Why was Zeus a womanizer?
Zeus: The serial womanizer of Greek mythology
All in all, he seduced both Demeter and her daughter Persephone—who later married his brother—while he was transformed into a serpent.
Zeus cheats on Hera because he's a reflection of the morals of the ancient Greeks. Unlike the Abrahamic god, Zeus was made in the image of man, not the other way around. Ancient Greek men viewed marriage as a necessity and a duty, not a partnership. Women existed to bear children, preferably male children.
Zeus had acquired wives as his worship spread from locality to locality and he had to marry each provincial earth goddess. However, polygamy was foreign to the Greeks and unacceptable, so they had to make him promiscuous.
As the sky god Zeus had easy access to the women of the world and took full advantage of it. Also, his power as a supreme god made him difficult to resist. Prior to his marrage to Hera he was married first to Metis, then Themis.
Suffice it to say that Zeus was constantly involved in extramarital affairs. Throughout the various and sometimes contradictory myths composed by Greek authors, there are at least 20 divine figures with whom he consorted, and about twice as many mortals.
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. Ganymede's myth is an important step in the history of homosexuality.
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.
Under the name of Callithyia, Io was regarded as the first priestess of Hera, the wife of Zeus. 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 and Metis
His first and favorite lover was Metis, a Titan goddess and mother of Athena.
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.
Why did Zeus swallow his wife?
In some versions of Greek mythology, Zeus ate his wife Metis because it was known that their second child would be more powerful than him. After Metis's demise, their first child Athena was born when Hephaestus cleaved Zeus's head open and the goddess of war emerged, fully grown and armed.
Gods aside, Zeus also had sexual affairs with 20 mortals, including one male, Ganymede, a prince ofTroy.
Eurymedousa or Eurymedusa (Ancient Greek: Εὐρυμέδουσα) is a name attributed to several women in Greek mythology. Eurymedousa, daughter of Cletor or Achelous. Zeus approached and seduced her in the form of an ant, she may also have been transformed into an ant. As a result, she gave birth to Myrmidon.
References
- https://www.theoi.com/Olympios/ZeusLoves.html
- https://www.livescience.com/all-about-history-issue-117
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/hinduism/deities/brahma.shtml
- https://www.gearyschools.org/vnews/display.v/TP/515babf44bd90
- https://www.cbr.com/dc-superheroes-beat-a-god/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_Olympians
- https://www.theoi.com/greek-mythology/underworld-gods.html
- https://www.thehealthyjournal.com/faq/why-does-zeus-keep-cheating-on-hera
- https://www.theoi.com/Summary/Ares.html
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oizys
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epiales
- https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/m/mythology/summary-and-analysis-greek-mythology/the-beginnings-8212-loves-of-zeus
- https://www.theoi.com/greek-mythology/olympian-gods.html
- https://www.worldhistory.org/Ares/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyssa
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_God_(Navajo_mythology)
- https://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/mythic-creatures/air/greek-myths
- https://villains.fandom.com/wiki/Ares_(mythology)
- https://www.theoi.com/articles/aphrodite-facts-awesome-facts-about-the-goddess-of-love-and-beauty/
- https://www.britannica.com/topic/Io-Greek-mythology
- https://www.theoi.com/articles/what-was-zeus-and-heras-relationship-like/
- https://zyxyvy.wordpress.com/2011/10/16/the-sexual-relations-of-zeus/
- https://www.greekmythology.com/Myths/The_Myths/Zeus's_Lovers/zeus's_lovers.html
- https://www.britannica.com/topic/Erebus
- https://classicalwisdom.com/mythology/deimos-a-most-terrifying-god/
- https://greekreporter.com/2022/05/10/10-things-most-people-get-wrong-about-greek-mythology/
- https://www.kidsnews.com.au/greek-myths-and-legends/what-is-greek-mythology-and-when-did-it-begin/news-story/2e3df543a98a7705b5211cf1d4a0c00a
- https://www.thecollector.com/how-many-children-did-zeus-have-it-might-be-more-than-you-think/
- https://riordan.fandom.com/wiki/Ares
- https://www.britannica.com/topic/Zeus
- https://global.oup.com/us/companion.websites/9780199997329/student/materials/chapter4/summary/
- https://www.theoi.com/Daimon/Phthonos.html
- https://www.britannica.com/topic/Heracles
- https://www.theoi.com/articles/how-heras-weapon-was-different-from-zeus/
- https://historycooperative.org/ancient-gods-of-death/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algos
- https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/m/mythology/summary-and-analysis-greek-mythology/the-beginnings-8212-creation
- https://greektraveltellers.com/blog/greek-mythology-monsters
- https://www.britannica.com/topic/trimurti-Hinduism
- https://ultrafan.fandom.com/wiki/Father_of_Darkness
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeus
- https://www.marvel.com/articles/comics/who-is-gorr
- https://www.theoi.com/articles/12-main-greek-gods-of-greek-mythology/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harpocrates
- https://www.britannica.com/topic/Yama-Hindu-god
- https://www.britannica.com/topic/Thanatos-Greek-mythology
- https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_mythology
- https://greekgodsandgoddesses.net/goddesses/nyx/
- https://www.theoi.com/Daimon/Deimos.html
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keres
- https://greektraveltellers.com/blog/the-greek-gods
- https://www.desy.de/gna/interpedia/greek_myth/zeusLover.html
- https://homework.study.com/explanation/who-is-stronger-zeus-or-poseidon.html
- https://tamorapierce.fandom.com/wiki/Black_God
- https://www.quora.com/If-the-big-three-Zeus-Poseidon-and-Hades-teamed-up-could-they-beat-Nyx
- https://riordan.fandom.com/f/p/3100000000000168916
- https://chs.harvard.edu/chapter/3-madness-the-complexity-of-morals-in-the-light-of-myth-and-cult/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Zeus_at_Olympia
- https://greekmythologytours.com/blog/312-12-olympian-gods
- https://mythopedia.com/topics/zeus
- https://www.britannica.com/topic/Prometheus-Greek-god
- https://www.greekmythology.com/Other_Gods/Nemesis/nemesis.html
- https://ehillerman.unm.edu/node/1432
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurymedousa
- https://villains.fandom.com/wiki/Phobos_(mythology)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koalemos
- https://mythopedia.com/topics/ares
- https://ancient-literature.com/who-is-zeus-afraid-of/
- https://www.thecollector.com/ganymede-myth/
- https://www.britannica.com/topic/Loki
- https://www.greeka.com/greece-myths/adonis/
- https://www.thecollector.com/evil-gods-underworld/
- https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/who-created-god-universe-scientific-philosophy-perspective-rupam-das
- https://www.desy.de/gna/interpedia/greek_myth/creation.html
- https://www.quora.com/Who-does-Apollo-fear-Why
- https://dark-parables.fandom.com/wiki/Shadow_God
- https://mythology.stackexchange.com/questions/2407/what-power-does-hera-have-over-zeus
- https://www.britannica.com/topic/Ares-Greek-mythology
- https://athensandbeyond.com/evil-greek-gods-and-goddesses/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eris_(mythology)
- https://www.theoi.com/articles/greek-mythology-what-does-ares-mean/
- https://www.theoi.com/Daimon/Akhlys.html
- https://www.theoi.com/Protogenos/Phanes.html
- https://homework.study.com/explanation/how-many-times-did-zeus-cheat-on-hera.html
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kali_(asura)
- https://homework.study.com/explanation/who-was-the-first-god-in-greek-mythology.html
- https://www.desy.de/gna/interpedia/greek_myth/creationMan.html
- https://www.shmoop.com/study-guides/mythology/zeus-jupiter
- https://screenrant.com/marvel-comics-most-powerful-olympian-gods-thor-zeus/
- https://the-ninth-age.fandom.com/wiki/Dark_Gods
- https://www.amazon.in/Large-Print-Shiva-Om-Books/dp/8187108371
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemesis
- https://cdn5-ss11.sharpschool.com/UserFiles/Servers/Server_75980/File/7th%20Grade%20Mr.%20Benoit%20Virtual%20Day%202.pdf
- https://www.jpost.com/blogs/standing-against-the-wind/god-said-israel-is-his-firstborn-438883
- https://www.joincake.com/blog/gods-of-death/
- https://www.twinkl.com/teaching-wiki/zeus
- https://www.theoi.com/Olympios/AphroditeLoves.html
- https://greekreporter.com/2023/01/04/greek-gods-tales-love-jealousy/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhon
- https://godofwar.fandom.com/wiki/Zeus