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Title: ZEUS AND HIS GREATNESS

I. INTRODUCTION

ZEUS was the king of the gods, the god of sky and weather, law, order and fate. He was

depicted as a regal man, mature with sturdy figure and dark beard. His usual attributes were a

lightning bolt, royal sceptre and eagle.

Some of the more famous myths featuring the god include:--

His birth and upbringingin the Diktaion cave, where he was nursed by Amaltheia and

guarded by the shield-clashing Kouretes;

The Titan Warin which he overthrew the Titanes and imprisoned them in Tartaros;

His battle with Typhoeus, a hundred headed, monstrous giant who attempted to capture

heaven;

The War of the Giants who attempted to storm Olympos but were slain by Zeus and the

gods;

The Great Deluge in which he flooded the earth to destroy mankind and begin the world

anew;

His conflict with Prometheus over the theft of benefactions for mankind;

The punishment of Salmoneus, Tantalos and Ixion, men who offended the god with their

impiety;

The birth and life of Herakles, his favoured son, who he had transferred to Olympos at

death;

http://www.theoi.com/Text/CallimachusHymns1.html#1http://www.theoi.com/Titan/Titanes.htmlhttp://www.theoi.com/Gigante/Typhoeus.htmlhttp://www.theoi.com/Gigante/Gigantes.htmlhttp://www.theoi.com/Titan/TitanPrometheus.htmlhttp://www.theoi.com/Text/CallimachusHymns1.html#1http://www.theoi.com/Titan/Titanes.htmlhttp://www.theoi.com/Gigante/Typhoeus.htmlhttp://www.theoi.com/Gigante/Gigantes.htmlhttp://www.theoi.com/Titan/TitanPrometheus.html

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His extramarital affairs with women such as Leda, seduced in the form of a swan;

Europa, as a bull; Danae, as a golden shower; Kallisto, as Artemis; and Antiope as a

satyr;

The Trojan War which he orchestrated from start to end, including the casting of the

golden apple of discord.

A. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The Greek god Zeus was the top Olympian god in the Greek pantheon. After he took

credit for rescuing his brothers and sisters from their father Cronus, Zeus became king of

heaven and gave his brothers, Poseidon and Hades, the sea and the underworld, respectively,

for their domains.

Zeus was the husband of Hera, but he had many affairs with other goddesses, mortal

women, and female animals. Zeus mated with, among others, Aegina, Alcmena, Calliope,

Cassiopea, Demeter, Dione, Europa, Io, Leda, Leto, Mnemosyne, Niobe, and Semele.

In the Roman pantheon, Zeus is known as Jupiter.

The significance of the study of this topic is not only centered on what has Zeus

affairs with other and different women, it is centered in his rules, his powers and how he

became a king of Olympus. In this research we can better view and know Zeus in his own

way of ruling his kingdom despite the other knowing type of character he was having on.

http://www.theoi.com/Olympios/ZeusLoves2.htmlhttp://www.theoi.com/Olympios/ZeusLoves2.html

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B. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

1. How Zeus become the most powerful God?

2. How did he become the king of Olympus?

3. What are his best characteristics? His worst character?

4. Do we have Zeus today? Who are they?

3. Who can we call there people, the Zeus of today?

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II. BODY

In Greek mythology Zeus is the "Father of Gods and men", according to Hesiod's

Theogony, who ruled the Olympians ofMount Olympus as a father ruled the family;

he was thegod of sky and thunderin Greek mythology. As Walter Burkert points out

in his book, Greek Religion, "Even the gods who are not his natural children address

him as Father, and all the gods rise in his presence." For the Greeks, he was theKing

of the Gods, who oversaw the universe. As Pausanias observed, "That Zeus is king in

heaven is a saying common to all men". In Hesiod's Theogony, Zeus assigns the

various gods their roles. In theHomeric Hymns he is referred to as the chieftain of the

gods. His symbols are the thunderbolt, eagle, bull, and oak. In addition to his Indo-

European inheritance, the classical "cloud-gatherer" also derives certain iconographic

traits from the cultures of the Ancient Near East, such as the scepter. Zeus is

frequently depicted by Greek artists in one of two poses: standing, striding forward,

with a thunderbolt leveled in his raised right hand, or seated in majesty. After

reaching manhood, Zeus forced Cronus to disgorge first the stone (which was set

down at Pytho under the glens ofParnassus to be a sign to mortal men, the

Omphalos) then his siblings in reverse order of swallowing. In some versions, Metis

gave Cronus an emetic to force him to disgorge the babies, or Zeus cut Cronus'

stomach open. Then Zeus released the brothers of Cronus, the Gigantes, the

Hecatonchires and the Cyclopes, from their dungeon in Tartarus, killing their guard,

Campe. As a token of their appreciation, the Cyclopes gave him thunder and the

thunderbolt, orlightning, which had previously been hidden by Gaia. Together, Zeus

and his brothers and sisters, along with the Gigantes, Hecatonchires and Cyclopes

overthrew Cronus and the other Titans, in the combat called the Titanomachy. The

defeated Titans were then cast into a shadowy underworld region known as Tartarus.

Atlas, one of the titans that fought against Zeus, was punished by having to hold upthe sky. After the battle with the Titans, Zeus shared the world with his elder brothers,

Poseidon andHades, by drawing lots: Zeus got the sky and air, Poseidon the waters,

and Hades the world of the dead (the underworld). The ancient Earth, Gaia, could not

be claimed; she was left to all three, each according to their capabilities, which

explains why Poseidon was the "earth-shaker" (the god of earthquakes) and Hades

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_mythologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_mythologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hesiodhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hesiodhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Olympushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_fatherhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_thunder_godshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_mythologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_of_the_Godshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_of_the_Godshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_of_the_Godshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hesiodhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hesiodhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theogonyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theogonyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeric_Hymnshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunderbolthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eaglehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bull_(mythology)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Near_Easthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Near_Easthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scepterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parnassushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parnassushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omphaloshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metis_(mythology)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emetichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stomachhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giganteshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giganteshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hecatonchireshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclopshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tartarushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tartarushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunderhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightninghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightninghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanomachyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poseidonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaia_(mythology)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_mythologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hesiodhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Olympushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_fatherhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_thunder_godshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_mythologyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_of_the_Godshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_of_the_Godshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hesiodhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theogonyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homeric_Hymnshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunderbolthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eaglehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bull_(mythology)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oakhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Near_Easthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scepterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parnassushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omphaloshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metis_(mythology)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emetichttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stomachhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giganteshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hecatonchireshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyclopshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tartarushttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thunderhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lightninghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titanomachyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poseidonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hadeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaia_(mythology)

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claimed the humans that died. Gaia resented the way Zeus had treated the Titans,

because they were her children. Soon after taking the throne as king of the gods, Zeus

had to fight some of Gaia's other children, the monsters Typhon and Echidna. He

vanquished Typhon and trapped him underMount Etna, but left Echidna and her

children alive. Zeus in Greek mythology is the king of the gods, the ruler of Mount

Olympus, and god of the sky and thunder. He is known for his erotic escapades,

including one pederastic relationship with Ganymede. His trysts resulted in many

famous offspring.

Zeus is known to punish those who veered out of his pleasure with lightning bolts. He

was the embodiment of Greek religious beliefs and the archetypal Greek deity. Zeus

was mighty, glorious, awesome and wise. Zeus played a dominant role, presiding

over theGreekOlympian pantheon. He fathered many of the heroes and was featured

in many of theirlocal cults. Though the Homeric "cloud collector" was the god of the

sky and thunder like his Near-Eastern counterparts, he was also the supreme cultural

artifact; in some senses, he was the embodiment of Greek religious beliefs and the

archetypal Greek deity.Relationship with various women and uses his charms and

powers to benefit his evil desires, very untrustworthy and a certain degree of

surprising foolishness and naivety when it came to hiding his love affairs. Aside from

the endless affairs Zeus was different from other gods in that he did not participate in

the arguments and the resulting petty scheming that made up the daily activities of

other gods. Being this wise ruler, he also demanded just and righteous action from

men. Zeus was however vengeful. Nowadays Zeus was compared to our government

officials. They are the most powerful and they have the ability to control people and

situations. For example our president can formulate laws such as executive orders or

presidential decree. They are respected and well known and sometimes with their

power they are abusive. Zues was also compare to ex president Joseph Ejercito

Estrada who has many wives but is he such a good leader. We are the people of Zeus

today, our lives depends to our leaders on how they rule our country. If our leaders

know our needs in order to improve our life such as poverty and they have the

concern our country will be the best place to live.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echidna_(mythology)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Etnahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Etnahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greecehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greecehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult_(religion)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archetypehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archetypehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monsterhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhonhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Echidna_(mythology)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Etnahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Greecehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cult_(religion)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archetype

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III. CONCLUSION

A summary that we have discussed unlike many Greek divinities, the origins of

Zeus' name are undisputed. "Zeus" is connected with an ancient Indo-European deity

Dyeus, which roughly translates as 'sky', 'day' (as opposed to night) and 'clear'. All of

these point to his role as a god of the heavens, the sky and thunder.

As the king of the Greek Gods, Zeus has been portrayed endlessly in art, often

with specific aspects or symbols to identify him and his purpose. For example, early

Classical vase paintings often show him throwing thunderbolts, identifying him as a

powerful warrior deity, affiliated with Hephaestus the god of the forge and maker of

thunderbolts (see figure 1). However, as the classical period progressed, it became

fashionable to depict Zeus seated on a throne, holding a sceptre, often accompanied

by the goddess Nike, thus symbolising his role as king and patriarch of the gods (see

figure 2). It is important to note, however, that Zeus was not considered to be a tyrant

and literature depicts him as fair and even-handed, especially considering that one of

his mani functions was the lord of Justice. Regardless of his specific iconography,

Zeus is always portrayed as an imposing man, full-grown and with a beard -

indicating his status as experienced patriarch of the Olympian family, as opposed to

other male deities such as Apollo and Hermes who are often depicted as young men

(ephebes) with no beards; erotically appealing, but not powerful. Zeus' power isfurther indicated by his symbols of the eagle, the bull and the full-grown oak tree.

I therefore conclude that being powerful is such a great honor. Zeus was

an excellent for being a good leader. He has the power to control the universe with his

great power. NOBODY is PERFECT these pertains to the wrong doings of Zeus such

as having many wives and in some cases he is about to use his power in his own

desire.