Zeus (Roman Jupiter)
The most powerful of the Greek gods, the ruler of heaven and earth, lord of the sky, god of thunder and lightning, king of the gods, and known to the Romans as Jupiter.
Zeus is usually depicted as a great bearded figure carrying a thunderbolt. He obtained his power by overthrowing his father Cronus and the Titans and rules from Olympus.
Notorious for his affairs with human women, Zeus often changed his appearance to seduce them, despite his marriage to Hera. He fathered many other gods with the Titans and other goddesses. The twins Apollo and Artemis were his children by a Titan named Leto. She had given birth to them on the island of Delos, where Hera had chased her in a fit of jealousy.
Zeus favorite daughter was Athena, goddess of wisdom. She had sprung from his head fully grown and fully armed, wearing a shining helmet and a glimmering robe. Zeus's son Hephaestus had split open his father's head with an axe so that Athena could leap out.
When it was time to man to be created, Zeus gave this important work to Prometheus and Epimetheus, the two Titans who had helped him in his battle against Cronus and the other Titans. Zeus also gave them the task of providing men and animals gifts that would insure their survival. For giving men fire, Prometheus was punished by Zeus, who chained him to a rock in the Caucasus mountains, where a vulture would eat his ever-growing liver for eternity.
See Troy, Apollo, Delphi, Olympians, Greeks, Hermes, Hera, Hades, Bacchus, Centaurs, Cerberus, Daedalus, Dionysus, Vulcan, Mars, Oracle, Tarpeian Rock, Tartarus, Telegonus, Telemachus, Mystic Gifts and Charms - New Age Gift Shop & Wicca and Pagan Supplies, Love Spells -- Use these powerful love spells to help you find and keep your true love, The Tarot Store, The Chakra Store, Divination & Scrying Tools and Supplies, Unique Amulets, Talismans, Good Luck Charms, and Love Tokens, Powerful Witch Doctor Spell Kits, Powerful Spells - Cast by Andreika the Witch, Webmasters Make $$$, AzureGreen - Celebrating All Paths to the Divine, ISIS - Tools for Your Soul's Journey, and The Pyramid Collection - Myth, Magick, Fantasy and Romance.
Sources: (1) Cooper, J.C. (Editor), Brewer's Book of Myth and Legend, Cassell Academic Publishing; (2) Evans, Bergen, Dictionary of Mythology, Dell Publishing Co., Inc.; (3) Dixon-Kennedy, Mike, Encyclopedia of Greco-Roman Mythology, ABC-Clio Inc. Publishers; (4) Ayto, John, Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase & Fable, Collins Reference Publishing.
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