The myth of Zeus - the god of heaven, thunder and lightning

Zeus was considered the main deity of the ancient Greek pantheon. He "managed" not only by thunder and lightning, but also by all Olympus and the human world.

Birth

Parents of Zeus were Kronos and Rhea. The father knew about the prediction, which said that one of his sons would overthrow him. Kronos was very afraid of this. He himself at one time ruined his father Uranus - the very first god. The myth of Zeus says that Kronos ordered Rhee to bring him newborn children, whom he swallowed without any pity. This fate has already befallen Hestia, Poseidon, Demeter, Hades and Hera.

Rhea, frightened for her youngest son, decided to give birth to him in a cave on the island of Crete. To Kronos she gave a stone wrapped in diapers, which he swallowed, unaware of the dirty trick.

The myth of the birth of Zeus also informs about the cocks - mysterious companions of Rhea. They guarded the child while he was growing up in Crete. The guards loudly clanked with armor and shields, if the baby began to cry. This was done so that Kronos did not hear these screams. The myth of the birth of Zeus was later adopted by the Greeks by the Romans. They called this god Jupiter.

Childhood in a cave

Zeus ate honey from local bees, which they themselves brought to him from hives on Mount Dikti. One of the caves at its foot is still considered "the cave of Zeus". When archaeologists conducted the first excavations here, they discovered a huge number of altars and figurines dedicated to the thunderer. The myth of Zeus was known to every inhabitant of Hellas. The baby was also nourished by Amalfean goat's milk. This animal was brought into the cave by two nymphs: Adrastea and the Idea. When Amalfeo died, her horn was turned into a Cornucopia, and the skin was used by Zeus in the manufacture of the shield with which he went to war against the Titans.

War with the Titans

When Zeus grew up and matured, he openly opposed his father, who did not suspect the existence of his son. He made Kronos return the children that he had swallowed years ago. Then they started a war against their father for power over the whole world. The myth of Zeus says that the altar on which they swore to fight Kronos was turned into a constellation.

The war with the Titans lasted nine years. At first, it did not reveal the winners because of the equal strength of the opponents. The children of Kronos made Mount Olympus their home , where they led the war. Besides Kronos, the second generation of the gods had other titans, and some of them went over to the side of Zeus. The most important of these was the Ocean, which could control the seas and rivers.

Cyclops and hecatonhairs

Finally, Zeus decided to the extreme measure and resorted to the help of cyclops. They were the children of Uranus and Gaia. Since their birth, they were in Tartar, where they languished until they were freed by the Olympians. These one-eyed giants forged Zeus for lightning, which thundered metal into their enemies during the battles. Aid they gave a helmet, Poseidon - a trident. Athena and Hephaestus learned from the Cyclops crafts.

The myth of Zeus also mentions the Hecatonhaires. They were giants with 50 heads and a hundred hands, imprisoned in the bowels of the earth. They also became allies of Zeus. These giants tore whole pieces from the mountains and threw them directly into the Titans, who tried to take Olympus by storm. A colossal battle shook the whole world, even underground Tartarus.

The Union of Olympians gave fruit. They defeated the Titans and drove them straight to Tartarus, where they were chained in chains. The Hecatonhairs began to guard the prisoners so that they could never be free. From this moment the gods-Olympians began to rule the world. The war with the Titans began to be called Titanomachia. According to myths, it took place for many centuries before the appearance of the human race.

New order

Power over the world was divided between the three brothers. Zeus has gained supremacy over the sky. Poseidon became the ruler of the sea. Aid got the kingdom of the dead. The land was recognized as a common possession. In this case, Zeus was called the eldest of the gods. He commanded the whole human world.

However, not everyone was happy with the new order of things. Gue did not like the way the Olympians treated her titans. A brief myth about Zeus, which includes this conflict, tells us that the goddess of the Earth married a terrible Tartarus. From this connection Typhon appeared - the mighty giant. He represented all the fiery forces of the earth. The new god tried to overthrow Zeus.

From one approach Typhon seas were boiling, and many Olympian gods were waiting in horror for his invasion. This is all about the myth of Zeus. The brief content of this new war is in some ancient Greek sources, for example, in Theogony. Zeus again took up the lightning, through which he played Typhon. The giant was defeated and thrown back into Tartarus. However, there he still worries the earthly world. From his connection with the Echid there are many monsters, for example, the three-headed dog Cerberus, Hydra and Chimera.

Life on Olympus

Zeus reigned on the summit of Olympus, where he was constantly surrounded by a host of younger gods. The gate to his halls is shrouded in a cloud controlled by Ora. These goddesses of the seasons let visitors to Olympus and opened the entrance for the gods, who descended to the ground.

In the kingdom of Zeus, eternal summer reigns - there is no snow, rain and natural disasters. The son of the Thunderer Hephaestus built magnificent palaces in which the gods feasted and spent their time free from worries. The myth of Zeus (5-graders pass through the program of this topic) also mentions his wife Gera. She became the patroness of human marriage and gave birth to a husband a lot of children. The most famous of them was the daughter of Geb, who became the goddess of youth and the cupbearer on Olympus.