Zeus
Cronos, father of the gods, who gave his name to
time, married his siter Rhea, the goddes of the Earth. Now, Cronos had
become king of the gods by killing his father Oranos, the First One, and
the dying Oranos had prophesied saying "You murder me now, and steal my
throne- but one of your one sons will dethrone you, for crime begets crime."
So Cronos was very careful. One by one he swallowed
his children as they wee born:first 3 daughters-hestia, Demeter, and Hera:
then 2 sons Poseidon and Hades. One by one, he swalled them all.
Rhea was furious. She was determinded that he should
not eat her next child who she felt sure would be a son. when her time
came she crept down the slopes of Olyumpus to a dark place to have her
baby. It was a son and she named him Zeus. she hung a goldren cradle from
the branches of an olive tree, and put him there to sleep. She walked back
up the mountain there she took a rock wrapped in swaddling clothes and
held it to her breast, humming a lullaby. Cronos came snorting and bellowing
out of his great bed, snatched the bundle from her, and swallowedit, clothes
and all.
Rhea stole down the mountain side to the swinging
golden cradle, and took her son down into the fields. She gave im to a
shepherd family to raise, promising that their sheep would never get eaten
by wolves.
Here Zeus grew to be a beautiful young boy, and Cronos,
his father, knew nothing of him.Finally, however, Rhea became lonely for
him and brought him to the courts of gods, introducing him to Cronos as
the new cupbearer. Cronos was pleased because the boy was beautiful.
One night Rhea and Zeus prepared a specoal drink.
They mixed mustard and salt with the nector. Next morning, after a mighty
swallow, Cronos vomited up firts a stone, and then Hestia, demeter, Hera,
Hades, and Posiedon- who, being gods, ere still undigested, still. they
thanked Zeus, and immediately chose him to be their leader.
Then a mighty battle ragged. Cronos was joined by
the Titans, his half-brothers, huge, twisted, dark creatures taller than
trees, whom he kept pent up in the mountian until there was fighting to
be done. They attacked the young gods furiously. But Zeus had allies too.
he had gone to darker caverns - caves under cave - under caves, deep in
the mountian side- formed by the first bubbles of the cooling earth. Here,
cronos, thousands of centures before had pent up other monsters, the one-eyed
cyclopes, and the Hundered-handed Ones. Zeus unshackled these ugly cousins
and led them againts the Titians.
There was a great rushing and tumult in the skies.
the people on earth heard might thunder, and saw mountians shatter. The
earth quaked and tidal waves rolled as the gods fought. The Titians were
as tall as trees, and old Cronos was a crafty leader. he attacked fiercely,
driving the young gods before him. But Zeus had laid a trap. Half way up
the slopes of Olyumpus, he wistled for his cousins, the Hundred-handed
Ones, who had been lying in ambushed. They took huge-bolders, a hundred
each, and hurled them downhill at the titians. The Titians thought the
mountian itself was falling on them. They broke ranks and fled.
The young goat-god Pan was shouting with joy. Later
he siad that is shout made the Titians flee. That is where we get the word
"panic".
Now that the young gods climber Olyumpus, took over
the castle, and Zeus became their king. No one knows what happened to Cronos
and thier titians. But some times mountians still explode with fire, and
the earth still quackes, and no one knows exactly why.
Zeus had only 3 children with his wife, Hera. They
are Ares god of war, Hepaestus the smith-god, and Eris goddess of discord.
All of his others were born in wedlock including Athena and Hercules to
name a few. 3 of these children later joined Zeus in Olyumpus.
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