So when Zeus decreed that man must present a portion of each animal they scarified to the gods Prometheus decided to trick Zeus. He created two piles, one with the bones wrapped in juicy fat, the other with the good meat hidden in the hide. He then bade Zeus to pick. Zeus picked the bones.
Prometheus tried to deceive Zeus by placing two piles before him: one with the good meat, covered by entrails and the other bones, covered in fat to make it appear the better of the two (Hesiod, Theog. 536-541).
Rhea. Rhea was the wife of Cronus. Cronus made it a practice to swallow their children. To avoid this, Rhea tricked Cronus into swallowing a rock, saving her son Zeus.
In fear of a prophecy that he would in turn be overthrown by his own son, Kronos swallowed each of his children as they were born. Rhea managed to save the youngest, Zeus, by hiding him away on the island of Krete (Crete), and fed Kronos a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes.
So when Zeus decreed that man must present a portion of each animal they scarified to the gods Prometheus decided to trick Zeus. He created two piles, one with the bones wrapped in juicy fat, the other with the good meat hidden in the hide. He then bade Zeus to pick.
Zeus, the chief god, who had been tricked by Prometheus into accepting the bones and fat of sacrifice instead of the meat, hid fire from mortals. Prometheus, however, stole it and returned it to Earth once again.
Cronus, the most powerful of the titans used Mount Olympus as his throne. After Zeus overthrew Cronus (his father) he became the ruler of Mount Olympus and lived there with 11 other gods. The 12 of them are known as the Olympian Gods.
King Lycaon of Arcadia is a legendary king from Greek mythology. He was turned into a wolf because he (or his sons, depending on the version one is reading) tried to feed Zeus human flesh in an offering.
Hermes realized what needed to be done and directed Hephaestus to take a wedge and split open Zeus's skull. Out of the skull sprang Athena, full grown and in a full set of armour.
In Plato's Symposium, Aristophanes tells the story of how Zeus – fearing that the powerful and physically perfect humans would rise against him – split human beings in half, creating the distinct male and female counterparts.
Hermes, Zeus's messenger, enters and demands that Prometheus disclose the secret of Zeus's dangerous marriage.
Because he had a kind heart, and he knew how much man needed fire for food and warmth, Prometheus gave man the secret of fire even though Zeus had told all the gods not to do that. Zeus was furious that his order had been ignored. As punishment, Zeus chained Prometheus to a rock for many years.
Hephaistos had a strong desire for Athena, but as a virgin goddess she ran away from him. He was not able to catch her – but he ejaculated and the seed fell on her leg. She wiped it away with a piece of wool and the seed fell on Gaia, the Earth, making her pregnant.
Hephaestus took his axe and brought it down on Zeus's head with all the strength he could muster, cracking his skull. Zeus thanked Hephaestus.
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's Favourite Child Was Possibly Athena, Goddess of War
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.
Another famous son of Zeus is the great hero Hercules, who we might all know as the iconic totem of masculinity and power. He was born a demigod, as his mother was the mortal woman Alcmene.
Zeus saved their unborn child, Dionysus, from the womb and kept him in his thigh until the baby was ready to be born.
Typhon attempted to overthrow Zeus for the supremacy of the cosmos. The two fought a cataclysmic battle, which Zeus finally won with the aid of his thunderbolts. Defeated, Typhon was cast into Tartarus, or buried underneath Mount Etna, or in later accounts, the island of Ischia.
But representations of Zeus as a powerful young man also exist. Symbols or Attributes: Thunderbolt. Strengths: Highly powerful, strong, charming, persuasive. Weaknesses: Gets in trouble over love, can be moody.
Oedipus, in Greek mythology, the king of Thebes who unwittingly killed his father and married his mother.
Despite Hades' silence on his complaints in the Greek myths, films like Disney's Hercules characterize Hades as vengeful and plotting the overthrow of Olympus. However, in Greek mythology, Hades never attempts to usurp any of the gods, especially Zeus, the King, but other gods do!
Nyx, the Only God Zeus Feared: Was She More Powerful Than Zeus?
Instead Hera beautifies herself in preparation for seducing Zeus and obtains the help of Aphrodite. In the climax of the episode Zeus and Hera make love hidden within a golden cloud on the summit of Mount Ida.
How was Athena born? Athena, the daughter of Zeus, was produced without a mother and emerged full-grown from his forehead. An alternative story was that Zeus swallowed Metis, the goddess of counsel, while she was pregnant with Athena so that Athena finally emerged from Zeus.