Zeus.
Youngest son of the Titans Cronus (Saturn) and Rhea, Zeus defeated his father to become the most powerful of all the Greek Olympian gods. A deity of Indo-European roots, he was known as “Father Zeus,” the ruler and protector, whose realm was the sky and whose attributes were thunder and lightning. He was also a god of vengeance, sending a flood to destroy sinful mankind and later, according to some, promoting the Trojan War in order to depopulate the overcrowded earth.
      Numerous myths are associated with the god. Following the Olympians’ defeat of the Titans, Zeus obtained mastery of the sky when he and his brothers Poseidon (Neptune) and Hades (Pluto) drew lots for the universe. His judgments influenced the outcome of the Trojan War, and his might determined the fates of many mortals throughout Greek mythology.
       Many stories concern his active romantic life; he coupled not only with his wife and sister Hera (Juno) but also with other deities and mortal women, often disguised as a beast or another man. His divine offspring included Hephaestus (Vulcan), Ares (Mars), Hebe, and Eileithyia by Hera; Apollo and Artemis (Diana) by Leto (Latona); Hermes (Mercury) by Maia; Dionysus (Bacchus) by Semele; Athena (Minerva) by Metis; Persephone by Demeter (Ceres); and, according to Homer, Aphrodite by Dione. He was also said to be the father of the Muses by Mnemosyne, the Graces by Eurynome, the Fates by Themis or Nyx (Night), Helen of Troy and one or both of the Dioscuri by Leda, Heracles by Alcmene, Perseus by Danaë, Minos by Europa, Areas by Callisto, and the brothers Amphion and Zethus by Antiope.
       Zeus was worshiped at his oracular shrine, the oak at Dodona in Epirus. Temples dedicated to him included the massive Doric structure at Olympia, where festivals were celebrated in his honor. Often depicted as a stately, bearded figure holding a thunderbolt, he was clothed throughout the Archaic period but often appeared nude in later eras. In classical art, he was often shown with his other well-known attributes, the scepter and the eagle. Post-classical artists have also depicted him with these attributes, sometimes representing the elements Air or Fire.
       The Roman Jupiter (or Jove) possessed many of the powers attributed to the Greek Zeus. A sky-god even in his earlier Italian form, Jupiter was associated with the weather, especially rain and lightning. He was worshiped as the most powerful of all deities—the role given him by the Etruscan kings who introduced the cult to the Romans—and as the arbiter of victory in war.
      
      
      See also under the following headings:
      Infancy and Loves of Zeus
      
      And for Zeus' role in other myths, see Achilles, Wrath; Achilles' Return to Battle; Adonis; Aeneas; Ages of the World; Amphitryon and Alcmene; Antiope; Aphrodite, Girdle; Asclepius and Hygieia; Athena, Birth; Baucis and Philemon; Callisto; Cronus, Birth of the Olympians; Danaë; Deucalion and Pyrrha; Diomedes; Eos, and Tithonus; Europa; Ganymede; Gods and Goddesses; Hebe; Hera; Heracles, Apotheosis; Hermes; Io; Iris; Ixion; Lamia; Leda; Leto; Memnon; Mnemosyne; Odysseus; Pandora; Persephone, Return; Phaethon; Prometheus; Psyche; Semele; Thetis; Tiresias; Titans and Giants; Trojan War; Typhon.