Zeus finally became enamored of the goddess who was to become his permanent wife —
His first and favorite lover was Metis, a Titan goddess and mother of Athena.
Zeus's notable spouse, Hera, holds a significant role as the goddess of women, marriage, family, and childbirth. Intriguingly, Hera is not only Zeus's wife but also his sister. Their union began with Zeus employing a clever ploy—he transformed into an injured bird to elicit Hera's compassion and affection.
Zeus was well known for his amorousness—a source of perpetual discord with his wife, Hera—and he had many love affairs with both mortal and immortal women.
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. That marked the beginning of a vicious cycle of lust, infidelity, jealousy, and vengeance that would be the cornerstone of their relationship.
The Relationship Between Zeus and Hera
The goddess Hera was initially uninterested in Zeus, so he turned himself into a cuckoo bird and seduced her. After falling in love, the godly couple had two key children. These were: Ares, the god of war.
A while later, he rapes her, she agrees to marry him and they create a family on Mount Olympus, the Deities' new home. Unfortunately, Zeus constantly cheats on Hera and he has done it over a hundred times, but in the end Hera always forgives him. But that does not make her angry and mad.
Perhaps partly because of the strange circumstances of her birth, Athena is often cited as Zeus's favourite child. He also greatly admired her strength of character and fighting spirit.
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! He would transform into various animals to fulfill his desires; therefore, his 'children' are quite interesting.
Why is Zeus married to his sister? To hide her shame, Hera agreed to marry him. It was a violent marriage at best. Though Zeus had pursued his sister and sought to possess her by marriage, he never gave up his lusty ways.
Aside from his seven wives, relationships with immortals included Dione and Maia. Among mortals were Semele, Io, Europa and Leda (for more details, see below) and the young Ganymede (although he was mortal, Zeus granted him eternal youth and immortality).
Greek goddess of marriage, very jealous wife of Zeus, queen of gods.
Zeus's wife, Hera, a goddess jealous of usurpers, discovered his affair with Semele when she later became pregnant.
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.
Apollo: Zeus' Best-Known Son
When he grew up, Apollo became the Greek god of sun, light, music and poetry, as well as archery, agriculture, healing, prophecy, order and beauty.
According to a Homeric Hymn, there are three goddesses whom Aphrodite “can't persuade or decieve”, i.e. who don't feel sexual desire and are perpetually virgins. They are Athena, Artemis and Hestia. So, we are sure that Zeus did never have affairs with any of those three.
Since he was considered the God of Justice, he can be viewed as an anti-villain in a sense his actions, while cruel, were designed to enforce order rather than create chaos.) He ate his pregnant wife Metis alive out of fear that their child would overthrow him.
However, Zeus was afraid of Nyx, the goddess of night.
Nyx is older and more powerful than Zeus. Not much is known about Nyx. In the most famous myth featuring Nyx, Zeus is too afraid to enter Nyx's cave for fear of angering her.
Leda and the Swan is a story and subject in art from Greek mythology in which the god Zeus, in the form of a swan, seduces or rapes Leda.
Aphrodite, daughter of Zeus and the goddess Dione, is known as the goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, passion and procreation.
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. In a rage Zeus hurled his ugly son down from Olympus to the isle of Lemnos, crippling him forever.
Zeus has four siblings which include Hera, Hades, Poseidon, and Hestia. Zeus also had six children which include Artemis, Apollo, Hermes, Athena, Ares, and Aphrodite. Together we will explore and learn about Greek Mythology, Zeus and his family through this beautiful gallery. This is a statue of the God, Zeus.
Ganymede, a beautiful Trojan young man, was aducted by Zeus to serve as his personal cupbearer and lover on mount Olympus among the other gods.
Zeus fell in love with her and, to protect her from the wrath of Hera, changed her into a white heifer. Hera persuaded Zeus to give her the heifer and sent Argus Panoptes (“the All-Seeing”) to watch her. Zeus thereupon sent the god Hermes, who lulled Argus to sleep and killed him.
Sometime during her marriage, presumably in retaliation, Hera started an on and off affair with Hades that ended around the "80s." It is unknown if Zeus was ever aware of the affair.