Zeus: Difference between revisions

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[[Image:Statue of Zeus.jpg|thumb|330px|The '''[[Statue of Zeus at Olympia|Statue]] of Zeus at [[Olympia, Greece|Olympia]]'''<br/>[[Phidias]] created the 12-m (40-ft) tall [[statue]] of '''''Zeus''''' at Olympia about [[435 BC]]. The statue was perhaps the most famous [[sculpture]] in [[Ancient Greece]], imagined here in a [[16th century]] [[engraving]]]]

'''Zeus''' (in [[Greek language|Greek]]: [[nominative case|nominative]]: {{Polytonic|Ζεύς}} ''Zeús'', [[genitive case|genitive]]: {{Polytonic|Διός}} ''Diós''), is the king of the gods, the ruler of [[Mount OlympusAthena]], and god of the [[sky father|sky]] and [[List of thunder gods|thunder]], in [[Greek mythology]]. His symbols are the [[thunderbolt]], [[eagle]], [[bull (mythology)|bull]] and the [[oak]]. In addition to his Indo-European inheritance, the classical Zeus also derives certain iconographic traits from the cultures of the [[ancient Near East]], such as the [[scepter]]. Zeus is frequently envisaged by Greek artists in one of two poses: standing, striding forward, a thunderbolt leveled in his raised right hand, or seated in majesty.

The son of [[Cronus]] and [[Rhea (mythology)|Rhea]], he was the youngest of his siblings. He was married to [[Hera]] in most traditions, although at the oracle of [[Dodona]] his consort was [[Dione (mythology)|Dione]]: according to the ''[[Iliad]]'', he is the father of [[Aphrodite]] by Dione. Accordingly, he is known for his erotic escapades, including one [[Pederasty in ancient Greece|pederastic relationship]] with [[Ganymede]]. His trysts resulted in many famous offspring, including [[Athena]], [[Apollo]] and [[Artemis]], [[Hermes]], [[Persephone]] (by [[Demeter]]), [[Dionysus]], [[Perseus]], [[Heracles]], [[Helen]], [[Minos]], and the [[Muse]]s (by [[Mnemosyne]]); by Hera he is usually said to have sired [[Ares]], [[Hebe (mythology)|Hebe]] and [[Hephaestus]].