Sky god Zeus is the son of Titan gods Rhea and Cronus and the grandson of Gaea and Uranus. He is both the youngest and the oldest of Rhea and Cronus’s children. He is the youngest in terms of birth order, but because his five older siblings remained trapped in his father’s belly, Zeus has also been considered the oldest. With his wife Metis, “goddess of prudence” (18), Zeus is the father of Athena, goddess of wisdom. His wife Hera, who is also his sister, rules alongside him. Zeus has many mortal “wives,” within the D’Aulaires’ book, with whom he fathers heroes.

Zeus supplanted his father Cronus, who likewise supplanted his father, and defeated his generation of gods, the Titans, assuming the top position of the pantheon. Wars of succession come to an end with Zeus’s ascension. He is portrayed as both a strongman who can subdue other gods with his strength and willing to share power and respect the domains of other gods. This combination of might and wisdom is portrayed as the reason for Zeus’s successful reign. Throughout the myths, Zeus uses his mighty thunderbolt to preserve order, as when he shoots Phaëthon out of the sky and incinerates Asclepius.