Zeus mated with several nymphs and was seen as the father of many mythical mortal progenitors of Hellenic dynasties. Aside from his seven wives, relationships with immortals included Dione and Maia.
Before his marriage to Hera, Zeus consorted with a number of the female Titanes (and his sister Demeter). These liaisons are ordered by Hesiod as follows: (1) Metis; (2) Themis; (3) Eurynome; (4) Demeter; (5) Mnemosyne; (6) Leto.
Zeus had an eye for ladies from all walks of life, and his affairs with mortals often resulted in mortal children. Some estimates have come up with around 51 children of Zeus who were not divine in nature.
Mnemosyne spent nine nights with Zeus, and on each of these nights, he fathered a child. The nine children were born in the same birth and were known as the nine muses, the goddesses of artistic inspiration. The nine daughters of Mnemosyne and Zeus were: Calliope, muse of epic poetry.
In his private life Zeus was quite the lothario, fathering an unbelievable number of around 100 children with many different women (but don't hate him too much – it's just a myth, after all). Of this 100, he fathered a mix of sons and daughters, many of whom were gods and goddesses, and some became great leaders.
Zeus slept with his own daughter, Persephone, because she was there.
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Aphrodite later and of her own volition had an affair with Zeus, but his jealous wife Hera laid her hands upon the belly of the goddess and cursed their offspring with malformity. Their child was the ugly god Priapos.
Who did Zeus marry? His sister Hera was the first and only to whom he was married, but that didn't stop him from fathering children with all and sundry, willing or not. Hera, the goddess of marriage and childbirth, constantly fought with Zeus throughout their marriage.
Zeus has cheated on Hera over a hundred times. However, she keeps forgiving him in the end.
Hebe was the youngest daughter to Zeus and his wife Hera. Her name came from the Greek word for 'youth', and it was thought she had the power to temporarily restore youth in a chosen few.
Zeus is the Greek god of the skies, and Hera is the Greek goddess of marriage and birth. Hera is also known as Queen of the Gods because of her matriarchal role in Greek mythology. Together, Zeus and Hera had three children: Ares, Hebe, and Hephaestus.
Metis, an Oceanid or sea-nymph, was Zeus's first wife. Wise and prudent, she was endowed with the gift of prophecy. In their early years together, she was Zeus's closest ally and aide, helping him win the battle against Cronus.
Turns out Cronus had overthrown his dad, and he feared his son was a chip off the old block. One of those who sheltered the infant Zeus was a mountain nymph called Melissa. She cared for the baby and fed him milk and honey.
Hera. The most famous wife of Zeus is Hera. She was his principal wife and the Queen of heaven.
Ganymede (or Ganymedes) was a young man from Troy. His beauty was unparalleled and for that reason, Zeus abducted and brought him to Olympus to serve as his cupbearer and lover. Ganymede's myth is an important step in the history of homosexuality.
Zeus fell in love with Io and seduced her. To try to keep Hera from noticing he covered the world with a thick blanket of clouds. This backfired, arousing Hera's suspicions. She came down from Mount Olympus and begain dispersing the clouds.
At that moment, Zeus transformed back into his true form, and Hera couldn't help it. She fell in love with him. This time, when he asked her to be his wife, she obliged.
Zeus and Metis
His first and favorite lover was Metis, a Titan goddess and mother of Athena.
Suffice it to say that Zeus was constantly involved in extramarital affairs. Throughout the various and sometimes contradictory myths composed by Greek authors, there are at least 20 divine figures with whom he consorted, and about twice as many mortals. Again, the exact number doesn't matter.
The philosopher Plato recounts that Rhea, Cronus and Phorcys were the eldest children of Oceanus and Tethys. According to the Orphic myths, Zeus wanted to marry his mother Rhea. After Rhea refused to marry him, Zeus turned into a snake and raped her.
Zeus was known in his time as much more than the father of the gods. He was also a womanizer, and as such, he fathered many, many offspring!
In some versions of Greek mythology, Zeus ate his wife Metis because it was known that their second child would be more powerful than him. After Metis's demise, their first child Athena was born when Hephaestus cleaved Zeus's head open and the goddess of war emerged, fully grown and armed.
Athena (Minerva), the goddess of war and wisdom, had a strange birth. Her father Zeus (Jupiter) had swallowed his pregnant consort Metis (“wisdom”), because he was afraid she would bear a son who would overthrow him.
Zeus never cared much for his two legitimate sons, Ares and Hephaestus. And his two legitimate daughters were almost nonentities. One time Hephaestus interfered in a quarrel between Zeus and Hera, siding with his mother.
Zeus had seven wives and many more lovers throughout the span of his reign. As a result, he fathered many children – some divine and some half-mortal. But who were Zeus' children?