Zeus Ben Finkelstein Classical Mythology 11/28/2012 In antiquity, the people of ancient Greece worshiped many Gods and deities. Chief among these deities was Zeus: the father of men and Gods. Zeus is the lord of the sky, sitting atop high mount Olympus, ruling over all. While each of the lesser Gods, some of which are the children of Zeus, usually have specific roles or specific groups of people that they represent, Zeus was worshipped universally. While in his origins he was a God of the weather, Zeus grew into the most powerful being to ever conceived by the human race. So who does Zeus really become? How did he go through this transformation? What were his origins? How does he reflect Greek society? Zeus is the leader of a religion like no other in recorded history. The examination of Zeus can unfold the perspectives of the cultures of antiquity.
In order to come to a better understanding of the King of the Gods, a close examination of the name Zeus is required. Originating in the Indo- European language as djeus, closer examination revealed that the stem djeu- belonged to a corresponding verbdiv-. Div-is a verb of the perfective aspect, which philologist Herbert Zimmermann believed meant that the closest verb to div- should then be examined. The verb that most closely related was aufflammenwhich means to flame up1.However this is the crudest of translations and can be refined even more . The verb aufleuchten which means to light up is the closest possible match for djeu-. However the origins of the word Zeus continue to develop. While to light up roughly sums up the meaning, it is important to consider that the word Zeus has a dynamic element. Author Karl Kerenyi describes "the actual content of the word Zeus is the ́moment of lighting up" 2. This dynamic element means that none of the static synonyms like : sky, day, and light really apply to the etymology of Zeus . This crucial difference in definition also changes the domain of Zeus. If his name was a static meaning of sky or day, that would be his kingdom and also his sphere of influence. Zeus would be a simple weather god. However because of the dynamic quality to his name, Zeus not only influences the physical world, but also the mental realm. Kerenyi describes this mentaĺ influence as the "Panhelenions, the god common to all the Greeks"3. This idea of a common god that existed with the Hellenes reinforced the idea that Zeus was not originally a sky god. He did 1 Kerenyi, K. ́Zeus and Hera. Trans. Christopher Holme. (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1976.) 4 2 Kerenyi K. 4́ 3 Kerenyi K. 6́
not dwell in the sky, but rather on the Macedonian Mount Olympos, and so his initial and most important role in mythology will always be the Lord of lightning . Before Zeus became the supreme deity of main land Greece later in antiquity, he had other beginnings in Crete.
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