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Dromo's Den
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[Up] [Dromo's Den] Zeus Biography ZEUS, the chief deity of the Greeks, who was regarded by them as the ruler of heaven and earth. He was represented as the son of Crones and Rhea, the brother of Poseidon and Hera, and sometimes as the husband of the last mentioned. The ancient Greek writings mention him as god of all aerial phenomena, as the personification of the laws of nature, as lord of the state and as the father of gods and men. After expelling his father and the Titans from the throne, he assumed absolute control, but appointed Poseidon as god of the sea and gave Hades control of the infernal regions, and with the two had joint control of the earth. The top of Mount Olympus, a lofty mountain between Thessaly and Macedon, was believed to be the home of Zeus, where he was supposed to be hidden from mortal view by the clouds and mist. He was worshiped at various places, but chiefly at Dodona, Crete, and Arcadia, and the oak tree and the summits of mountains were sacred to him. In statuary he was represented as accompanied by an eagle, perhaps from the circumstance that this bird is capable of gazing at the sun, thus suggesting the idea that it was able to contemplate the splendor of divine majesty. Zeus was afterward identified with the Ammon of Libya and the Jupiter of the Romans. His seven immortal wives were Hera, Leto, Metis, Themis, Demeter, Eurynome, and Mnemosyne. See Jupiter. The Teachers' and Pupils' Cyclopædia, Vol. V. (Kansas City: Bufton Book Co., 1909) 2149. |