Zeus

"Very well! In the name of the Council, we swear by the River Styx to grant your reasonable request, as long as it is within our power."

- Zeus

Zeus is the Greek god of honor, justice, lightning, and the skies. He is the King of Olympus, the son of the Titans Kronos and Rhea, and the husband of the goddess Hera. His Roman counterpart is Jupiter. He is portrayed by Sean Bean in the film version of The Lightning Thief.

Circumstances of Zeus' Birth
Zeus was the youngest child of Kronos, the Titan King of Mount Othrys, and his sister-wife Rhea. All of Zeus' elder siblings had been earlier devoured by Kronos, who was terrified of one of his children (who were gods, a more powerful race of immortals) ultimately overpowering him. Hence, determined to retain his omnipotence, Kronos consecutively devoured Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon, all at birth. As a result, Kronos became known as "The Cannibal King." Rhea pleaded with Kronos to spare their children but with no success, since even Kronos' great love for Rhea was not enough to overpower his selfish and evil nature. A distraught Rhea soon heard the voice of Gaea, advising her to give birth to her final child (who would save his other siblings) on the island of Crete. Claiming that Koios, her clairvoyant brother had advised her to do so, Rhea successfully departed for Crete.

Rescuing his Siblings
On Crete, in a cave at the base of Mount Ida, Rhea gave birth to her sixth and final child. His name would be Zeus. Rhea gave her newborn son the Nine Nymphs that attended his birth (including Hagno), and returned to Mount Orthys. She used a huge smooth boulder (given to her by Gaea) to deceive Kronos, by wrapping it up in swaddling clothes, and pretending that it was her final child. Kronos swallowed it without even looking (which gave him an intense stomachache), and was successfully deceived. Throughout his childhood, Zeus was raised by Rhea (who visited him often), the Nine Nymphs, and the goat Amaltheia. Rhea would often tell Zeus about his brothers and sisters, all of whom he was destined to rescue from his father's stomach.

When Zeus grew to adulthood, he transformed into a Titanic version of himself, and (with some help from his mother) successfully infiltrated Mount Othrys by convincing Kronos to hire him as his royal cup bearer. With the help of his great singing and dancing skills (as well as his knowledge of many outrageously hilarious "Satyr jokes"), Zeus was able to constantly entertain all of the Titans at Mount Othrys, even Kronos himself. Shortly thereafter, Zeus encouraged all of the male Titans to participate in drinking contests. As the Titan King of Mount Othrys, Kronos would always win, since he could not let his siblings or nephews overcome him in anything. Finally, the Titan King began trusting Zeus completely, which is exactly what the latter was waiting for.

One evening, when Kronos was dining together with his Titanic brothers and nephews, Zeus prepared a special set of drinks for them all. The god prepared nectar mixed with sleeping potion for Kronos' guests, while he prepared an extremely powerful emetic (made from nectar mixed with mustard) for Kronos himself. As before, Zeus entertained them all with his excellent singing, dancing, and jokes. Near the end of the Titanic banquet, Zeus encouraged all of the Titans to have yet another drinking contest, and handed out the prepared goblets. As before, Kronos won the contest, but Zeus' emetic was so powerful, that it forced him to instantly disgorge all of the contents of his stomach, in reverse order of swallowing: first the boulder, then Poseidon, followed by Hades, Hera, Demeter, and Hestia. All of them had been growing undigested in Kronos' stomach, being gods.

Zeus quickly introduced himself to his elder siblings, and they all promptly escaped Mount Othrys, before their Titanic uncles and cousins came to their senses. In Zeus' Cave, at the base of Mount Ida, all six of them happily reunited with their mother Rhea, who tearfully embraces all of her rescued children. Shortly thereafter, the gods accepted Zeus as their leader, and reached a unanimous consensus on declaring war against their father. However, since the Titans were well-armed, and the gods still had no weapons, Zeus decided to release his Elder Cyclopes and Hekatonkheire uncles from Tartarus first.

Rescuing the Elder Cyclopes and Hekatonkheires
Zeus' eldest brother, Hades, was very skilled in navigating under the earth, was able to lead them all into Tartarus (through a network of Underworld tunnels). There, imprisoned in the maximum-security zone, surrounded by huge bronze walls, and a lava moat, guarded fierce demons, were the Elder Cyclopes and Hekatonkheires. Their guardian, Kampê, was the most ferocious and fearsome monster in all of Tartarus, and even Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades initially shuddered with horror when they saw the infernal monster for the first time. However, the gods overcame their fear, and were able to sneak in. Zeus managed to talk to the Cyclopes Brontes, and convinced him to forge powerful weapons for him and his siblings behind Kampê's back. The three Elder Cyclopes forged three incredibly powerful weapons: the Master Bolt (for Zeus), the Trident (for Poseidon), and the Helm of Darkness (for Hades). With these weapons, Zeus killed Kampê, and Poseidon shattered the chains of the Elder Cyclopes and Hekatonkheires, releasing them. Afterwards, Hades safely guided his siblings and uncles back out of Tartarus. In return, for their release, all six of Zeus' uncles agreed to fight on his side in the upcoming war with the Titans.

The First Titanomachy
Shortly after their return from Tartarus, Zeus and his siblings officially declared war on Kronos and the other Titans, which resulted in the terrifying 11-year-long Titanomachy. The Titans initially had the upper hand, since they were much more experienced warriors. However, as the years of the War passed, the gods quickly became skilled warriors as well, and with the help of their new extremely powerful weapons, as well as the aid of the Elder Cyclopes and Hekatonkheires, the gods finally prevailed.

While preparing for the final battle of the War, Zeus and his siblings ascended to Mount Olympus (the tallest mountain in Greece after Mount Orthys). During the final battle, Zeus used his Master Bolt to shear off the top of Mount Othrys, and hurl Kronos from his Black Throne, defeating the Titan King. Shortly thereafter, the gods invaded the ruins of Mount Orthys, and finally overwhelmed Atlas, Hyperion, Iapetus, Krios, and Koios.

In the aftermath of the battle, the Elder Cylopes chained up all of the defeated Titans, while the Hekatonkheires forced them to kneel before Zeus, Poseidon and Hades. Zeus took his father's Scythe, and sliced Kronos into a thousand pieces, before casting him into Tartarus, along with the rest of his followers (except for Atlas, who was forced to hold the Sky). Afterwards, Zeus offered the Hekatonkheires to return to Tartarus, this time as the jailers of the Titans, to which they readily agreed.

Becoming the King of the Olympian Gods
The gods chose Mount Olympus as their official residence, and the Elder Cyclopes build magnificent palaces there for them all. As a result, the gods started to call themselves the Olympians. Shortly thereafter, Zeus had a private meeting with his brothers Poseidon and Hades, and the three brothers agreed to divide the world between themselves. Although it was Hades' birthright (as Kronos' eldest son) to be named his father's successor, he agreed to divide the Titan King's former domain with his brothers. Hades received the Underworld, Poseidon seized the seas and oceans, and Zeus claimed the heavens as his domain. Shortly after this division, the three sons of Kronos came to be known as "The Big Three." However, Zeus' authority was recognized as superior to that of his brothers, and Zeus became the King of Mount Olympus, and the Olympian gods.

Marriage to Metis
Zeus took his childhood sweetheart Metis as his wife after the war. Metis had served the King of Olympus as his advisor and mentor for much of his life. When his wife was pregnant, Zeus learned from her that their son was destined to one day surpass him. Like his father and grandfather before him, he tried to forestall this fate and promptly swallowed both Metis and their unborn child. The goddess, however, gave birth to a daughter instead, named Athena, who came into the world by springing from her father's head when she was fully grown.

Marriage to Themis
Shortly after swallowing Metis, Zeus took Themis, the Titaness of Divine Law and Justice, as his second wife. Themis gave birth to two pairs of triplets: the Horae (goddesses of the seasons), and the Fates (the three white-robed personifications of destiny). The Fates were already born as old women, which horrified both of their parents. After becoming the father of the Fates, Zeus, fearing the prospect of having even more intimidating children with Themis, advocated to end their marriage, to which the Titaness agreed, and peacefully stepped aside.

Relationship with Demeter
Shortly after ending his marriage with the Titaness Themis, Zeus became determined to woo his beautiful sister Demeter. After transforming into a serpent, he successfully seduced her. Zeus and Demeter enjoyed a relationship that resulted in a very beautiful daughter, Persephone. Though the affair ended, Demeter was very happy as she had a beautiful daughter, whom she loved dearly. Persephone grew up without want, always staying close to her mother. Persephone soon became the goddess of springtime, and flowers, and Demeter shared some of her power over the earth with her. As a result, Demeter took to spending all of her time with Persephone.

Marriage to Hera
Soon after her return from Oceanus and Tethys, Hera caught the attention of Zeus himself. Both very beautiful and intelligent, it was only natural that he would be attracted to her, but while Hera had strong feelings for him as well, she refused to be another conquest for the King of the Gods. Zeus, however, was just as stubborn, and would not be dissuaded. He applied his excellent singing, dancing, and joking skills to entertain and woo Hera, but she would not initially give in. Zeus made a bet with Hera that if she would ever confess her love for him, she would become his bride.

A few days later, Zeus proceeded to generate a tremendous thunderstorm around Olympus, and cunningly disguised himself as an injured cuckoo. The cuckoo flew into Hera's chambers, just as she was shutting her windows, and proceeded to fall on the marble floor. The sympathetic goddess took what she thought was a defenseless creature in her arms, dried its feathers, and revived it with some divine nectar. On the next morning, the cuckoo did not seem inclined to leave, and affectionately rubbed its beak against Hera's finger. Hera admitted having grown quite fond of the bird herself, and gently cuddled it in her arms. At that very instant, the cuckoo transformed into mighty Zeus himself, still in Hera's embrace.

Although she was embarrassed and outraged by her brother's deception, Hera was very impressed at Zeus' cleverness and resourcefulness nonetheless. She finally agreed to become his consort on the condition that he married her, and remained loyal to her. Their wedding (which was described as the most magnificent and grandiose wedding in history) was held in a spectacular celebration on Mount Olympus, and was attended by many gods and neutral Titans. Zeus and Hera arrived on a huge golden chariot, steered by Eos (who illuminated the bride and bridegroom with brilliant rosy light), and the ceremony was lead by the three Fates themselves. Through her marriage to Zeus, Hera became the Queen of Mount Olympus and the Olympian gods. Zeus and Hera received great gifts from all of their wedding guests, but Hera's favorite was a magnificent apple tree (with golden apples) that she received from Gaea. Hera had the tree taken far off to the west, and planted in a beautiful orchard. Hera employed the Hesperides, daughters of Atlas, to guard the tree, but as the nymphs would occasionally pluck an apple from the tree themselves, she put a fierce one hundred headed dragon named Ladon there as well. This orchard was later named the Garden of the Hesperides.

The newlyweds enjoyed a wonderful honeymoon, and were both very happy with each other for 300 years, and had four divine children: Ares (the god of war), Hebe (the goddess of youth), Eileithyia (the goddess of childbirth), and Hephaestus (the god of fire and blacksmiths). However, Zeus eventually became restless, and it was not long before he began the first of his many affairs. Hera was infuriated frustrated to no end by his infidelity, and devoted most of her time to keeping Zeus in sight, as well as making the lives of his mistresses and illegitimate children miserable. Her hatred is most evident in the story of Hercules, whom she tried to kill repetitively.

Olympian Riot
Hera, enraged at her husband's infidelity, decided to start the first Olympian riot against Zeus. Hera managed to gain the support of Poseidon, who secretly desired to become King of the Olympians, as well as Apollo, and Athena. That evening, Apollo, Poseidon, and Athena hid themselves in the hall adjacent to Zeus' royal chambers, awaiting Hera's signal. As soon as Zeus had fallen asleep, all four of them quickly tightly bound the King of Olympus with unbreakable and tightening golden chains. Even chained up and completely immobilized, an infuriated Zeus looked very intimidating. Finally, Poseidon attempted to reason with his brother, and demanded that Zeus relinquish the throne. Zeus refused, which prompted Hera to advocate leaving him chained up in his chambers until he agrees. Shortly thereafter, the four Olympians departed for the Throne Room for the first (and last) democratic meeting of the Olympian Council, which proved to be a very cumbersome task. Fortunately, the violently trashing and bellowing King of Olympus was found by the Nereid Thetis. After convincing Zeus to be merciful towards the rioting Olympians, Thetis managed to find the Hekatonkheire Briares by the sea shore. He was more than happy to save Zeus, recalling that he owes his own freedom from Tartarus and Kampê to him. Briares quickly unchained Zeus, after which the latter seized his Master Bolt, and barged into the Throne Room, violently ending the meeting. Zeus remained true to his word, and was merciful towards the rioters, but he still punished them all accordingly.

Poseidon and Apollo were temporarily forced to serve Laomedon, the mortal King of Troy. Laomedon ordered Apollo to shepherd his herds, and Poseidon to build huge new walls around the city of Troy with his bare hands. The famous Walls of Troy came to be extremely durable, and would later keep the Greek forces at bay for 10 long years in the Trojan War. A number of years later, after accomplishing his mission, Poseidon returned to Olympus, where Zeus finally returned his brother's divinity and godly powers. However, due to Poseidon's riot, Zeus would gain a strong and lasting distrust for his brother Poseidon.

Hera received the most severe punishment of all: Zeus chained her right above the terrifying Void of Chaos. Every day, Zeus would visit her, and threaten to severe the chains with his Master Bolt, and watch her tumble into the Void. Hephaestus could hear the wails of his mother all the way from Mount Olympus, which infuriated him, as he could not bear to hear her suffering such a harsh punishment. As a result, he finally set her free. Hera tearfully embraced him, and promised to never to call Hephaestus ugly ever again. Zeus, however, was infuriated. He violently stormed into Hephaestus' chambers, easily overpowered him, and flung Hephaestus all the way from Mount Olympus to Lemnos (which broke every bone in his body). In time, however, Hephaestus' wounds were healed, and he returned to Olympus. Zeus was somewhat ashamed of his past angry fit with his son, and (in a rare act) apologized and welcomed his son back with open arms.

In the Series
Over the centuries the Olympians moved west to the countries that held the seats of their great power and influence. During World War II, Zeus' and Poseidon's demigod children fought together against Hades' own demigod children. After Hades' side (Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and Imperial Japan) was defeated, the Oracle prophesied that a half-blood child of one the three brothers would either cause the downfall or salvation of Olympus. This caused The Big Three gods to swear an oath to no longer sire any more demigod children, but because Hades already had two demigods (Nico and Bianca di Angelo), Zeus ordered him to take them to Camp Half Blood. Hades disobeyed, for fear that his children would either be turned against him or killed. Angered, Zeus tried to kill the young demigods, Bianca and Nico di Angelo, by destroying the hotel they were currently residing in, but Hades managed to protect them. He, however, failed to save their mother Maria di Angelo, and was greatly grieved, and threatened to "crush him" for what he had done.

In 1988, Zeus became immensely attracted to a beautiful television starlet, Ms. Grace, and had a child by her ― Thalia Grace. He left her but returned seven years later in 1994 as his Roman aspect, Jupiter. Within the year, he had sired a Roman demigod, Jason Grace, who was named after the original Jason to appease Hera as she was angered by his infidelity, and at the risk posed by having a Greek and Roman child born in the same family. Eventually, Zeus left Ms. Grace again, as it was custom for gods to leave their mortal consort.

Hades discovered Thalia's existence and was infuriated that Zeus had broken the oath. This betrayal, coupled with the fact that Maria di Angelo’s death was still fresh in his mind, caused Hades to send monsters after Zeus's daughter. As Thalia and her friends ― seven year-old Annabeth Chase, fourteen year-old Luke Castellan and a satyr named Grover Underwood ― reached the borders of Camp Half-Blood, the monsters overwhelmed them, causing her to sacrifice herself to save her friends. Zeus took pity on her and transformed her into a pine tree to preserve her spirit.

The Lightning Thief
Zeus' Master Bolt is stolen and immediately blames Poseidon. Soon after, Poseidon claims Percy Jackson as his son, and Zeus believes he had found the means by which Poseidon had stolen his bolt. Outraged, he threatens Poseidon with war unless the bolt is returned to him by the summer solstice. This situation gives Percy a quest to retrieve the bolt. He and his newfound friends, Annabeth Chase and Grover Underwood, travel across America to do so. They are successful and consequently return to New York City by plane. Percy travels to Olympus alone to return the bolt.

Percy relates the events of the quest to Zeus and Poseidon, and from there, the two gods conclude that their evil father, the Titan King Kronos must be behind the scheme. Zeus, however, refuses to immediately discuss the threat posed by their father. He promptly leaves to purify his Master Bolt in the waters of Lemnos to wash away the human taint that it had received from Luke and Percy. Zeus compliments his nephew Percy and decides to spare his life to show his thanks, but states that should Percy ever fly again, he would blast the demigod out of the sky with the Bolt. Zeus, however has never gone through with this threat since.

The Sea of Monsters
Zeus blames Chiron (who is a son of Kronos) for the poisoning of Thalia's tree, resulting in Chiron being fired, and replaced by Tantalus. By the end of the book, however, Zeus learns that the true culprit is in fact Luke Castellan, and promptly reinstates Chiron at the activities director at Camp Half-Blood. Also, due to the great power of the Golden Fleece, Zeus' daughter Thalia Grace comes back to life.

The Titan's Curse
After the rescue of Annabeth and Artemis by Percy, Grover, Thalia, and Zoë Nightshade, the campers go to Olympus for the Council of the Olympians. There, the Olympians debate on whether or not to destroy Percy and Thalia, as either of the two demigods will hold the fate of Olympus when they turn sixteen. Zeus, though, refuses to destroy his daughter Thalia and is openly concerned when Artemis offers Thalia the now vacant position of Lieutenant of her Hunters. Thalia accepts the offer and vows that the prophecy would not be hers, but Percy’s. The Olympians then vote on whether Percy should live, and despite somewhat disliking Percy's existence, Zeus votes for his life.

The Battle of the Labyrinth
Zeus allows Hera to interfere with the quest. However, when he feels that Hera has been with Percy, Annabeth, Grover, and Tyson for too long, he gives the cue for her to return. Hera claims that Zeus and she had had some excellent marriage counseling recently.

The Last Olympian
Zeus and the other Olympians leave Mount Olympus to battle Typhon (their greatest foe), leaving their demigod children and a few minor gods to defend their thrones. Zeus refuses to let any of the other gods return to Olympus, although he does send Hermes to relay messages. The gods constantly fight for days, but nevertheless Typhon manages to arrive in New York. The gods are exhausted, but with the arrival of Poseidon, their fighting spirit is renewed and they defeat the fearsome monster, with Poseidon striking the final blow. Meanwhile, due to Luke's selfless bravery, Kronos is defeated. The Olympians return to Mount Olympus to find the throne room in ruins, but they manage to repair it in a very short time. Zeus also makes the top of the Empire State Building glow blue to assure Percy's mother that her son is alive.

Zeus commends the gods for their bravery, and gives thanks to Hades for joining the war against Kronos, and to Poseidon, without whom they would never have defeated Typhon. Zeus then rewards the heroes. To Thalia, he grants help in filling the Hunter’s ranks; to Tyson, the Cyclopes son of Poseidon, Zeus gives the position of General of the armies of Olympus. To Percy, Zeus offers the ultimate gift of immortality ― to become a god and a Lieutenant to Poseidon. He is incredulous when Percy (after much thought) denies the gift and asks for a different wish instead. Percy asks Zeus and the Olympian Council to swear on the River Styx first to be assured that his wish would be granted. Zeus and the other Olympians reluctantly agree to grant Percy's request as long as it was within their power. Percy, satisfied with this promise, asks them to pay more attention to their demigod children, to honor the minor gods, and to allow the minor gods to have cabins at Camp Half- Blood. Percy adds that the oath of the Big Three to abstain from having children should be dissolved as it was never truly effective in the first place, and that any children the three mighty brothers may have from their affairs with mortals should be trained and accepted instead. Though somewhat outraged at such huge a request, Zeus and the Olympians nevertheless agree to fulfill it.

The Lost Hero
In a combination of paranoia, and anger at Percy Jackson for his refusal of immortality, Zeus closes off Olympus and recalls all gods there. He also forbid contact between the gods and demigods, as he concluded that the increasing intervention of the gods in mortal affairs must be causing the rise of both Gaea and the Giants. Here, it is also revealed that he has a Roman son, Jason Grace, the lost but recently found brother of Thalia Grace.

Some of the gods, namely Aphrodite and Hephaestus believe that Zeus is acting merely out of wounded pride. Hera herself admits to having great difficulty at trying to guess Zeus' motivations for anything, but thinks his actions are bordering on paranoia. Including Artemis, the four gods disobey his commands to stay on Olympus and work behind his back to avoid getting caught. Despite this, Zeus indirectly aids Jason, Piper McLean, and Leo Valdez several times on their quest, most notably answering his son's prayer for aid against the Giant Enceladus.

The Son of Neptune
Zeus himself never appears, and is rarely mentioned. At Camp Jupiter Percy enters his magnificent Roman temple, the Temple of Jupiter, where the god is referred to as "Jupiter Optimus Maximus." Percy sees a massive golden statue of the god with the Master Bolt and mentions that the Bolt does not look like that at all. Later, when Percy flies to Alaska, and starts feeling turbulence on the plane, he wonders if Zeus is messing with him.

Personality
Zeus, as the King of the Gods, is very proud, commanding and has a very high amount of self-respect, almost to the point of condescension and narcissism. He demands respect and precedence from mortals, demigods, and the other gods. One of the many examples of this is in The Lightning Thief when he was slightly irritated because Percy acknowledged Poseidon before himself.

Although he is a capable leader and the enforcer of justice and law, Zeus does not provide the best moral example. He is, at times, extremely paranoid, as well as self-centered and easily insulted. Zeus is, most notably, somewhat lustful and libidinous, perhaps more so than any other Olympian. His rampant unfaithfulness to his wife Hera is a very prominent theme in Greco-Roman myths, and he often places his mistresses and even his own children in dangerous situations all in the attempt to hide his affairs. Strange as it is, he can also be incredibly jealous when it comes to his wife as depicted when he punished a mortal who once tried to court Hera.

If he imagines that he is being plotted against or insulted, he can be very unforgiving. At times he allows his negative traits to override his better judgment. His decisions are not always based on justice, but rather his personal whims and what he sees as best for himself, rather than the greater good. Zeus is, in some ways lustful for power. It is evident in his title as King of the gods and his fear of his own brothers betraying or dethroning him.

Zeus has a very strong and lasting distrust of Poseidon as the latter had once attempted to overthrow the former from his throne. Zeus instantly blames Poseidon for anything that the latter could be guilty of in the barest despite having no evidence and all facts pointing to the contrary. In addition, Zeus, Poseidon, and occasionally Hades (when he is present on Olympus), would bicker constantly about trivial things.

Zeus apparently has a flair for dramatic exits and is a quite a show-off, a trait Poseidon pointed out to Percy, saying that Zeus would have done well as the god of theater.

Despite the number of his flaws, Zeus does have a respectable side. He does, indeed, love his children very much, but cannot show as much love as the other gods do as he is the leader and must set an example. It also cannot seem that he is merely choosing favorites. Being often viewed as a source of order and justice, Zeus maintains control over the other gods by preventing their feuds from entering huge proportions and ensures the overall order of the world by handing down and enforcing justice, even if his actions sometimes contradict it.

Although Zeus is short tempered and vengeful, he's also capable of sympathy for those that have suffered the same injustices that he and the other gods suffered in their lives. A clear example of this can be found in The Titan's Curse where he was the most willing to kill the Ophiotaurus due to the risk that it posed to the gods. Percy Jackson, however, pointed out that what they wish to do was the same thing that Kronos tried to do with them in the past, and Zeus was the first god to acknowledge the injustice and reconsider his decision.

Appearance
Zeus is tall, imposing, and very muscular, with long black shoulder-length hair with a gray-and-black neatly trimmed beard. He has brilliant electrically-blue eyes with a serious and proud, but very handsome face. However, when Zeus is infuriated, his face becomes "as dark as a thundercloud." Zeus's normal attire is a dark blue pinstriped suit. According to Percy, the air around Zeus smells like ozone. In Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Zeus is described as looking very intimidating even when he is completely immobilized and chained up. In his Divine Form, Zeus is described as being surrounded by a "massive column of twisting lighting and fire."

Abilities
As one of the Big Three, Zeus has the ultimate powers a god can possess, and is rivaled only by his brothers, Poseidon and Hades. He possesses the standard physical, intellectual, and magical superiority inherent in all gods, though to a much greater degree due to his status as one of the oldest Olympians as well as one of the Big Three.


 * Massive Strength: Zeus has incredible physical prowess, and in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, he is mentioned being able to hurl entire mountains at his enemies. Most notably, Zeus was able to crush and imprison Typhon himself by hurling Mount Etna on top of him. Also, when Hephaestus angered him, Zeus easily overpowered him, and flung him all the way from Mount Olympus to Lemnos.
 * Aerokinesis: As the god of the sky, Zeus has absolute control over air. He has the same aerokinetic powers as Jason, only extremely increased.
 * He can manipulate clouds and any other air structures. In Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Zeus even made a living replica of Hera out of a cloud, which King Ixion later seduced.
 * He can generate wind.
 * He can generate incredibly powerful hurricanes and tornadoes.
 * In Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Zeus opened his mouth, and sucked Metis in with a mini-tornado.
 * He can manipulate air currents and fly.
 * Air waves: According to Hephaestus, Zeus' domain also includes the air waves, as he was able to detect Hephaestus' pirate radio.
 * Atmokinesis: As the god of the sky, Zeus has absolute control over the weather.
 * Celestial Hydrokinesis: In Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Zeus brought about a global flood by causing tremendous torrents of water to pour down from the heavens all over the world for nine days and nights. As a result, the entire world was flooded (except for the highest mountains), and most of the human race was destroyed. Deucalion and Pyrrha were amoung the few that survived this great calamity.
 * Electrokinesis: As the god of Thunder and Lightning, Zeus has absolute control over both static and celestial electricity.
 * He is immune to lightning.
 * He can generate tremendous bolts of lightning.
 * He can send static shock through the bodies of others on contact.
 * Master Bolt: His most powerful weapon, the Master Bolt, is incredibly powerful, easily making a hydrogen bomb look like a firecracker in comparison. When Zeus throws it at Typhon, the blast "lights up the world", and Percy can feel the shockwave hundreds of miles away. In Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Zeus used his Master Bolt to raze the entire city of Salmonia to oblivion after Salmoneus pretended to be Zeus.
 * Chlorokinesis (limited): in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, in order to help Hades kidnap Persephone, Zeus grows several magnificent fields of flowers, each one more beautiful than the one before it. For instance, the roses the he grew didn't even have thorns.
 * Knowledge of Plants: As shown in Percy Jackson's Green Gods, Zeus is very knowledgeable about the properties of various plants, which he learned from the nymphs who raised him. As a result, Zeus was able to brew an extremely powerful emetic, a single goblet of which caused Kronos to regurgitate all five of his swallowed children (as well as the bolder).
 * Justice: As the god of justice and honor, Zeus maintains control over the other gods by preventing their feuds from entering huge proportions and ensures the overall order of the world by handing down and enforcing justice. A good example in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods is when Zeus assembles the first ever Olympian trial for the murder of Poseidon's son Halirrhothius by Ares, with Zeus himself as the Chief Justice. As a result, Ares is justly acquitted.
 * Zeus can tremendously increase his height, shown in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, when he grows half as tall as the Storm Giant Typhon.
 * Shapeshifting: Zeus has frequently transformed himself in order to seduce those that he would fall in love with. As shown in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Zeus has transformed himself into a bull (to woo Europa), an eagle (to woo Ganymede), a swan (to woo Leda), a cuckoo (to woo Hera), an ant (to woo Eurymedousa), a serpent (to woo Demeter), Artemis (to woo Callisto), and even a shower of gold (to woo Danae). Zeus could also transform into a "Titanic" version of himself, while he was posing as Kronos' royal cup bearer.
 * Entertainment Skills: In Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Zeus is revealed to be an excellent singer and dancer. He also knows many outrageously hilarious "Satyr jokes". With these skills, Zeus was able to constantly entertain all of the Titans at Mount Othrys, even Kronos himself. Zeus also later applied them again to woo his beautiful sister Hera.

Attributes

 * Eagle
 * Master Bolt (weapon)
 * Scepter
 * Aegis
 * Oak tree

The Lightning Thief
Zeus Zeus is played by Sean Bean. He is similar to his character in the Lightning Thief. After his Master Bolt is stolen, he turns to Poseidon claiming that his son must have stolen it. He also is very stubborn and spends much of the movie threatening to wage war against his brother, even against the advice of Athena. Even after Percy returns the bolt to Zeus, he still becomes angered when he learns that it wasn't Percy who stole the Bolt and was actually Ares, meaning he was wrong. The main difference is that he doesn't wear a suit like in his official picture from the book (except at the very beginning), but wears Greek armor like the other gods.

Trivia

 * Zeus can mean "day" in Ancient Greek. However, as revealed in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, it could also mean "shining" or "life".
 * Zeus is the only Elder Olympian who was not born on Mount Othrys, since he was born in a cave at the base of Mount Ida on Crete.
 * Interestingly, as shown in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Zeus is the only Olympian who has ever turned into a "Titanic" version of himself for disguise.
 * As revealed in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Zeus is an excellent singer and dancer. He also knows many outrageously hilarious "Satyr jokes".
 * In Rome, he was referred to as "Jupiter Optimus Maximus" ("Jupiter the Best and the Greatest").
 * Zeus trying to prevent the Great Prophecy from passing actually caused the Great Prophecy to eventually pass:
 * When he tried to kill Nico and Bianca di Angelo so they wouldn't become the demigods of the prophecy, he only managed to kill their mother.
 * When the Oracle of Delphi told Hades this would happen, he became so angry that he cursed the Oracle so that her soul would never leave her body.
 * May Castellan decades later tried to become the new Oracle, but failed and was driven insane.
 * Her son, Luke Castellan, hates his father for never helping him, especially during one of his mom's fits of madness.
 * This hatred eventually extends to all the gods, leading to the events depicted in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.
 * In The Lost Hero, Clovis states that Zeus likes tailored suits, reality television, and a 'Chinese food place on East Twenty-eighth Street'.
 * The Olympic Games started as one of the religious festivals in Ancient Greece in honor of Zeus.
 * Of all major Olympians, Zeus has the most children, and is rivaled only by Poseidon.
 * Jupiter, the largest planet of the Solar system, is named after Zeus' Roman form.
 * Zeus is the only one of the Big Three gods who has broken the oath more than once.

Gallery
Zeus