Zeus was the supreme
god of the Olympians. His Roman name was
Jupiter.
I bet that when you think of Zeus (if ever), that you think of some big strong man sitting on a throne in the sky! Well, at least I did until I really learned about the gods. Zeus wasn’t always such a mighty god, you know…
Before Zeus had so much authority on Mount Olympus, he obviously had to grow up! He was the youngest son of the Titans Cronus and Rhea. When he was born, his father was going to swallow him as he had done to all of Zeus’ siblings: Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, Demeter, and Hera. Rhea objected to this. She hid baby Zeus in a cave on Mount Dicte in Crete.
When Zeus grew up, he caused his father to vomit his sisters and brothers, who joined him in fighting to gain control of the universe from the Titans, and Cronus, their king. Zeus and his siblings succeeded and imprisoned most of the Titans in Tantalus.
He, Poseidon, and Hades divided up creation. Zeus took the sky, Poseidon received the sea, and Hades got the Underworld.
Although Zeus was married to Hera, who also happened to be his sister, he enjoyed being around other women. His offspring were Heracles, Perseus, Minos, Rhadamanthys, Sarpedon, Epaphus, Helen, Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, Athena, and the Muses.
