Zeus and his love affairs (BQ)

Zeus, or Jupiter in the Roman world, is the main god of Greco-Roman mythology. Ancient texts say Rhea and her brother Cronus had six children, Demeter, Hades, Hera, Hestia, Poseidon, and Zeus. Cronus' mother, Gaia, warned him that one of his descendants would defeat him, so the titan devoured his children as soon as they were born. But Rhea managed to save Zeus from his father's veracity by giving him a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes instead of the newborn god. Zeus was taken to the island of Crete and raised there by one of the nymphs, feeding on nectar, ambrosia, and milk of the goat Amalthea. Once he grew up, he set out to defeat his father Cronus and his uncles, the Titans, sons of Uranus and Gaia, in a time of war known as the Titanomachy. Zeus freed the rest of the gods, his brothers, by forcing his father to vomit them up. And with their help, he freed the Hecatoncherries, creatures with 100 arms and 50 faces, and the Cyclops, famous for having only one eye. In gratitude, they gave Zeus the Thunderbolt, which from then on would be his main symbol. With the help of the Thunderbolts and of his brothers, the gods, Zeus defeated the Titans by locking them in Tartarus. But Gaia, to avenge the defeat of her sons, incited the giants to confront them in a second war known as the Gigantomachy, in which the gods of Olympus would be victorious. After these wars, they settled on Mount Olympus and the three main gods divided the universe. Zeus would rule over the Olympus and the heavens, Poseidon over the seas, and Hades, the oldest of all, took care of the underworld by moving away from the rest of the gods. As to the other brothers of Zeus, Hera became his wife and first lady of Olympus. Hestia took care of the home and family of mortals, while Demeter took care of agriculture and the land. From the union between Zeus and Hera, four children were born. Hephaestus, the lord of fire and forges, Ares, the god of war, Elytia, the goddess of births and midwives, and Hebe, protector of youth. But Zeus had so many lovers that it appears most families of the Greek legend had some relation to him. Although sometimes he conquered his lovers with his natural charms, Zeus made use of his powers whenever he needed to. He changed his form many times. He became a satyr, a bull, a swan, or a snake, and in this way he was able to appease his most primitive impulses. Although it would be too complex to analyse each and every one of Zeus' love idols as told by mythological stories, we will try to narrate some of them. They say that Zeus fell in love with Metis, a titan who personified prudence and treachery. She was the daughter of Ocean and Thetis, and was really the first of the three wives that Zeus had. Still, it was not love at first sight. Zeus tried to conquer her, but she did not seem to be interested and, in order to escape Zeus, she took on different forms. In the end, Metis succumbed and she and Zeus conceived a child. However, a prophecy left Zeus worried. It said that children born to the titan Metis might become too powerful. Hesiod says that because of this, Zeus, fearing the loss of his throne, devoured Metis while she was pregnant. But, in the end, after a fierce headache, he gave birth to his daughter, who came out of his forehead fully armed. She was called Athena, goddess of war, civilisation, wisdom, sciences and justice. His second wife was Themis, daughter of Uranus and Gaia, and therefore an aunt of Zeus. Together, they produced the three Horae, cosmic goddesses and goddesses of social order, and the three Horae, the fate's masters. He also fell in love with Europa, the daughter of the king of Tyre. On one occasion, while Europa was walking along the seashore with her maidens, she was surprised by an immaculate bull that approached them. This bull was, in fact, Zeus, who, gaining her trust, made Europa ride on his back and thus abducted her. He went into the sea with her and took her to Crete, where they lay together and brought Minos, Sarpedon and Radamanthus into the world. From Zeus's relations with Semele, Dionysus was born, one of the most important characters in Greek mythology. When Semele was six months pregnant, Zeus promised to grant her anything she wanted. But Hera, who was jealous, intervened. She made Semele ask Zeus to expose himself to her, showing all his magnificence. Zeus, responding to her wish, appeared at Semele's side surrounded by thunder and lightning, and Semele was charred. Zeus took the child out of Semele's womb and put it in his thighs to continue its gestation. Three months later, Dionysus was born, the double born, god of wine, fertility and theatre, and of Dionysian rituals full of music and ecstatic dance. The lord of Olympus also lay with Leto, daughter of the titans Seo and Phoebe, and Leto became pregnant with twins. When Hera learned about Zeus's infidelity, she punished the young goddess by forbidding her to give birth on the mainland. So Leto went to a tiny desert island floating in the Aegean, and there Artemis, goddess of hunting, and Apollo, god of the arts, were born. Apollo designated that island the centre of the world, and called it Delos, the shining one. With Nemosime, the personification of memory, and also his companion in an extramarital relationship that lasted nine nights, Zeus conceived of the nine muses. Cleo, muse of history, Euterpe, muse of music, Thalia, muse of comedy, Melpomene, muse of tragedy, Terpsichore, muse of dance, Erato, muse of love poetry, Polyhymnia, muse of the song of the gods, Urania, muse of astronomy, and Calliope, muse of epic poetry and eloquence. One of the most famous stories of Zeus's love affairs is that of Alcmene, the loving wife of Amphitryon. Zeus fell in love with her beauty. Amphitryon, as well as Alcmene, were grandchildren of the hero Perseus, and therefore both were great-grandchildren of Zeus. Since Amphitryon had departed for war, Zeus took on his appearance and visited Alcmene, and both lay for 72 hours. That's right, Zeus slept with his great-granddaughter. Soon after, the real Amphitryon returned and also lay with a young woman who became pregnant with twins, one son of Zeus and the other of Amphitryon. Hera decided to punish Alcmene by prolonging her pregnancy. Ten months later, Iphicules, mortal son of Amphitryon, and Heracles, or Hercules for the Romans, son of Zeus and one of the most famous heroes of antiquity, were born. It seems that Zeus was not only fascinated by female beauty. It is said that when he saw Ganymede, a young man shepherding on the slopes of Mount Ida, he transformed himself into an eagle and took him to Olympus. There, he made him his lover and assigned him the work of his daughter Hebe, giving Ganymede the duty of pouring the nectar of the gods. The story of Zeus's love life is endless. He begot Perseus with Dany and transformed himself into a shower of gold. He also became a swan to Fuleda, who laid two eggs from which four children were born. On one side, Pollux and his twin sister Helen, both immortal, allegedly Zeus's children. And on the other side, Castor and Clinamestra, mortals, supposed sons of Tyndareus, king of Sparta. From his time with Euryneme, the three Graces were born. From his romance with Demeter, Persephone, and from his dealings with Maia, daughter of the titan Atlas, Hermes, the messenger god was born. And so, we could continue, almost to infinity.