Zeus' final wife was his sister,
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.
The story of Zeus and Hera isn't your conventional love story. Zeus was notorious for courting countless women. But it was Hera the goddess of marriage, with whom he was enchanted. He wanted to have her by his side as the queen of the gods as he ruled over the universe.
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.
His third wife was Eurynome, an ocean nymph, and she bore the three Graces. Zeus then was attracted by his sister Demeter, who resisted him. But he violated her in the form of a bull, and from their union came Persephone. His next wife was the Titaness Mnemosyne (Memory), who produced the Nine Muses.
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.
(1) DIVINE LOVES (GODS)
ZEUS The king of the gods and Demeter mated in the form of intertwining serpents. From this union the goddess Persephone was born.
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.
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.
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.
After Rhea refused to marry him, Zeus turned into a snake and raped her. Rhea became pregnant and gave birth to Persephone. Zeus in the form of a snake would mate with his daughter Persephone, which resulted in the birth of Dionysus.
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. She had Persephone with Zeus.
What happens to Zeus after Hera seduces him? He agrees to fight for the Achaeans.
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.
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.
Scientists have identified Akhenaten, the “heretic” king who introduced monotheism to ancient Egypt, as Tutankhamun's father. Akhenaten first married Nefertiti, who was renowned for her great beauty, but had no sons so he then married his sister in an effort to have a son.
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.
Ares' status: “most hated of all the gods”
There is a famous passage in the Iliad where Zeus refers to Ares as the god that he hates the most. The exact lines are the following (Il. 5.890–891): To me you are the most hateful of all the gods who hold Olympus.
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.
Helen of Troy
Known as the most beautiful woman in Greece and the primary cause of the Trojan War, Helen was the daughter of Zeus, either by Leda or by Nemesis, and the sister of the Dioscuri, Castor and Polydeuces.
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.
1. Athena: Goddess of War (And the Most Famous Daughter of Zeus) Athena, Greek goddess of wisdom and war, is arguably Zeus's most famous daughter. She was born in extraordinary circumstances.
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.
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 saved their unborn child, Dionysus, from the womb and kept him in his thigh until the baby was ready to be born.