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Jupiter Biography

Jupiter Image

JUPITER, the principal Roman diety, corresponding to the Greek Zeus and to the Sanskrit Dyaus. He was considered lord of life and death in the widest and most comprehensive signification, having power over both, in which respect he differs from the Greek Zeus, who was to a certain extent controlled by the sway of the Fates (q. v.). Zeus sometimes visited mankind under different disguises, but Jupiter always remained essentially the supreme god of heaven and never appeared upon earth. In statuary he is represented seated on a throne of ivory, holding a sheaf of thunderbolts in his right hand and a scepter in his left, while an eagle stands behind the throne, The most celebrated temple erected in his honor was that on Capitoline Hill, in Rome, which was built by Tarquin.

The Teachers' and Pupils' Cyclopædia, Vol.II. (Kansas City: Bufton Book Co., 1909) 936-937.