We never talk about Zeus

[TheLightWithin]

Zeus: King of the Greek Gods, Thunder, and Divine Power

Zeus, ruler of Olympus—his rise against the Titans, symbols of power, epic loves, and legacy across myth and history.

www.historyandmyths.com

The Duality of Zeus: Benevolent Ruler or Vengeful God? - Greek Mythology

The Duality of Zeus: Benevolent Ruler or Vengeful God? The Duality of Zeus: Benevolent Ruler or Vengeful God? I. Introduction Zeus, the king of the gods in Greek mythology, stands as one of the most significant figures in ancient lore. Revered as the god of the sky, lightning, and thunder, he...

greek.mythologyworldwide.com

How many of the characteristics of Zeus as described in the 2nd article above are consistent with characteristics we think belong to G-d? How many are different?

Zeus being the son of Cronus - and upon looking this up was reminded that Cronus is distinct from Chronos... but then looking that up it seems Cronus and Chronos may not have been distinct Chronos - Wikipedia identifies them as different, but later in the article implies something different.

This is an area I have explored less well, and wonder what others here think or know about the Greek or Roman gods.

 

[JustGeorge]

Zeus: King of the Greek Gods, Thunder, and Divine Power

Zeus, ruler of Olympus—his rise against the Titans, symbols of power, epic loves, and legacy across myth and history.

www.historyandmyths.com

The Duality of Zeus: Benevolent Ruler or Vengeful God? - Greek Mythology

The Duality of Zeus: Benevolent Ruler or Vengeful God? The Duality of Zeus: Benevolent Ruler or Vengeful God? I. Introduction Zeus, the king of the gods in Greek mythology, stands as one of the most significant figures in ancient lore. Revered as the god of the sky, lightning, and thunder, he...

greek.mythologyworldwide.com

How many of the characteristics of Zeus as described in the 2nd article above are consistent with characteristics we think belong to G-d? How many are different?

While I'm not interested in comparing Zeus with the God of Abraham, I discovered the epithets(different title) sometime this year and was fascinated by them(not just for Zeus, but many of the Old Greek deities). This has helped me understand the depths of these divinities, and relate to them better.

Zeus being the son of Cronus - and upon looking this up was reminded that Cronus is distinct from Chronos... but then looking that up it seems Cronus and Chronos may not have been distinct Chronos - Wikipedia identifies them as different, but later in the article implies something different.

This is an area I have explored less well, and wonder what others here think or know about the Greek or Roman gods.

I've never heard of a difference between Chronos/Cronos/Kronos. He was the one who accepted his mother's(Gaia's) request to castrate his father, though he never made good on the deal to let his brothers(the Cyclops and Hekatoncheires) out of her depths. He was one of the Titans, a grouping of Gods that his father(Ouranos) found acceptable enough to not imprison. All of the Titans had some function assigned to them; his was generally seen as Time.

Sadly, the apple didn't fall far from the tree. When a prophecy was made that he'd have a son that would overthrow him, he decided he'd swallow each of his children up. That worked, until his 6th, which his wife, Rhea, managed to hide from him. This was Zeus, who did manage to trick old Cronos into freeing his siblings(Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Hades, Hestia) from his body. After that, the Titanomachy happened; a war between the new Gods and the old ones.

 

[iBrian]

My impression has always been that once gods become anthropomorphocised they end up effectively as a reflection of rulers at the time, being both benevolent and vengeful. I've previously thought this applied across those who took form in the Bronze Age onwards. So Zeus has an abstract origin based on the notion and attributes of the sky as a dominant authority, but his personality - with the constant cheating and abuses of power - effectively being a reflection of kingship.

However, that idea might not be so straight cut. I recently read a book on early mythology by John Knight Lundwall called Mythos and Cosmos in which he convincingly argues that many mythologies are based on stories relating to the constellations and how that reflects on life on our world. With that in might it may be the case that many stories literally about the infidelity of Zeus are metaphorically about astrological events.

Anyway, it's a great topic I'll try to revisit soon.

 

[iBrian]

How many of the characteristics of Zeus as described in the 2nd article above are consistent with characteristics we think belong to G-d? How many are different?

It's also worth remembering that Zeus is a sky god, ie, representative of the powers of the sky, and this includes powerful thunderstorms. I used to think I knew what a thunderstorm was - then about 8 years back we went to Turkey and on the first night there was a powerful electrical storm over the resort, and it was a very intense experience. Suddenly I realized why Zeus would have had so much respect and awe!

 

[JustGeorge]

It's also worth remembering that Zeus is a sky god, ie, representative of the powers of the sky, and this includes powerful thunderstorms. I used to think I knew what a thunderstorm was - then about 8 years back we went to Turkey and on the first night there was a powerful electrical storm over the resort, and it was a very intense experience. Suddenly I realized why Zeus would have had so much respect and awe!

That's cool you got to experience that!

While Storm Lord is one of his major functions, it's worth noting he had dozens of others.

As Zeus Herkeios, he guarded the boundaries of properties.

As Zeus Ktesios, he oversaw the stores of food one kept(and therefore their well being).

As Zeus Meilichos, he is a chthonic deity who overseas abundance.

As Zeus Polieus, he rules over and protects the city.

And there are many more epithets...

It's worth noting that two 'Zeuses' can be petitioned at once!

 

[Aupmanyav]

We worship what is known as Zeus in Europe, but have another IE name for it - Dyáuṣ Pitṛ́, same as Zeus Patēr of the Greeks.
RigVeda mentions it in six hymns along with Prithvi, that is Mother Earth. Dyaus - Wikipedia
Hinduism is the only tradition where the worship of Indo-European Zues continues till today.
The following verses are from RigVeda, but there are many more mantras dedicated to Dyaus.

dyau me pitā janitā nābhiratra bandhurme mātā pṛthivīmahīyam;
uttānayoścamvoryonirantaratrā pitā duhiturgharbhamādhāt.
(Dyaus is my Father, my begetter: kinship is here. This great earth is my kin and Mother.
Between the wide-spread world-halves is the birth-place: the Father laid the Daughter's germ within it.)

dyaurvaḥ pitā pṛthivī mātā somo bhrātāditiḥ svasā;
adṛṣṭā viśvadṛṣṭāstiṣṭhatelayatā su kam.
(Heaven is your Sire, your Mother Earth, Soma your Brother, Aditi (mother of suns)
Your Sister: seeing all, unseen, keep still and dwell ye happily.)

sa tū no aghnir nayatu prajānann achā ratnaṃ devabhaktaṃ yad asya;
dhiyā yad viśve amṛtā akṛṇvan dyauṣ pitā janitā satyam ukṣan.
(Let Agni, for he knows the way, conduct us to all that he enjoys of God-sent riches,
What all the Immortals have prepared with wisdom, Dyaus, Sire, Begetter, raining down true blessings.)

tan no vāto mayobhu vātu bheṣajaṃ tan mātā pṛthivī tatpitā dyauḥ;
tad ghrāvāṇaḥ somasuto mayobhuvastadaśvinā śṛṇutaṃ dhiṣṇyā yuvam.
(May the Wind waft to us that pleasant medicine, may Earth our Mother give it, and our Father Heaven,
And the joy-giving stones that press the Soma's juice. Aśvins, may ye, for whom our spirits long, hear this.)

madhu naktamutoṣaso madhumat pārthivaṃ rajaḥ,
madhu dyaurastu naḥ pitā.
(Sweet be the night and sweet the dawns, sweet the terrestrial atmosphere;
Sweet be our Father Heaven to us.)

 

[Aupmanyav]

Aum dyauḥ śāntirantarikṣaṁ śāntiḥ;
pṛthivī śāntirāpaḥ śāntiroṣadhayaḥ śāntiḥ. (Yajurveda 36:17)
May peace radiate there in the whole sky as well as in the space.
May peace reign all over this earth, in water and in all herbs, ..

This is a peace mantra.

You would have difficulty in reading the verses in the post above. This is because of the Sanskit tradition of combining words, two, three, or even four. But not difficult to one who knows some Sanskrit.

For example, śāntirantarikṣaṁ, śāntirāpaḥ and śāntiroṣadhayaḥ are combination of śānti (peace) with antarikṣaṁ (space), āpaḥ (waters) and oṣadhayaḥ (medicinal herbs).

 

[Aupmanyav]

I think it is because Sanskrit developed as a spoken language and not as a written language.

 

[Thomas]

Does that tie in with the idea that Aum/Om is the primordial sound/word, and that all language is an extension of that? That big words grow out of little words, or am I getting carried away? (Did I read this somewhere?)

 

[Aupmanyav]

You must have read it somewhere. I am not one from the 'Om', 'Aum' crowd. Actually I do not use 'Om' as I do not find it in RigVeda. I mention the Gayatri Mantra too without 'Om, Bhuh, Bhuvah, Swaha'.
But yes, perhaps by 600 BCE, Om was important. That is the subject of Chandogya Upanishad - 'Udgita', which I understand as Pranava or 'Om'. I do not know whether I am correct or wrong about this. I will check.

Wisdomlib has to day this for Udgita:
"The udgīta stands for the sacrificial act to be performed by the udgātṛ, the sāmaveda priest, with the udgīta hymns. The devas meditated on the udgīta as the breath in the nostril, but the asuras smote the breath with evil. Then they meditated on udgīta as the speech, the eye, the ear, the mind; but ail these sense organs were smitten with evil by the asuras. Then they meditated on udgīta as prāṇa (vital breath) and the asuras failed to smite it with evil. Therefore prāṇa is superior to all sense-organs."

Udgita, Udgīta: 7 definitions

Udgīta (उद्गीत).—The udgīta stands for the sacrificial act to be performed by the udgātṛ, the sāmaveda priest, with the udgīta hymns. The devas medita...

www.wisdomlib.org

 

[JustGeorge]

We worship what is known as Zeus in Europe, but have another IE name for it - Dyáuṣ Pitṛ́, same as Zeus Patēr of the Greeks.
RigVeda mentions it in six hymns along with Prithvi, that is Mother Earth. Dyaus - Wikipedia
Hinduism is the only tradition where the worship of Indo-European Zues continues till today.
The following verses are from RigVeda, but there are many more mantras dedicated to Dyaus.

I didn't know that! That's really cool, and made my morning.

dyau me pitā janitā nābhiratra bandhurme mātā pṛthivīmahīyam;
uttānayoścamvoryonirantaratrā pitā duhiturgharbhamādhāt.
(Dyaus is my Father, my begetter: kinship is here. This great earth is my kin and Mother.
Between the wide-spread world-halves is the birth-place: the Father laid the Daughter's germ within it.)

dyaurvaḥ pitā pṛthivī mātā somo bhrātāditiḥ svasā;
adṛṣṭā viśvadṛṣṭāstiṣṭhatelayatā su kam.
(Heaven is your Sire, your Mother Earth, Soma your Brother, Aditi (mother of suns)
Your Sister: seeing all, unseen, keep still and dwell ye happily.)

sa tū no aghnir nayatu prajānann achā ratnaṃ devabhaktaṃ yad asya;
dhiyā yad viśve amṛtā akṛṇvan dyauṣ pitā janitā satyam ukṣan.
(Let Agni, for he knows the way, conduct us to all that he enjoys of God-sent riches,
What all the Immortals have prepared with wisdom, Dyaus, Sire, Begetter, raining down true blessings.)

tan no vāto mayobhu vātu bheṣajaṃ tan mātā pṛthivī tatpitā dyauḥ;
tad ghrāvāṇaḥ somasuto mayobhuvastadaśvinā śṛṇutaṃ dhiṣṇyā yuvam.
(May the Wind waft to us that pleasant medicine, may Earth our Mother give it, and our Father Heaven,
And the joy-giving stones that press the Soma's juice. Aśvins, may ye, for whom our spirits long, hear this.)

madhu naktamutoṣaso madhumat pārthivaṃ rajaḥ,
madhu dyaurastu naḥ pitā.
(Sweet be the night and sweet the dawns, sweet the terrestrial atmosphere;
Sweet be our Father Heaven to us.)

Are there any traditions surrounding his worship today?

The worship of Zeus in Greece is making a comeback, I'm happy to see. A temple has been build there in recent years for the original deities. There has been some pushback from monotheist, but I am confident that these traditions will make their way back into being.

 

[Aupmanyav]

Are there any traditions surrounding his worship today?

Worship is for Vishnu, Shiva, Rama, Krishna, Durga, Lakshmi, Parvati, Sarasvati, Ganesha, Kartikeya/Murugan and Hanuman - the indigenous deities. But the Aryan deities must be invoked at the beginning of rituals - Dyava, Prithvi, Varuna, Indra, etc.

Om Shamno Mitrah Sham Varunah - In sanskrit with meaning

 

[TheLightWithin]

How many of the characteristics of Zeus as described in the 2nd article above are consistent with characteristics we think belong to G-d? How many are different?

While I'm not interested in comparing Zeus with the God of Abraham, I discovered the epithets(different title) sometime this year and was fascinated by them(not just for Zeus, but many of the Old Greek deities). This has helped me understand the depths of these divinities, and relate to them better.

The fact of different epithets is very interesting. In that, there is a kind of similarity there with the G-d of Abraham, who has various names like El Shaddai, El-Elyon, I think there is a Jewish tradition of 72 names of G-d and an Islamic tradition of 99 names of Allah.

I was also sort-of thinking of a more generic theism if there is such a thing - maybe perennialism, maybe Deism? Whether anything about the concept of Zeus informed Deism I don't know... I guess since the Greek gods interacted with nature and people, they wouldn't map onto the concept of Deism which usually relegates God to a distance.

Back to the Abrahamic vision, I found this short article which compares Zeus to Satan

THE NEPHILIM: The Legend of Yahweh verses Zeus, Part II.

The Hebrew authors of the Bible sought to establish their God’s greatness over the gods of the surrounding nations by emphasizing his good character traits and his mighty power. A comparison of Yah…

peterrock12.wordpress.com

And then there is this one who compares him to YHWH and compares Jesus to Zeus's son Perseus

Zeus vs. God

Greek Mythology and Christianity Greek Mythology and Christianity are looked at as two completely different beliefs but they actually are very similar. Greek Mythology, " is the body of...

greekmythzeus.weebly.com

 

[Thomas]

St Paul cites two references to Zeus in one verse of Scripture!

Acts 17:28a "For in him we live and move and are ... "

"They fashioned a tomb for you, holy and high one,
Cretans, always liars, evil beasts, idle bellies.
But you are not dead: you live and abide forever,
For in you we live and move and have our being."
Epimenides, Cretica (Κρητικά), 7th-6th century BCE.
In this poem, Minos addresses a prayer to Zeus.

Acts 17:28b "... as indeed some of the poets among you have said: 'For we too are his offspring.' "

"From Zeus let us begin; him do we mortals never leave unnamed; full of Zeus are all the streets and all the market-places of men; full is the sea and the havens thereof; always we all have need of Zeus. For we are also his offspring; and he in his kindness unto men giveth favourable signs and wakeneth the people to work, reminding them of livelihood... "
Aratus of Soli, or possibly of Tarsus (and thus a countryman of Paul's), Phenomena (Φαινόμενα), 3rd century BCE.