The father of Zeus was Kronos (Saturn) and his mother Rhea. Kronos was afraid that one day a child of his would take away his dominion, as a prophecy foretold. To prevent this from happening Kronos ate all of his children as soon as they were born. Rhea's despair got deeper with the loss of each child, to protect the one she was carrying she consulted her mother Gaia. Gaia told her to hide the child from Kronos and give him a stone wrapped in the child's clothes. Rhea complied and Kronos ate the stone instead of his son. Then Rhea gave the child to Gaia, who hid him on the island of Crete. There the nymphs Idy and Adrastia fed the baby with the milk of the goat Amalthea. Kourites guarded Zeus and muffled his cries by hitting their shields with their swords so Kronos wouldn't hear him.

Upon his return home, Zeus forced his father to disgorge his brothers and

The first marriage of Zeus was with Mytdia, daughter of Oceanus and Tithy, goddess of thinking. Not long after the wedding Zeus learned that his wife would give birth to two children. The first would be a daughter and the second a son. That son was to be born seemed a threat to Zeus's dominion. To avoid a future similar to his father's her ate his wife Mytidia, like Kronos was eating his children. When the time for Athena to be born came Zeus ordered Prometheus to open his head with an axle or hammer, so his daughter would be born. Athena became the goddess of wisdom, she took the deep thinking of her mother and the cleverness of her father, since she was born from his head.

Zeus's generosity was shown in the treatment of some mortals who had won his approval. Zeus was very fond of earthly visits, to check on his minions and to see what they were up to, and on one such occasion he took Hermes with him, disguised as mortals, to Phrygia. Unrecognized, they were turned away roughly and rudely by their human subjects. They were finally welcomed by the aged and pious couple Philemon and Baucis. In disgust at the treatment they had received, Zeus decided that the country would be a much better place without them, so he flooded the country drowning all living things. He rewarded the couple by lifting their house high above the waters and transforming the house into a magnificent temple of which the couple was made the priest and priestess. The couple was also granted another wish, fulfilled many years later, that they should die at the same moment so that neither one of them would know the grief of the other. When death came, Zeus changed them into trees; an oak and a linden. The trees grew and flourished side by side, their branches intertwining.

One of his most famous unfortunate victim was Prometheus, one of the demi- gods. Prometheus fell in love with Athena; he also stole heavenly fire from the gods for the use of mankind. For these acts he was chained to Mount Caucasus, to have an eagle tear at his liver by day, and have his liver renewed by night, were his punishment.

Besides deities, he also fathered many mortals. In

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1456
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)