Tuesday 7 July 2015

ABC Wednesday, Z for Zeus



We thank Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC, and we must thank Roger too for the weekly job to find  ten bloggers for each of the ABC Team members  to visit and to read their posts. For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar . This week we are looking for words  beginning with Z


Having been in Greece, made me wonder what the ancient Greeks believed , and then it is pretty obvious that Zeus is the person to go with the letter  Z! Who was Zeus?





Wikipedia:
"Zeus (English pronunciation: /ˈzʲs/, z(y)oos),  is the god of sky and thunder and the ruler of the Olympians of Mount Olympus. The name Zeus is cognate with the first element of Roman Jupiter, and Zeus and Jupiter became closely identified with each other.
Zeus is the child of Cronus and Rhea, and the youngest of his siblings. In most traditions he is married to Hera, although, at the oracle of Dodona, his consort is Dione: according to the Iliad, he is the father of Aphrodite by Dione. He is known for his erotic escapades. These resulted in many godly and heroic offspring, including Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, Persephone (by Demeter), Dionysus, Perseus, Heracles, Helen of Troy, Minos, and the Muses (by Mnemosyne); by Hera, he is usually said to have fathered Ares, Hebe and Hephaestus."

Well all those names are only interesting to those people among us who like to study the classical history. I was not  classically educated, so I find it difficult to remember all those gods and their names. Paul made it easier to the people of his time to tell them about the one God we believe in. 
Nevertheless, we couldn't escape Zeus. We met him in Delphi and later his statue in the National Archaeological Museum. We saw the ruins of the temples dedicated to Athena, Apollo and Aphrodite. He was also the lover of Europe.

Here follows the legend of  Europe and the bull.

 From  Encyclopedia of Greek Mythology: Europa - Mythweb

 Europa was gathering wildflowers in a seaside meadow when she came upon a beautiful white bull. This bull was uncommonly gentle and did not inspire fear. Decking its horns with flowers, Europa was at length emboldened to climb upon its back. Whereupon the bull - actually the god Zeus in disguise - took off at a trot and dove into the sea. Europa was carried off to the island of Crete, where she became the mother of King Minos.


16 comments:

Sylvia K said...

Terrific and interesting post, Wil, as always!! I do love all Greek mythology!! Thanks for sharing!! Hope you have a great new week!!

Cloudia said...

Spectacular job Wil

Trubes said...

That was most interesting but I too, sometimes have difficulties in remembering who's the offspring, wife, mistress, lover of whom ? but then, I had to read Tolstoy's War and Peace at college and not only remember all the different Russian names but learn their other names for their real names, As in England a man called Robert often is called Bob, William called Bill, Norman called Nobby and so on !
I liked the story of Europa riding the white bull ,who was actually Zeus... It's amazing what you can do when you are a Greek god !

Best wishes,
Di.
ABCW team.

Roger Owen Green said...

Thank the gods for your post!

ROG, ABCW

Unknown said...

Hoe het achter de schermen werkt bij deze foto-uitdaging weet ik niet maar natuurlijk ben ik wel dankbaar want het is en blijft een leuke uitdaging!

Zeus.... daar had ik geen foto's van, maar aangezien ik wist dat jij in Griekenland was verwachtte ik al min of meer dat jij deze invulling zou kiezen al kon ik niet bedenken hoe je het zou doen ;-)

Mooi beeld!!!

Fijne avond

Jane Hards Photography said...

Interesting as always. There used to be a wonderful statue of Zeus in Montpellier situated in a fountain. Always wonderful to photograph. I'm a big myths and legends fan, Greek and Roman, so a post right up my street.

Photo Cache said...

I wonder what Zeus would have done with all these financial woes.

My ABC WEDNESDAY

Hildred said...

A rascally fellow - probably an inspiration to all those who are inclined that way! Thank you for unwinding his various escapades, Wil.

Ann, Chen Jie Xue 陈洁雪 said...

what what Zeus is thinking about the greece economy is undergoing.

Oakland Daily Photo said...

I'm guessing this wasn't the only time Zeus donned a disguise. Lots of trickster behavior among the Greek gods.

Vinay Leo R. said...

I like mythology, and reading tales I hadn't known before. :) So thank you for sharing this one about Europa and Zeus.


Leo @ I Rhyme Without Reason

Gattina said...

I have seen some Zeus statues in Greece too, when I did my roundtrip through Greece. Often there were only a few stones to look at !

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

I enjoy learning more about the Greek myths -- I'm woefully ignorant.

Anita (Rosy) said...

Neat looking statue with a very interesting reading on Greek Myths.

Kay said...

I've always enjoyed mythology and had fun seeing the island of Delos where Artemis and Apollo were supposed to have been born. That is a magnificent statue of Zeus.

Powell River Books said...

Here we are, another round. Hard to believe time goes by so quick. I have to run to the airport in the morning to go home. Fortunately, mine is a little one for a little plane, so easy to navigate. - Margy