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Son of Cronus and Rhea, Zeus was king of the gods; he was all-powerful,
the sky and mountaintop his realm, his will man's law, his caprice destiny,
in his footfall was thunder, his smile prosperity, his wrath catastrophic,
the fate of nations hung on his whim. He sat in his throne under and canopy
of clouds, a lightening bolt his scepter, and held court among the gods;
he heard pleas and mediated quarrels and his opinions were wise and serene,
if final. He was sometimes defied, such as with Prometheus, who gave fire
to man, and sometimes outwitted, mostly by Hera, but his power was great
enough to absorb these set backs and his dignity was never impaired. He
ranged heaven and earth and the depths of the sea for his women, changing
shape and appearing to each in another form to escape Hera's wrath; his
wooing was as irresistible as nature, his fertility nature's bounty and
he bred god, demigod and hero with those on whom he bestowed his attention.
He married Hera, his older sister, in the beginning of time and he honored
her above all other as queen of the gods. Both the oak and the eagle were
sacred to him.
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