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Questions

Question A

Zeus rebelled giants his father Cronus owing to the curse by Uranus on his family. Zeus with the help of his siblings namely Demeter, Hera, Hestia, Poseidon, and Hades waged war against Cronus. This resulted in casting of Cronus into Tartarus by Zeus with the help of his brothers namely Athena, Paolo, and Artemis. This battle is claimed to have taken more than ten years with neither of the two sides having achieved victory. The second battle was that which was because of the challenged issued by the giants or the “Gegeneis” who were unhappy with the new order of young gods.

This is associated with the volcanoes when they erupt as a sign of the misery of the imprisonment of the giants. Another battle that Zeus was engaged in was the war with Typhon. He was a ferocious dragon god whom the earth had produced to challenge Zeus separately and alongside the giants. This failed after he was aided by his brother to escape and managed to find Typhon and imprison him under the mountains. The third battle was between Prometheus and Zeus after the latter had assumed power (Hard and Rose 39).

Question B

The first myth notes that Athena was born because of Zeus mating with Métis. It is claimed that Gaea the oracle prophesied that the first child between Métis and Zeus would be a girl and the second would be a boy who would overthrow Zeus from his throne. Zeus was afraid and swallowed Métis while she was carrying his unborn child. Zeus became ill and suffered from a headache, which made him scream across the entire world. Hermes who was amongst the gods who had come to see Zeus pointed out that Hephaestus, using a wedge, should split Zeus head. Athena sprang out his skull as she had become fully-grown and in full armor (Jennings and Lowery 47).

Question C

This refers to the events that followed after the titans were initiated by Hera after she saw that Epaphus who was the son of a concubine was ruling a vast kingdom. She conspired with the titans to return the kingdom to Cronus who imprisoned together with them because of the prophecy that was claimed by Uranus during his death. In addition, it is also noted that the battle describes the biggest battle between the gods, which some gods feared would result in loss of power. The titans were fulfilling part of the prophecy whereby Zeus would face great rebellion similar to his father Cronus and ancestor Uranus. In addition, there was anger amongst the old gods or titans that the young gods had managed to overthrow their rule and impose a new regime.

Zeus’ anger was a result of being tricked by Prometheus into taking bones that were filled with fat rather than flesh. Zeus was quick to anger and is illustrated by his inability to control his contempt and dislike for Prometheus who was a well-known friend and adversary of Zeus. In addition, the statements illustrate the might possessed by Zeus as he chased down the giant and more so the Typhon and buried the beats under the mountains (Ollhoff 36). In addition, this statement is illustrative of the power and strength of Zeus that he possessed over the entire kingdom. The titans including Cronus were afraid of his strength and power given that he had weapons, thunder and lightning which had been forged by the Cyclops. The fare is also illustrated by Hades, who despite being his brother is afraid of him, given that he understands his temperament and more so his might and power over the earth and the beings.

Works Cited

Hard, Robin, and H J. Rose. The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology: Based on H.j. Rose’s “handbook of Greek Mythology”. London: Routledge, 2004. Print.

Jennings, Ken, and Mike Lowery. Greek Mythology. New York: LITTLE SIMON, 2014. Print.

Ollhoff, Jim. Greek Mythology. Edina, Minn: ABDO Pub. Co, 2011. Print.