While Tantalus divine punishment and other supernatural aspects of his story are mythical, there might have been a historical king Tantalus in real life, who ruled an Anatolian city named Tantalis. In this way Zeus and Hera represented not an average marriage, but the type of politically-motivated relationships entered into by human kings and queens. Understandably, Dionysius was greatly angered by Lycurgus disrespect and impiety, so he set out to visit divine punishment upon the Thracian king by taking away his sanity and reducing him to a raving loon. Zeus (Greek: & ) (Ancient Greek: , , & ) is the King of the Olympian gods and God of the Sky, Weather, Thunderstorms, Lightning bolts, Winds and Clouds. Copy. Zeus, to punish him, bound him on a fiery wheel, which rolled unceasingly through the air or, according to the more common tradition, in the underworld. When Leto went into labor with Apollo and Artemis, Hera prevented the goddess of childbirth from attending to her. He sneaked in and untied the king of . The chief Olympian god's relentless pursuit, persistence, rough wooing, and refusal to take "no" for an answer was bad enough. This punishment of Hera would last throughout antiquity, until the relative position of the earth and the . As one of the original 6 Olympians, Hera was the daughter of the Titans Cronus and Rhea. On three occasions Zeus threatens physical punishment of Hera in the Iliad: In A 566ff., when Hera intrudes on Zeus to discover what went on between him and Thetis concerning the (xfjvi of Achilles . Zeus is known for being the lightning god, and the ruler of the gods. Tantalus was also the great grandfather of Menelaus, the Spartan king and cuckolded husband of Helen of Troy, and his brother Agamemnon, who commanded the Greeks in the Trojan War. The astonished and livid Zeus expelled the ingrate from Olympus, and blasted his former guest with a thunderbolt. She drove him made so that he killed his own family, then orchestrated the twelve labors that would earn him absolution. That angered Zeus, whose divine responsibilities included the promotion of Xenia. He then ordered the messenger god, Hermes, to seize Ixion and bind him to a wheel of fire, condemned to spin forever across the heavens. The Argives were impressed by the arrival of fifty beauties rowing a boat, and even more so by their father, whom they made their king. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. 19 (trans. We should note that all of his "relationships" with women produced childrengenerally sons . What folly, said she, is this! The trend of Hera being jealous and spiteful toward her husbands children continued throughout their reign. While Zeus had dozens, if not hundreds, of children, Hera was always faithful. When Zeus looked down from the heavens and saw the dark of night dispelled by the flicker of fires, he grew livid. He lies and cheats, especially when it comes to tricking women into infidelity. In their flight, they sought refuge in Lycia, whose peasants, on Heras instructions, sought to prevent Leto and her infants from drinking water. The people had an admiration for the gods. Theirs was, like most rulers, a marriage of political necessity. And to make matters worse, Hera's marriage to Zeus was not entirely by choice. Athena was born out of her fathers head and was generally described as not having a mother in any real sense. There, she bore Zeus a son and daughter, who gave rise to a line of legendary descendants, including Hercules. Hera, now even more jealous of Leto after she gave birth to Zeus children, sent a dragon to chase her and her newborns around. Zeus was the king of the Greek gods who lived on Mount Olympus. Eventually, a more perfect Olympian marriage would be exemplified by Heracles and Heras own daughter, Hebe. To vent his anger at mankind, Zeus sent Pandora down to earth with a box whose lid, when it was eventually removed, unleashed upon the world all the evils that plague humanity, such as diseases, plagues, war, death, and the constant need for backbreaking labor to eke sustenance out of the earth. Another of Tantalus children was Niobe, who got her own dose of divine punishment and earned an entry on this list see below. Zeus ordered his son Hermes, the messenger god, to bind Ixion to a large, fiery wheel which would travel across the sky forever. The Rocky Relationship of Zeus and Hera. Leto was thus forced to keep wandering the earth, without a chance to settle down anywhere to give birth. A peeved Zeus responded by taking fire away from mankind, and wiping its secret from human minds, so they would have to eat meat row, and shiver from the cold in the dark of night. Another version of the story reveals that Tiresias lost his eyesight during an argument between god Zeus and goddess Hera. When a coup was started by the other Gods who were led by Hera, Poseidon, and Athena, Zeus was tied to the bed by unbreakable chains so that he would submit to their requests. Instead, he loaded them in a boat, and oared by his daughters, fled across the sea to Argos. Even though she was the goddess of marriage, her own marriage was far from perfect. After crisscrossing the world for years while in labor, unable to find a resting place, Leto came across a barren island not connected to the ocean floor, so it did not count as a real island by Heras definition. . However, she committed the sin of hubris a mixture of extreme pride, dangerous overconfidence, and overweening arrogance. Zeus created the laws that ruled the world according to his will, the god despite loving his wife was not faithful to her and he had plenty of extra marital affairs and because of this the goddess Hera and Zeus lived in a permanent state of quarrel. One day, the people of Thebes went out to celebrate the feast of Latona a religious festival in honor of Leto, the mother of the gods Apollo and Artemis and as described in Bulfinchs Mythology: It was on occasion of the annual celebration in honor of Latona and her offspring, Apollo and Diana [i.e Artemis] when the people of Thebes were assembled, their brows crowned with laurel, bearing frankincense to the altars and paying their vows, that Niobe appeared among the crowd. Her feelings were probably exacerbated by the fact that Zeus seemed to prefer these human children over her own son, Ares. When he sobered up and realized what he had almost done, he swore off the drink, became a teetotaler, and enacted a version of Prohibition in his kingdom by banning wine and ordering the destruction of all grapevines throughout the realm. Leda and the Swan When of age, Leda was married to King Tyndareus of Sparta; Tyndareus having been placed on the throne by Heracles. That snitching made Zeus angrier still. That set a precedent that allowed humans henceforth to sacrifice animals to the god by burning their bones and fat, but keeping the meat for themselves. While they were said to have enjoyed a brief period of peace and happiness, this quickly gave way to conflict. Some nymphs in Greek mythology were famous, but others were only known in a certain time Charybdis: The Deadly Whirpool of Greek Mythology, Nymphs: The Many Nature Spirits of Ancient Greece, Hecate Greek Goddess of Witchcraft : The Complete Guide. So when his disciples, the Maenads, threw a festival in honor of the wine god atop the sacred mountain of Nyseion in Lycurgus kingdom, Dionysius took on human form and attended as the guest of honor. To exacerbate the unfairness of it all, Leto had been Zeus mistress before he married Hera, so the chief god had not even been cheating on his wife at the time. It did not work. Danaus hauled the daughter who had disobeyed him before a court, but her husband intervened and murdered Danaus in revenge for the deaths of his 49 brothers. He instructed his wife not to bury him or perform any of the sacred death rituals when he passed away, and to just throw his corpse out. Ironically, Aphrodite, Goddess of Love, was trapped in a loveless marriage; Athena, wisest of beings, always deferred to Zeus; and Hera, Goddess of Marriage, was married to the worst serial adulterer ever known. Epimetheus. Her husband/ sibling was an insatiable and predatory nymphomaniac with a roving eye, always on . Heracles had followed his fathers tendencies in life and had many affairs, but he was said to have settled down in a happy marriage with Hebe. Hera is a goddess in Greek mythology and one of the Twelve Olympians. Sisyphus however tricked the death god by asking him how the chains worked, and ended up chaining that deity. Semele, the human mother of Dionysus, was tricked by Hera into seeing Zeus in his full glory. Like the hero Achilles, of Iliad fame, Actaeon had been taught hunting by the centaur Chiron. The gods were ticked off at him for showing them up and making them look like fools, and took offense at his self-aggrandizing deceitfulness, and the hubris of believing himself more cunning than Zeus. The disputes between Hera and Zeus were not limited to his extramarital affairs. In this view of marriage, Hera really did embody the role of a Greek wife. Hera also sent the gigantic Titan Tityos to rape Leto, but she was once again saved by her children, Apollo and Artemis, who killed their mothers would-be rapist. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). The Romans identified the Greek goddess Hera with their own goddess of marriage, Juno. Roman name: Juno. Among the Thebans, rumors planted by Hera persisted that Zeus had not been his . One day, the people of Thebes went out to celebrate the feast of Latona a religious festival in honor of Leto, the mother of the gods Apollo and Artemis and as described in Bulfinchs Mythology: It was on occasion of the annual celebration in honor of Latona and her offspring, Apollo and Diana [i.e Artemis] when the people of Thebes were assembled, their brows crowned with laurel, bearing frankincense to the altars and paying their vows, that Niobe appeared among the crowd. Abode: Mount Olympus. His name, which means foresight, emphasizes his intellect, for he was known as a cunning trickster. Prometheus however defied Zeus by stealing fire from Mount Olympus and smuggling it down to earth to share with mankind and help them survive lifes struggles. Will you prefer to me this Latona, the Titans daughter, with her two children? So behind Zeus back, he started hitting on and pursuing Hera. Though Prometheus was considered to be a cultural hero who was credited for creating humanity, he was nothing but a . Niobes hubris provoked Letos children, the gods Apollo and Artemis, to seek vengeance for the insult to their mom, who had suffered greatly on their behalf see earlier entry about Leto, above. When her father went looking for her, Sisyphus told him where to find his daughter, in exchange for Asopus creating a spring to flow into Sisyphus city of Corinth. He first married the Titaness Metis, but turned her into a fly and swallowed her when he learned that her son would eventually overthrow him. However, when Ixion was introduced to Zeus wife, Hera, he fell passionately in love and lusted after her. Dionysius, being a god, was not about to heed the dictates of a mortal, not even a mortal king. It's hard not to feel sympathetic to Zeus' wife, Hera. He took the form of a bull to abduct and ravish the Phoenician princess, Europa. The breach of Xenia left Ixion defiled, shunned by fellow Greeks and unfit to live amidst men. Zeus: God of the Skies. What bad things did Zeus do? Please like and share this article if you found it useful. Have I not cause for pride? He instilled in Actaeon a passion for hunting that would prove the Theban heros undoing. Even though Hercules has finished his labors, and is said to have "finally appeased the hatred of his fierce stepmother", his absence from his wife may be understood as a slight against the wife of Zeus, Goddess . Niobe was left transfixed with grief and surrounded by the corpses of her offspring. In Greek legend, Prometheus was a Titan a race of divine beings who preceded the Olympian gods. She ruled over the proper arrangements of marriage, and her husbands many affairs were a direct affront not only to their marriage, but also to her role as a goddess. However, Sisyphus had one more trick up his sleeve to cheat Death. Prometheus stole fire for mankind. The super strong infant, however, suckled so intensely that Hera pushed him away due to . They would pray, ask for help in any kind of situation, and do sacrifices for them. He was the god of the sky and thunder. Zeus substituted for her a cloud, by which Ixion became the father of Centaurus, who fathered the Centaurs by the mares of Mount Pelion. Many of his mistresses and their children fell afoul of Heras terrible temper. However, when his fellow Titans refused to heed his advice and resort to trickery, Prometheus switched sides and joined the Olympians. She attempted many times to cause his death or just make his life difficult, even driving him insane and forcing him to kill his own family. Ixion's eternal punishment for his audacity and complete disrespect for both humanity and the gods was to be tied to an ever-spinning wheel of fire in Hades. Zeus immediately returned to his true form andtrue to form, indeedravished her. 4) Hera. Zeus' wife did not recognize her mini-mortal enemy and inadvertently nursed him out of pity. He brought her to life, and then brought her to Zeus. Hera eventually came to terms with the situation, accepted things as they were, and let Leto and her children be. Zeus gathered the rest of the boys body parts, got the god Hephaestus to make him a bronze shoulder, put them all together and restored the kid to life. Zeus has one of the largest if not the largest number of "relationships" of this kind of any deity in world history. However, what offended the divine pantheon the most was when Tantalus killed his own son, Pelops, and served him to the gods at a banquet as a means of testing their powers of observation. I am the owner and chief researcher at this site. Semele was a Thebian princess. So, when Zeus was harsh on the other gods, Hera talked them into a revolt against Zeus. Hephaestus made a woman out of clay, a beautiful woman. In Greek myth, Leto was a Titan goddess whose beauty captivated Zeus, and she became his first and favorite lover. Hera decided to pay Zeus back for his infidelity by making the rest of Hercules' life as miserable as she could. So she turned him into a stag. Greek Mythology in Comics: The Marriage of Zeus and Hera: The Punishment of the Lazy NymphArt: Kaji PatoScreenplay: Bruno Viriato #Comics #Mythology #SeeUinH. As if her punishment was not already horrible enough, Zeus piled on and capped it off by turning Niobe into a pillar of stone, in which state she would continue to weep throughout eternity for her loss. It should come as no surprise, then, that The Moons of Jupiterof which there are at least 67are named for his lovers (including "lovers") and descendants. Here are some 15 quick facts about Zeus. Exposed liars were made to dedicate a statue to Zeus, often at the sanctuary of Olympia. Zeus married one Titaness and courted another before marrying Hera to ensure that their son would not be powerful enough to overthrow him. Hera, Queen of the Heavens and Chief wife of Zeus, was jealous of all of Zeus's lovers because they would give demigods, but . Her attire was splendid with gold and gems, and her face as beautiful as the face of an angry woman can be. The liver re-grew each night, and the eagle returned each day to repeat the process, subjecting Prometheus to perpetuity of torment by day, and nights full of dread of what the morrow would bring. She eventually swam to Egypt, where Zeus finally restored her to human form. She is best known as the mother of Dionysus. Greeks seemed to realize that their goddess. That championing of mankind got him in trouble with the gods, who devised a horrific punishment for him in consequence. Whenever he reached for the fruit, the wind wafted the branches away, and whenever he reached for water to take a drink it flowed away from him. However, she did not address that by taking it up with Zeus and directing her wrath at him for breaking whatever passed for marital vows and obligations of monogamy atop Mount Olympus. However, after Zeus impregnated Leto with twins, he abandoned her in order to marry his sister, Hera. As you can see, Hera's jealousy and vengeful nature shaped many of the most popular stories in all of Greek mythology. So Alcmene exposed her half god child, who was taken up by Athena to see Hera. Ixion was the king of a mountain folk in Thessalia. The Nemean Lion. He often used a thunderbolt to defeat his enemies, making the thunderbolt or lightning bolt the weapon he most often used. He was the father of Pelops, after whom the Peloponnesus is named. For example when Hippolyta, the queen of the Amazons, was ready to help the hero Hera spread a rumor that caused the warrior women to attack him instead. Zeus, revealing himself in his full thunder-bolting glory, killed the frail human Semele. OSU Classical Mythology 2220. Aegyptus had fifty sons, and when he commanded that his twins fifty daughters be married to his sons, Danaus declined. (Some storytellers say that Zeus had fathered this magical beast as . Making it worse for those who gave in to Zeus, or were raped by him, was having to deal . Leto then went on to become a goddess of motherhood, with a divine portfolio that also included protection of the young. He continued to live to a ripe old age, before dying a second time. Fortunate indeed am I, and fortunate I shall remain! So he made a cloud in the shape of Hera, and sent her Ixions way to see what his guest would do. Not to be outdone, Artemis strung her bow, and slew all seven of Niobes daughters. However, the gods possessed superhuman powers that made their human-like follies a terror to behold, and were often unrestrained by morality and the social norms applicable to humans. Io would eventually come across a chained-up Prometheus who told her that one day she would return to her human form. Those archetypes would be: ruler, creator, and rebel. First, Hera kicked the pregnant Leto out of Mount Olympus, forcing her to wander the world amongst mortals. Hera, knowing her husband, grew suspicious when she noticed how much time he was spending at a pasture, in which a magnificent white cow grazed. Yet Tantalus, his punishment, and his damned family also inspired many great works of Classical literature: His punishment has, ironically, ensured an enduring legacy. Most entries in this article are about mortal or immortal beings who did something to invite the wrath of the gods, or at least found themselves in a situation in which the wrath of a good was understandable, even if unjustified. Tantalus was a son of Zeus and a nymph minor female nature deities, typically depicted as uninhibited nubile maidens who love to sing and dance.