Zeus

Zeus

Ancient Greek Gods for Kids

Roman Name: Jupiter



The Greeks loved to tell stories about the magical family who ruled the heavens. The Greeks truly believed that their gods could interfere in their lives, to help or hinder them.

According to Greek myth, Zeus was the king of all the gods. Zeus had two brothers and three sisters. When their father died, the boys - Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades - divided the world up between themselves. Zeus took all of the heavens, Poseidon took the sea, and Hades took the underworld. Each was quite content with their selection. Zeus had a very jealous wife named Hera. He also had a whole bunch of kids. Zeus was very fond of all his children. Each of his children had special magical powers.

Zeus had more powers than anyone. Zeus could throw his voice, and sound like anybody. He could shape shift, and look like anybody. In fact, he was so good at shape shifting that he could shape shift into the form of an animal. He could throw lightning bolts. His horse, Pegasus, carried his lightning bolts for him.

Zeus had a quick temper, a big sense of humor, and lots of girlfriends. He was not afraid of anything except Hera, his wife.

There are a great many myths about the famous Zeus, king of all the gods. Here are two of them:

Zeus, Hera, and Little Io

The Story of Pandora