Zeus was the king of the Greek gods, ruler of the sky and thunder, who watched over the world from Mount Olympus. He was powerful, quick to anger and the hero, or villain, of countless myths. Here are 12 facts about Zeus.
1He was hidden from his father as a baby.
Zeus’s father, the Titan Cronus, swallowed his children so that none of them could overthrow him. When Zeus was born, his mother Rhea hid him in a cave on Crete and gave Cronus a stone wrapped in baby clothes to swallow instead.
2A goat raised him.
On Crete, the baby Zeus was fed by a goat called Amalthea. One legend says one of her horns became the cornucopia, the “horn of plenty”.
3He overthrew the Titans.
When he grew up, Zeus forced Cronus to bring up his brothers and sisters, then led them in a ten-year war against the Titans. After winning, Zeus became king of the gods.
4His thunderbolts were made by the Cyclopes.
Zeus freed the Cyclopes from imprisonment, and in thanks the one-eyed giants forged his thunderbolts, his most famous weapon.
5His wife was his sister Hera.
Zeus married Hera, the queen of the gods. Their marriage was stormy, because Zeus had many affairs with goddesses and mortal women, and Hera often punished his lovers and their children.
6Athena was born from his head.
When Zeus had a terrible headache, the smith god Hephaestus split his head open with an axe, and Athena sprang out fully grown and dressed in armour.
7Many gods and heroes were his children.
Zeus was the father of the gods Apollo, Artemis, Hermes and Dionysus, and of heroes such as Heracles and Perseus.
8The eagle was his bird.
Zeus’s sacred animals were the eagle and the bull, and his sacred tree was the oak. At his oracle at Dodona, priests listened to the rustling of oak leaves to hear his answers.
9The Olympic Games were held in his honour.
The ancient Olympic Games, traditionally first held in 776 BC, took place at Olympia, a great sanctuary of Zeus in southern Greece.
10His statue at Olympia was a wonder of the world.
The sculptor Phidias made a seated statue of Zeus, about 12 metres tall and covered in gold and ivory, for the temple at Olympia around 435 BC. It was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
11His temple in Athens took more than 600 years to finish.
Work on the Temple of Olympian Zeus in Athens began in the 6th century BC, but it was only completed by the Roman emperor Hadrian in the 2nd century AD.
12Jupiter’s moons are named after his lovers.
The Romans called Zeus Jupiter, and the planet Jupiter is named after him. Its four largest moons, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto, are named after people Zeus loved in myth.
FAQs about Zeus
What was Zeus the god of?
The sky, thunder and lightning. As king of the gods, he was also seen as the protector of law, justice and guests.
Where was Zeus born?
According to most myths, on the island of Crete, where his mother hid him in a cave. Both the Dictaean Cave and the Idaean Cave claim to be the place.
What is Zeus’s Roman name?
Jupiter.
Sources and further reading
Explore more: facts about Poseidon, facts about Apollo and facts about Aphrodite.
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