However, to really see the dozens of relationships, including the marital, adulterous, bizarre, and incestuous, that surround the king of the gods, it helps to have a family tree devoted just to Zeus.
Zeus is the son of Cronus, the leader of the Titans, and Rhea, the Titan goddess of fertility. Although Hera was his only wife, he had many extra-marital relationships. This interactive family tree lets you see all of Zeus' consorts and children. As the king of the Olympian gods , Zeus has hundreds of family relationships, and it's easy to get them confused. To use this tree, simply click on the name of the god or person about whom you need more information.
For instance, if you click on Hera, you will see that she is the queen of the gods and Zeus' only wife. You can also get more information about his children by clicking on their names. You can use this family tree of Zeus to see some surprising facts about his relationships, such as the following:. Zeus is related to some of the most important gods and goddesses in Greek mythology, as you can see by looking at the family tree:.
Although it's beyond the scope of this interactive family tree of Zeus, he did have five siblings:. Statue of Zeus Enthroned , Unknown, about B. Paul Getty Museum. This is a statue of the God, Zeus. The statue depicts Zeus sitting on his throne. He was the God of the sky, rain and lighting. This is a statue of the Goddess, Hera. Hera was one of Zeus's sisters.
She was the Goddess of marriage. This is a statue of Poseidon's head. Despite that, he was considered a hero. Hera, however, was extremely jealous of Leto and made it difficult for her to find a place to give birth. Finally, she was able to give birth to her twins on Delos, an isolated and barren island filled with rocks.
The twins grew fast. Both Artemis and Apollo became Olympian gods. Artemis was the goddess of the hunt and Apollo was the god of music, poetry, and medicine. Categorized in: Greek Mythology. Share this Greek Mythology Article:. The son of Zeus and Danae is most remembered for killing Medusa , the deadly Gorgon. He also founded both the Mycenean and Perseid dynasties. Of all the mortal sons of Zeus , Perseus and Heracles were arguably the most famous and accomplished.
The heroic mortal sons of Zeus had his favor, but no sons were as loved by Zeus as the Olympians. While Ares was often ignored or even disparaged by his father, Apollo , Dionysus, and Hermes were often regarded as his favorite sons.
He showed them a great deal of favor by elevating them to high positions within the hierarchy of the gods. Apollo was the son to the Titaness Leto and the twin brother of Artemis. Although she tried to prevent Leto from giving birth in every way she could, even holding the goddess of childbirth hostage to withhold her aid, Hera was not able to stop Apollo and Artemis from coming into the world.
From the moment they were born, it was clear that the twins would be powerful and well-loved deities. The goddess Artemis was sometimes depicted as being doted on by her father, especially in her youth. But Apollo rose to great heights in the pantheon, becoming seen as an almost national god of the Greek people as a whole. As he [Apollon] goes through the house of Zeus, the gods tremble before him, and all spring up from their seats when he draws near, as he bends his bright bow.
Then she leads him to a seat and makes him sit: and the Father gives him nektar in a golden cup welcoming his dear son, while other gods make him sit down there, and queenly Leto rejoices because she bare a mighty son and an archer. Rejoice, blessed Leto, for you bare glorious children…. Hermes, the son of the nymph Maia , was born in secret. Zeus had managed to keep his visits to Maia a secret from both his wife and the court of gods so no one knew when she gave birth to his son.
Hermes was a born trickster. On the first night of his life he crept from his crib while his mother slept and stole the prized cattle of Apollo on a whim. The older son of Zeus was only able to track the thief because of his prophetic gifts, and even Maia could not believe that her newborn child was capable of such mischief.
Apollo took the baby to Olympus to be judged by their father, but the proceedings did not go as he might have planned. Despite his knack for making trouble, Hermes was welcomed by the Olympians as one of their own. And in spite of their rocky start, Hermes and Apollo became friends as well.
The gift of the newly-invented lyre smoothed over any anger Apollo felt over the theft of his cattle and established the elder brother as the god of music and poetry. While Maia kept her pregnancy a secret from Hera, Semele was not so lucky.
Hera tricked the human girl into seeing Zeus in all his divine glory, resulting in her immediate death. Zeus sewed the unborn child into his own leg, cutting Dionysus out when it was time for his birth.
He was the god of wine, feasting, and merriment. Hera tried again to destroy him, cursing him with madness as she had done to Heracles. Dionysus roamed the world, spreading his gift of wine to all the people he encountered. Dionysus was eventually cured of his temporary insanity, although madness was forever part of his infamous revels. Among the mortals and semi-divine sons of Zeus, however, several still left their mark on the Greek world.
Sometimes this lineage was a matter of local legend, but often it was an established and widely-held belief throughout the region.
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