Origin: Greece
Meaniing: bright, light, living, chief, god, sky or heaven
Similar god in other countries/religions:
Roman god = Jupiter
Egyptian god = Amun-Re
Japanese deity = None
Hindu deity = Barhma Indra (Ruler of all gods but not a supreme god)
Myth: The supreme god of the Olympians. He was the father of many children including the heroes Perseus and Heracles. Zeus was the youngest son of the Titans Cronus and Rhea. Before Zeus was born, Cronus was warned that one of his offsprings will one day overpower him. Therefore, when Zeus was born, his father Cronus intended to swallow him as he had all of his other offsprings: Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, Demeter and Hera. But this time, Rhea hid the newborn, Zeus, in a cave on Mount Dicte and presented Cronus with a large rock bundled in a blanket. When he had grown up, Zeus caused Cronus to vomit up his sisters and brothers, and these gods joined Zeus in fighting to take control of the universe from the Titans and Cronus, their king/father. Having vanquished his father and the other Titans, Zeus imprisoned most of them in the underworld of Tartarus. Then he and his brothers Poseidon and Hades divided up the world. Poseidon received the sea as his domain, Hades got the Underworld and Zeus took the sky. Zeus also was accorded supreme authority on earth and on Mount Olympus.
