Zeus was considered the main deity of the ancient Greek pantheon. He "managed" not only thunder and lightning, but also the entire Olympus and the human world.
Birth
Zeus's parents were Kronos and Rhea. The father knew about the prophecy that one of his sons would overthrow him. Kronos was very afraid of this. He himself at one time destroyed his father Uranus - the very first god. The myth of Zeus says that Kronos ordered Rhea to bring him newborn children, whom he swallowed without any pity. This fate has already befallen Hestia, Poseidon, Demeter, Hades and Hera.
Rhea, afraid for her youngest son, decided to give birth to him in a cave on the island of Crete. She gave Kronos a stone wrapped in diapers, which he swallowed, unaware of the trick.
The myth of the birth of Zeus also tells about the Kurets, the mysterious companions of Rhea. It was they who guarded the child while he was growing up in Crete. The guards clanged loudly with armor and shields if the baby began to cry. This was done so that Kronos would not hear these cries. The myth of the birth of Zeus was later adopted from the Greeks by the Romans. They called this god Jupiter.
Childhood in a cave
Zeus atehoney of local bees, which they themselves brought to him from hives on Mount Dikti. One of the caves at its foot is still considered the "cave of Zeus". When archaeologists conducted the first excavations here, they discovered a huge number of altars and figurines dedicated to the Thunderer. The myth of Zeus was known to every inhabitant of Hellas. The baby was also fed on the milk of the goat Am althea. This animal was brought to the cave by two nymphs: Adrastea and Idea. When Am althea died, her horn was turned into a cornucopia, and the skin was used by Zeus to make a shield with which he went to war against the titans.
War with the Titans
When Zeus grew up and matured, he openly opposed his father, who did not suspect the existence of his son. He forced Kronos to bring back the children that he had swallowed many years ago. Then they started a war against their father for power over the whole world. The myth of Zeus says that the altar where they swore to fight Kronos was turned into a constellation.
The war against the titans lasted nine years. At first, she did not reveal the winners due to the equality of the forces of the opponents. The children of Kronos made Mount Olympus their residence, from where they led the war. In addition to Kronos, there were other titans in the second generation of gods, and some of them went over to the side of Zeus. Chief among them was the Ocean, which could control the seas and rivers.
Cyclops and Hecatoncheires
Finally, Zeus decided on an extreme measure and resorted to the help of the Cyclopes. They were the children of Uranus and Gaia. From birth, they were inTartarus, where they languished until the Olympians freed them. These one-eyed giants forged lightning bolts for Zeus, which the Thunderer threw at his enemies during battles. They gave Hades a helmet, Poseidon a trident. Athena and Hephaestus learned crafts from the Cyclopes.
The myth of Zeus also mentions the hekatoncheirs. These were giants with 50 heads and a hundred hands, enclosed in the bowels of the earth. They also became allies of Zeus. These giants tore off whole pieces from the mountains and threw them directly at the titans who tried to take Olympus by storm. The colossal battle shook the whole world, even the underground Tartarus.
The Union of Olympians has borne fruit. They defeated the titans and cast them straight into Tartarus, where they were chained. The Hekatoncheirs began to guard the prisoners so that they could never be freed. From that moment on, the Olympian gods began to rule the world. The war with the titans became known as the Titanomachy. According to the myths, it took place many centuries before the appearance of the human race.
New Order
Power over the world was divided among the three brothers. Zeus gained dominion over the sky. Poseidon became the ruler of the sea. Hades got the realm of the dead. The land was recognized as common property. At the same time, Zeus was called the eldest of the gods. He ruled over the entire human world.
However, not everyone was happy with the new order of things. Gaia didn't like the way the Olympians treated her Titan children. A brief myth about Zeus, which includes this conflict, tells that the goddess of the Earth entered into marriage with the terrible Tartarus. Fromthis connection was born Typhon - a mighty giant. He personified all the fiery forces of the earth. The new god tried to overthrow Zeus.
From one approach of Typhon, the seas boiled, and many Olympian gods waited in horror for his invasion. All this is told by the myth of Zeus. A summary of this new war is found in some ancient Greek sources, for example, in Theogony. Zeus again took up the lightning, with which he struck Typhon. The giant was defeated and thrown back into Tartarus. However, there he still worries the earthly world. From his connection with Echidna, many monsters appeared, such as the three-headed dog Cerberus, hydras and Chimera.
Life on Olympus
Zeus reigned at the top of Mount Olympus, where he was constantly surrounded by a host of younger gods. The gates to his halls are shrouded in a cloud ruled by the Ores. These goddesses of the seasons allowed visitors to Olympus and opened the entrance for the gods who descended to earth.
Eternal summer reigns in the kingdom of Zeus - there is no snow, rain and natural disasters. The son of the Thunderer Hephaestus built magnificent halls in which the gods feasted and spent their free time from worries. The myth of Zeus (5th graders study this topic) also mentions his wife Hera. She became the patroness of human marriage and bore her husband many children. The most famous of them was the daughter of Hebe, who became the goddess of youth and cupbearer on Olympus.
