Ganymede (or Ganymedes) was a young man from Troy. His beauty was unparalleled, and for that reason, Zeus abducted and brought him to Olympus to serve as his
In most traditions, he is married to Hera, by whom he is usually said to have fathered Ares, Eileithyia, Hebe, and Hephaestus. At the oracle of Dodona, his consort was said to be Dione, by whom the Iliad states that he fathered Aphrodite.
Zeus finally became enamored of the goddess who was to become his permanent wife — Hera.
Before his marriage to Hera, Zeus consorted with a number of the female Titanes (and his sister Demeter). These liaisons are ordered by Hesiod as follows: (1) Metis; (2) Themis; (3) Eurynome; (4) Demeter; (5) Mnemosyne; (6) Leto.
Zeus was known in his time as much more than the father of the gods. He was also a womanizer, and as such, he fathered many, many offspring! He would transform into various animals to fulfill his desires; therefore, his 'children' are quite interesting.
Ganymede, a beautiful Trojan young man, was aducted by Zeus to serve as his personal cupbearer and lover on mount Olympus among the other gods.
Accordingly, the Greek god Zeus's affairs were with willing participants – regardless of his trickery and disguise to seduce them. The male-dominated art world interpreted Zeus's promiscuity as part of fulfilling his duty to populate the newly formed world. They never allowed it to detract from his dignity.
In his private life Zeus was quite the lothario, fathering an unbelievable number of around 100 children with many different women (but don't hate him too much – it's just a myth, after all). Of this 100, he fathered a mix of sons and daughters, many of whom were gods and goddesses, and some became great leaders.
Zeus slept around because he thought it was fun. Zeus wanted to have as much offspring as possible.
Zeus and Metis
His first and favorite lover was Metis, a Titan goddess and mother of Athena.
Aphrodite later and of her own volition had an affair with Zeus, but his jealous wife Hera laid her hands upon the belly of the goddess and cursed their offspring with malformity. Their child was the ugly god Priapos.
Zeus's notable spouse, Hera, holds a significant role as the goddess of women, marriage, family, and childbirth. Intriguingly, Hera is not only Zeus's wife but also his sister. Their union began with Zeus employing a clever ploy—he transformed into an injured bird to elicit Hera's compassion and affection.
According to a Homeric Hymn, there are three goddesses whom Aphrodite “can't persuade or decieve”, i.e. who don't feel sexual desire and are perpetually virgins. They are Athena, Artemis and Hestia. So, we are sure that Zeus did never have affairs with any of those three.
The Greek god of love, Eros, also known as Cupid, was a kind god who brought happiness to many people. His magical bow and arrow helped him to make people fall in love. After many years of being alone, he eventually fell in love with and married a mortal (human) princess named Psyche.
Zeus even managed to impregnate mortal women when he was a swan or a bull. Hercules was the illegitimate child of Zeus and a mortal woman, as were Perseus, Helen of Troy and Minos (among other very, very famous offspring of Zeus).
Leto is mostly famous because of her relationship with Zeus, which resulted in giving birth to two divine children, who would later be considered amongst the twelve Olympian gods, Artemis and Apollo. Everything started when Hera found out that Leto was pregnant by her husband, Zeus.
Antiope in Greek mythology was the daughter of King Asopus of Boeotia. Zeus, enchanted by her beauty, transformed himself into a satyr and raped her. Antiope's rape by the father of the ancient Greek gods was only the beginning of her misfortunes. Soon after it became evident that she was pregnant with Zeus' child.
In one Orphic myth, Zeus was filled with desire for his mother and pursued her, only for Rhea to refuse him and change into a serpent to flee. Zeus also turned himself into a serpent and raped her. The child born from that union was their daughter Persephone, and afterwards Rhea became Demeter.
Gods aside, Zeus also had sexual affairs with 20 mortals, including one male, Ganymede, a prince ofTroy.
Stories suggest at least 41 of Zeus's children were gods or goddesses, sharing the family's mystical powers across Mount Olympus for many generations. His most famous divine daughters include Aphrodite, goddess of love, Athena, goddess of war, and Persephone, the goddess of spring.
A while later, he rapes her, she agrees to marry him and they create a family on Mount Olympus, the Deities' new home. Unfortunately, Zeus constantly cheats on Hera and he has done it over a hundred times, but in the end Hera always forgives him.
Zeus has four siblings which include Hera, Hades, Poseidon, and Hestia. Zeus also had six children which include Artemis, Apollo, Hermes, Athena, Ares, and Aphrodite. Together we will explore and learn about Greek Mythology, Zeus and his family through this beautiful gallery. This is a statue of the God, Zeus.
The God Zeus fell in love with Europa and wanted to take her away from her family to live with him. One day while Europa was wandering amongst her father's herds of cattle she saw a white bull. She was not aware that Zeus had turned himself into the bull in order to trick her.
Some estimates put the count at well over a hundred, with the lovers being mostly but not exclusively female. In some cases, ancient authorities differ, so the exact lineage and relationships remain open to debate.
But representations of Zeus as a powerful young man also exist. Symbols or Attributes: Thunderbolt. Strengths: Highly powerful, strong, charming, persuasive. Weaknesses: Gets in trouble over love, can be moody.