Tales of the Greek Heroes

In Greek mythology, Zeus is the king of the Olympian pantheon, embodying a patriarchal authority over both gods and humans, as Green stresses this in his description of Zeus as “father of Mortals and of Immortals” (6). He is a sky god whose chief tool is the thunderbolt, by which he is often symbolized. At a young age, Zeus’s life was endangered by his father, Cronos, who feared his son would challenge his authority. In Green’s narrative, Zeus demonstrates his power early on during the Titanomachy, the battle for control over the cosmos. Emerging triumphant, Zeus chooses Olympus as his realm and establishes himself as “the King of Heaven” (11)—a word choice that highlights Green’s incorporation of Abrahamic concepts and motifs into Greek myth.

In both the text and Greek myth broadly, Zeus often intervenes in human affairs, embodying The Complex Relationship Between Gods and Humans. In particular, Zeus forms relationships with several mortal and immortal women, despite being married to Hera. Their relationship is defined by conflict, which often affects the fates of humans. In the book, Zeus is the father of Apollo, Hermes, Artemis, Dionysus, and Heracles.

While Zeus is undeniably powerful, he is also a contradictory figure in Greek myth.