Who is the god Zeus in ancient Greek mythology?

At first glance, Greek mythology seems complex and confusing, which is very difficult to understand. Still, such a number of gods, their wives and children will not be found anywhere else. Our task is to figure out who Zeus is, therefore, without going into unnecessary details, we will try to do this.

Birth

In order to continue his race, the supreme god of all gods, Kronos, was forced to enter into a relationship with his sister Reyya. The latter came from a family of titans, who were considered the very first gods who settled on earth.

Zeus was born from this union. The birth took place in an atmosphere of secrecy and mystery, because the father killed the previous five of his children by swallowing them as soon as they were born. He initially did not want to have children, and especially sons, as he was afraid that his son would grow up stronger than himself and would be able to encroach on the status of the main ruler. He was thus prophesied to die by his own offspring.

The mother did not want to put up with this state of affairs and, on the advice of her parents, she decides to leave her son and runs away to a secret place to give birth to the future king of the gods. Kronos knew about his wife's pregnancy and the imminent birth, so he waited at home to act in a certain way. Rhea deceives her husband and brings him a stone wrapped in a diaper. Suspecting nothing, he swallows the bundle and calms down for a while. But that's half the battle. How to save life, raise and raise a son?

The mother decides to hide him in one of the caves on the island of Crete and puts people on guard. And so goes the life of a young god. He grows up, learns, gains experience, not forgetting about the goal set for himself - the overthrow of the despot of his father and the seizure of all power. Everything is on his side. The guards, drowning out the cries of the baby, loudly knock on their shields. They feed only selected products. Prepare for great things.

The overthrow of the king of kings Kronos

Zeus understood the seriousness of his plans, realizing that in case of victory, he would receive everything. But, if he loses, he will forever end up in the kingdom of Hades at the lowest level. This place was called Tartarus, where everyone who dared to offend the gods referred. Knowing that he himself will not be able to defeat a powerful father, Zeus decides to release the brothers who were swallowed earlier. All this time, those in the stomach grew, developed and accumulated strength. Later, Prometheus and Hades helped him climb the throne.

To carry out his plan, he prepares a poisoned drink, sneaks into the bedroom and pours the potion into a goblet with a drink. Kronos gets sick and he vomits up the stone handed down by Rhea, and after it all the brothers.

Now it remains to convince and unite all relatives into one powerful, strong group capable of resisting the supreme ruler. The brave young man manages to do it. Having assessed their capabilities, the latter understand that the available forces are not enough for a complete and final victory. We urgently need to make a decision and attract even more powerful supporters to our side.

The solution is found very quickly. The young god remembers the old enemies of his father, who were kept in the lower world. These were the Cyclopes and the hundred-armed beings called the Hecatoncheires. By hook or by crook, he manages to free, and then attract new allies to his side. Now, the united coalition is becoming a real force.

Decisive battle

The plain between the mountains Otris and was called Thessaly and it was in this place that the battle was to take place. Everything starts as expected. Zeus and his army begin to fight the titans that Kronos has set out. Thunder and lightning, fragments of rocks fly towards the giant giants, cracking the ground under their feet with a roar. Such strength and power makes you retreat. It's getting harder and harder to resist the pressure. Victory is close as never before, but not everything is as simple as it seems at first glance.

The giants decide on a last, desperate attempt and present their remaining trump card. From the lower world, the titans call to their aid a terrible monster of enormous size, which was called Typhon.

The battle begins with renewed vigor. For a while, it seems that the scales are tipped in favor of the losers, but this is just not for long. Gathering all his strength and power into a fist, Zeus, with a new fierce rage, strikes the enemy with the strongest bolts of lightning. As a result, unable to withstand such an onslaught, the titans, together with their monster, are thrown into Tartarus, where they will stay for eternity.

Thus, the young god becomes the most important king among the gods, who had the gift to let out thunder and lightning, being in anger.

You can read about his love affairs in another article. He had a lot of descendants. The most famous among them:,.