translated by Samuel Butler. The passage holds true.
"...Servants never do their work ...
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