Home / Astrology / Jupiter / Benefic / Zeus Short excerpt liberally adapted from "The Who’s Who in Mythology" written by Alexander Murray. (I thought I’d take a brief respite from my more "whimsical" narrations of the gods. Zeus, after all, is serious business!) Third, and last, on the throne of the highest god, sat Zeus. The most ancient sources have Zeus ruling and living atop the Mount Olympus. Later sources have Zeus inhabiting a region above the sky, where the source of all light was supposed to reside. Zeus was god of the "broad light of day." He had control of all the heavens, and thus controlled the sudden changes of weather. But most of all - the burst of a thunderstorm made his presence felt as a thunder god that was interested in the affairs of humankind. The majestic eagle soaring to the greatest heights came to be looked on as sacred to Zeus. Likewise, high mountain peaks derived a certain sanctity from their nearness to the region of light where Zeus resided - and so everywhere in Greece the highest mountain peaks were associated with his presence and worship. As the highest god (and throughout Greece worshipped as such) Zeus was the father of both gods and men. He was the ruler and preserver of the world. Zeus was believed to be possessed of most every form of power and endued with great wisdom. In his dominion over the human race he was partial to justice, and there was seemingly no limit to his goodness and love. In the mythology, Zeus orders the alternation of day and night, the seasons "succeed" at his command, the winds obey him. He gathers the clouds - then scatters the clouds. He bids the rain to fall and fertilize the fields and meadows. Zeus watches over the administration of law and justice in the state, He lends his majesty to kings, and protects them. Zeus observes, attentively, the general intercourse and dealings of people - everywhere demanding and then rewarding uprightness, truth, faithfulness, and kindness; everywhere punishing wrong, falseness, faithlessness and cruelty. As the eternal father of men, Zeus was believed to be benevolently at the call of the poorest and most forsaken. The homeless beggar looked to him as a merciful guardian who punished the heartless, and delighted to reward pity and sympathy. (back to Jupiter) Home / Astrology / Jupiter / Benefic / Zeus