The Great God Zeus, His Wives and Lovers

Zeus was the most revered and most beloved God in ancient Greece. He was feared, loved, and respected. The Greeks believed that it was through him that people learned about family and love. Zeus was believed to protect family relationships, but he himself was not an exemplary family man. Zeus was a very loving God. He officially had three wives and very many unofficial relationships. Zeus also had many children. Among them were both gods and demigods, for Zeus had relations with both goddesses and earthly women.

The first official wife of the great Thunderer was Metida. It was she who prepared the drink that made the titan Kronos spit out the swallowed children, Zeus' brothers and sisters. It was this that helped the Thunderer to conquer the world. However, a tragic fate awaited Metida. Zeus was predicted that he would lose his power as his son, born of Metida, would dethrone him. From the swallowed Metida, Athena, goddess of war and justice, was born in Zeus' mind. The thunderer suffered greatly from headaches. From this he split his head open, and from this the adult Athena was born.

Zeus' second wife was Themis. She was the goddess of justice. Themis was Zeus' aunt, the sister of his father and mother. From this marriage the oras, goddesses of seasons and natural order, were born. Themis and Zeus divorced. However, even after her separation from Zeus, Themis, remained living on Olympus. She declared to the gods the will of the Thunderer.

Zeus' last third wife was his own sister Hera. This was the most jealous wife of the Thunderer. She was not willing to put up with her husband's adultery. Hera tried to dethrone her husband, for which she was hanged on golden chains between heaven and earth.

In Greek mythology, Hera had two very different images. According to the first, she is revered as a powerful goddess, she is honored in rituals as a goddess who patronizes family life, protects mothers and helps during childbirth. Another image refers to her as a vengeful and grumpy woman. And in her vindictiveness she knows no bounds. Zeus ordered Hera to be hanged between heaven and earth because she tried to dethrone him. The Zeus website https://whoiszeus.ca/ contains all the information about the ancient Greek god and the use of his name in the modern world.

Places of worship of Zeus

The god Zeus was very much revered in ancient Greece. A great many places were created where he was worshipped. The most famous places were Ideon, Dodona, and Delphi. They were considered the center of the whole world. A stone monument was erected in Delphi. It was known as the Delphic omphalus. Zeus was also worshipped on the island of Crete, near the cave where legend says he was born.

Another place where Zeus was worshipped was Arcadia. People were sacrificed here. The participants in the ritual ate human meat as a sacrifice. According to the legends, they turned into wolves. Then the participants turned back into humans again. To remain in this guise, they were no longer allowed to eat human meat. Otherwise, they would remain in human form forever.

Zeus: his main attributes

In the view of the ancient Greeks Zeus was an old man with a long beard. His main symbols were: bull, lightning, eagle, oak. The lightning was created for Zeus by the Cyclops, whom he freed from Tartarus. Zeus was often depicted sitting on his throne or walking forward with lightning in his hand. Zeus had a unique feature whereby he could turn into rain, could turn into animals: a bull or an eagle. He was also worshipped in the form of a stone.

Zeus was the father of great heroes, he was the central figure in many cults. Zeus is the lord of the clear sky, thunder, clouds and rain. He ruled over these elements with his Great Power.

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