The Last Olympians: Zeus
This is the first in a series of caches to explore Greek
mythology. The series is inspired by our current family
interest in mythology spawned by our reading Percy Jackson and the
Last Olympians and by gabbytabby's Hail to the Chief series, which
we have and continue to enjoy immensely. Following
gabbytabby's approach, each cache will focus on the story of a
particular figure in Greek Mythology and then describe the cache
hide.
Zeus was the youngest son of the Titans Cronus and
Rhea.
Cronus, Zeus' father, had learned from his parents, Gaia
and Uranus, that he and the titans would be overthrown by one of
his children, just as he had overthrown his own father. So,
as Cronus' children were born, he swallowed them; this happened to
all of Zeus' older siblings: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades and
Poseidon. But, when Zeus was about to be born, his mother
Rhea went to Gaia to devise a plan to save Zeus from being
swallowed. Rhea gave birth to Zeus in Crete and gave Cronus a
rock wrapped in swaddling clothes; Cronus swallowed the rock
immediately, thinking it was Zeus. Rhea then hid baby Zeus in
a cave on Mount Idea in Crete.
After reaching manhood, Zeus forced Cronus to disgorge first the
stone and then his siblings. How exactly Zeus accomplished
that task varies in different versions of the story; in one
version, Metis gave Cronus an emetic to force him to disgorge the
babies, and in another version, Zeus cut Cronus' stomach open to
free the siblings.
After saving his older brothers (Poseidon and Hades) and sisters
(Hestia, Demeter, and Hera), Zeus released his uncles, the brothers
of Cronus, from their dungeon in Tartarus, a shadowy region of the
underworld. As a token of their appreciation, the Cyclopes
gave Zeus thunder and the thunderbolt, or lightning, which had
previously been hidden by Gaia. At the same time, Poseidon
was given his Trident, and Hades received the Helm of
Darkness. Together, Zeus and his brothers and sisters, along
with the Gigantes, Hecatonchires and Cyclopes overthrew Cronus and
the other Titans in a battle called the Titanomachy. Atlas, one of
the titans that fought against Zeus, was punished by having to hold
the world upon his shoulders for eternity.
After overthrowing their father Cronus, who ruled the world,
Zeus, Poseidon and Hades drew lots to determine which part of the
world each would control. The sea fell to Poseidon, and the
underworld to Hades. Zeus won the draw and became the supreme
ruler of the gods. He was considered the lord of the sky, the rain
god and the cloud gatherer who wielded the terrible lightning
bolt. Zeus is also known to punish those that lie or break
oaths. Zeus is represented as the god of justice and mercy, the
protector of the weak and the punisher of the wicked; symbols of
Zeus include the thunderbolt, an eagle, a bull and an oak.
Zeus is married to Hera but, is known for his many affairs. Hera
and Zeus fathered Ares, Eileithyia, Eris, and Hebe. But he
was also father to lots of other children by both divine and mortal
women. Zeus' children mothered by other gods were also
considered immortal gods; Apollo, Artemis, Aphrodite, Athena (his
favorite), Hephaestus, Hermes and the Muses (12 total),were among
the better known and more storied children of Zeus. Zeus also had
children by mortal women; these children became and were known as
heroes: Hercules, Dionysus, Graces, Pollux, Tantalus and Helen.
Read more about
Zeus
The Cache
Zeus' domain is the sky and everything in it. You are looking
for a pill bottle wrapped in black tape; it's hidden near an
entrance to the sky, and you may see vehicles which mortal man uses
to enter Zeus' arena.