Zeus was considered the main deity of the ancient Greek pantheon. He "controlled" not only thunder and lightning, but also the whole of Olympus and the human world.
Birth
The parents of Zeus were Kronos and Rhea. The father was aware of the prediction that one of his sons would overthrow him. Kronos was very afraid of this. He himself at one time destroyed his father Uranus - the very first god. The myth of Zeus says that Kronos ordered Reya 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. She gave Kronos a stone wrapped in diapers, which he swallowed, not suspecting a trick.
The myth of the birth of Zeus also reports about the kurets - the mysterious companions of Rhea. It was they who guarded the child while he grew up in Crete. The guards clanged loudly 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.
Cave childhood
Zeus ate the honey of 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 fed Amalfi's goat milk. This animal was brought into the cave by two nymphs: Adrastea and Idea. When Amalfeus 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 a son. He forced Kronos to return the children whom he swallowed many 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, she did not identify the winners due to the equal strength of the opponents. The children of Kronos made Mount Olympus their place of residence , from where they led the war. In addition to Kronos, in the second generation of gods there were other titans, and some of them went over to the side of Zeus. The main one was the Ocean, which could control the seas and rivers.
Cyclops and hecatonheirs
Finally, Zeus decided to take extreme measures and resorted to the help of the Cyclops. They were the children of Uranus and Gaia. From birth, they ended up in Tartarus, where they languished until they were released by the Olympians. These one-eyed giants forged for Zeus lightning, which thunderbolt metal in their enemies during the battles. They gave Hades a helmet, Poseidon a trident. Athena and Hephaestus learned from the Cyclopes crafts.
The myth of Zeus also mentions the hecatonheirs. These were giants with 50 heads and a hundred hands, enclosed in the bowels of the earth. They also became allies of Zeus. These giants tore whole pieces from the mountains and threw them right at the titans, who tried to take Olympus in a fit. A colossal battle shook the whole world, even underground Tartarus.
The Union of Olympians has borne fruit. They defeated the titans and overthrew them directly to Tartarus, where they were chained. The Hekatonheirs began to guard the prisoners so that they could never be free. From that moment on, the Olympian gods began to rule the world. The war with the titans became known as Titanomachia. According to myths, it took place many centuries before the appearance of the human race.
New order
Power over the world was divided between the three brothers. Zeus gained dominion over heaven. Poseidon became the ruler of the sea. Hades inherited the kingdom of the dead. The land was recognized as a common possession. At the same time, 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. Gaia did not like the way the Olympians did with her titan children. A brief myth about Zeus, which includes this conflict, tells that the goddess of the Earth married a terrible Tartarus. From this connection Typhon appeared - a mighty giant. He personified all the fiery forces of the earth. The new god tried to overthrow Zeus.
From the approach of Typhon the seas were boiling, and many Olympian gods awaited his invasion in horror. The myth of Zeus tells about all this. A summary of this new war is in some ancient Greek sources, for example, in Theogony. Zeus again took up the lightning with which he smashed Typhon. The giant was defeated and thrown back to Tartarus. However, there he still worries the earthly world. From his connection with Echidna, many monsters appeared, for example, the three-headed dog Cerberus, hydra and Chimera.
Life on Olympus
Zeus reigned on top of Olympus, where he was constantly surrounded by a host of younger gods. The gates to his palaces are shrouded in a cloud controlled by the Ora. These goddesses of the seasons allowed visitors to Olympus and opened the entrance for the gods who were going down to earth.
Eternal summer reigns in the kingdom of Zeus - there is no snow, rain and natural disasters. The thunder son Hephaestus built magnificent halls in which the gods feasted and spent their free time. The myth of Zeus (5th graders go through this topic on the program) also mentions his wife Hera. She became the patroness of human marriage and gave birth to her husband many children. The most famous of them was the daughter of Hebe, who became the goddess of youth and the cupbearer on Olympus.