How Zeus double crossed his parents 

Zeus is a well-known god, recognized as the ruler of all gods and the deity of lightning and thunder. Many people often wonder how Zeus earned these titles. The story is quite fascinating. Whose origin begins with the saving of his siblings. 

Zeus was the youngest of all his siblings. His father, the titan Cronus, the son of Uranus and Gaea, is the youngest of the 12 Titans, and he became king of Titans by separating heaven and earth. He married his sister Rhea, and she gave him six children. Before the children were born, Cronus received a prophecy that one of his sons would overthrow him. To prevent this from coming true, he ate the kids. However, Gaea saved one of the youngest Zeus. She hid him on the island of Crete, gave Cronus a stone wrapped in cloth, and tricked him into thinking it was his son.

Zeus was raised by nymphs and cared for by Adrastea, who was tasked with looking after him. As Zeus grew older, he devised a plan to overthrow his father, Cronus, and rescue his siblings. With the guidance of Metis, the goddess of wisdom, he prepared a potion to make Cronus vomit up the children he had swallowed: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon. After this act, Zeus and his siblings rebelled against Cronus, leading to a bloody war known as the Titanomachy. With the help of the Cyclopes, who provided him with thunderbolts, Zeus emerged as a leader among the gods of Olympus.

The treason of Cronus and Rhea was unavoidable to Zeus’s path to power. In systematic steps, the rise to supremacy was not such that it allowed choices between family and desire for power. Following the defeat of the Titans, Zeus and his brothers divided the realms between themselves, Zeus taking the sky, Poseidon the sea, and Hades the underworld. Rhea’s initial support for Zeus soon turned to estrangement from her son, who chose power over the family.

“Zeus provides a lens through which to examine fundamental aspects of the human experience,  said DBHS Sophomore Abigail Payne. “Our relationship with nature, as well as our desire for justice, and our struggle with power and leadership”.

As Zeus established his reign on Mount Olympus, he often reflected on the sacrifices made, yet he did not go back on his conviction that what he had to do was necessary. The betrayal of his parents hurt yet was a needed sacrifice for the greater good of the cosmos as far as he sought to bring order to a chaotic world.

Written by Rigby Scott | Graphic Designed by Rigby Scott 

Published November 18, 2024 | ePathfinder | Feature