26
votes
Accepted
Why did Zeus assume so many different forms for seduction?
I don't think it's explicitly said, but essentially, as being constantly unable to control himself, yet still being married to Hera, Zeus had two problems:
Hera, ever jealous was constantly after him....
- 4,429
22
votes
Did Zeus have any male lovers?
It seems there is only one: Ganymede.
I've consulted these sources for a list of Zeus' lovers:
Zeus Lovers by J.M. Hunt
Zeus' Lovers | GreekMythology.com
Zeus's Love Affairs by Nancy Conner
Zeus's ...
- 939
20
votes
Accepted
Did Zeus have any male lovers?
While the vast majority of Zeus's lovers were female, one of Zeus's lovers was the mortal Ganymede.
Ganymede is noted as the only one of Zeus's lovers to whom he granted immortality.
- 1,197
19
votes
Accepted
How did Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades decide who would rule what?
There is some disagreement on this issue.
According to Theogony, lines 881-885 (emphasis mine):
But when the blessed gods completed their toil and made settlement of honors for the Titans by brute ...
- 4,429
18
votes
Accepted
What happened to Metis after the birth of Athena?
There are two possibilities here:
Either, Metis was killed when Zeus swallowed her:
It may seem odd for Metis to have been pregnant with Athena but, never
mentioned as her mother. This is ...
- 888
17
votes
How did Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades decide who would rule what?
According to Pseudo-Apollodorus, the three brothers drew lots to decide their dominions:
But when Zeus was full-grown, he took Metis, daughter of Ocean, to help him, and she gave Cronus a drug to ...
- 16.8k
15
votes
Accepted
Status of Euhemerus theory on Zeus
No. Modern scholarship usually considers Zeus to be the Greek continuation of a Proto-Indo-European sky deity reconstructed as *Dyēus ph2ter. In fact, of all the Greek pantheon, Zeus is the most ...
- 7,666
15
votes
Accepted
How many sons did Zeus father through mortal women?
There is a list of offspring of Zeus on Wikipedia. To avoid simply repeating it, I've tried to add more detail. This list is not complete, as they are many "possible offspring", and many with confused ...
- 2,453
15
votes
Accepted
Why is rape featured so prominently in Greek mythology?
Preface: This subject is complicated by changing social standards. Forced marriage has been routinely practiced around the world into the contemporary era, depending on the society. (This is a major ...
- 14k
14
votes
Accepted
How did Cronos lose if he was god of time?
OK, so there are a couple of misconceptions here. First, as Codosaur has already pointed out, Cronus and Chronos aren't necessarily the same being -- they just have similar names.
On the other hand, ...
- 1,603
13
votes
Accepted
Was Poseidon actually jealous of Zeus?
Well, Poseidon's relationship with Zeus was a rocky one. There have been instances where Poseidon is jealous about Zeus' position as the King of gods. However, the same instance is said to be inspired ...
- 3,423
11
votes
Was the rule of Zeus ever challenged?
Typhon, a serpentine giant, attempted to overthrow Zeus. The earliest account of their battle can be found in the Theogony, and according to Hesiod Typhon "would have come to reign over mortals ...
- 16.8k
11
votes
Accepted
Was the rule of Zeus ever challenged?
In the Iliad, Hera rebels against Zeus, and gets the other gods to bind him to his throne after she drugs him:
"You [Thetis] said you only among the immortals beat aside shameful
destruction ...
- 5,858
10
votes
Accepted
Which cities had chthonic Zeus cults?
Pausanias in its Description of Greece mentions during his visit to Corinth an image of Zeus Chthonios in a temple:
The images of Zeus also are in the open; one had not a surname, another they call ...
- 3,539
10
votes
What did Danae want?
I do realise this may be more about history / sociology than about mythology per se...
I'm not really sure there is an actual answer to this, as a girl was subject to what her father (or later in life ...
- 610
10
votes
Is Zeus ever referred to as Earthshaker?
In later (hellenistic) times Zeus tended to monopolize all powers and earthquakes came to be his deed. There is a classic book by AB Cook Zeus: a study in ancient religion, part3 has some 30 pages on "...
- 836
10
votes
Accepted
Who was Zeus' first child conceived with a mortal?
Argos (and his brother Pelasgos)
According to Apollodorus, Hyginus, and Diodorus Siculus, the first mortal consort of Zeus was a princess named Niobe, daughter of Phoroneus. (This Niobe is not to be ...
- 9,527
9
votes
Was Zeus a compilation of gods?
I haven't heard quite that theory.
The theory about the Original source of Zeus that I tend to come across* is that the original proto-Indo-European people (PIE), based on comparative linguistic and ...
- 1,138
9
votes
Accepted
Metis' unborn son
The story occurs in only two ancient writings: first in Hesiod's Theogony, where just a few tantalising details are offered towards your Question, and then only about 800 years after that, in ...
- 9,527
8
votes
What did Danae want?
But my question is, what did Danae want? Did she want to mate with Zeus, or was she raped? Did she go in her prison willingly or voluntarily
It is a myth, within a culture where a woman was ...
- 1,031
8
votes
Accepted
Who did Zeus punish by having poison/acid dripped on them?
I do not think there's a tale were Zeus punishes someone with poison, as in Greek mythology punishment by poison is more often associated with women. See, for example, the story of Medea, or how Hera ...
- 1,380
8
votes
Accepted
Did Galileo or Marius know that Callisto was tidally locked?
There is no way Galileo or Simon Marius would have been able to observe the tidal locking of any of Jupiter's moons, as they just appeared as faint stars through their telescopes. In fact both Galileo ...
- 1,659
7
votes
How did Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades decide who would rule what?
Based on Zeus' having rescued his siblings from the belly of their father Kronos; and on the deal that he made with the Titans who eventually sided with him (which is the majority of the Titan ...
- 9,527
7
votes
Accepted
If Athena was born from Zeus' brain, does this mean Athena is a manifestation of Zeus' intelligence?
The Metis story is interesting because according to the prophecy Metis would have two children - Athena and then a son who would ovethrow Zeus. This would have represented a triumph for the Titans, ...
- 5,858
7
votes
If Athena was born from Zeus' brain, does this mean Athena is a manifestation of Zeus' intelligence?
Yes and no. It depends on how you look at it.
Athena is Zeus' favorite. She is a "daddy's girl" for sure, siding with the father over the mother in the trial of Orestes. He gives her the aegis to ...
- 14k
7
votes
Who did Zeus punish by having poison/acid dripped on them?
The only reference concerning Zeus being associated with poison is this:
But when Zeus was full-grown, he took Metis, daughter of Ocean, to help him, and she gave Cronus a drug to swallow, which ...
- 211
7
votes
Is Zeus ever referred to as Earthshaker?
In the same chapter "Zeus and the Earthquakes" of Zeus: a study in ancient religion, Vol. III, by Arthur Bernard Cook, quoted by @sand1 in his answer, the author says:
In point of fact, the ...
- 2,267
6
votes
Accepted
Is Zeus subject to the decrees of the Moirai?
Yes, surprisingly,
The Moirai were independent, at the helm of necessity, directed fate, and watched that the fate assigned to every being by eternal laws might take its course without obstruction; ...
- 6,689
6
votes
Why was the Worship of Zeus and his kin banned?
Pagan religion was outlawed forcibly by Imperial Decree of his majesty Emperor Theodosius II.
The decree commanded the immediate closure of temples, oracles, schools etc that were even remotely ...
- 195
6
votes
Accepted
Who was the goddess, pregnant with Zeus' child or children, who was denied sanctuary?
Latona
According to this story:
The goddess approached, and kneeling on the bank would have slaked
her thirst in the cool stream, but the rustics forbade her.
When the people reject her, Latona ...
- 1,241
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