Mythology Book

44 THE MANY AFFAIRS OF ZEUS

T

he sexual adventures of

Zeus, the king of the gods,

made up a significant

strand of ancient Greek mythology.

Without Zeus’s many infidelities,

the myths suggest that knowledge

and artistic expression of any

kind—poetry, music, drama, or

works of art—would not exist.

One of Zeus’s first affairs was

with Mnemosyne, the Titan

goddess of memory. After he slept

with her on nine consecutive

nights, nine daughters were born.

Collectively known as the Muses,

each of these daughters became

responsible for inspiring mortals

in a particular area of artistic

endeavor: Calliope inspired epic

poetry; Clio, history; Euterpe, lyric

poetry and song; Erato, love poetry;

and Polyhymnia, sacred poetry.

Melpomene became responsible for

inspiring tragic drama; Thalia took

charge of comedy and pastoral

poetry; Terpsichore inspired dance;

and Urania, astronomy.

All through the classical period,

musicians and poets called on

the Muses for assistance as they

worked. “Blessed is he whom the

Muses love,” said the Greek poet

Hesiod after invoking their help

in Theogony, his poem about

the genealogy of the gods. With the

inspiration of the Muses, Hesiod

said, musicians and poets could

relieve a suffering mind of its cares.

Hera and the cuckoo

Zeus’s instinct for trickery was an

integral part of his character and

informed all of his erotic exploits.

He had assumed the form of a

mortal—a handsome shepherd—to

seduce Mnemosyne, and many of

his other love affairs involved

similar sorts of shape-shifting.

Hera, Zeus’s wife, had also been

won this way. The notoriously

formidable goddess had dismissed

Zeus disdainfully when he had first

approached her, forcing him to take

deceptive measures to win her

affections. First, he summoned

a thunderstorm, then he stood

outside her window and took on

the form of a fledgling cuckoo, its

The nine Muses lived on Mount

Helicon, central Greece. In this scene

by Jacques Stella (ca. 1640) they are

visited by Minerva (Athena), goddess

of wisdom and patron of the arts.

IN BRIEF

THEME

Lovers of the gods

SOURCES

Iliad, Homer, 8th century bce;

Theogony, Works and Days,

The Shield of Heracles, Hesiod,

ca. 700  bce; Library, Pseudo-

Apollodorus, ca. 10 0 ce.

SETTING

Greece and the Aegean.

KEY FIGURES

Zeus Father of the gods.

Hera Zeus's wife; queen of

the gods.

Mnemosyne Goddess of

memory.

Europa Phoenician princess.

Antiope Daughter of the river

god Asopos.

Leda A Spartan princess.

Metis Daughter of Oceanus.

Athena Daughter of Metis.

The Muses gladden

the great spirit of

their father Zeus

in Olympus

with their songs,

telling of things

that shall be.

Theogony

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ANCIENT GREECE 45

expression helpless and its feathers

ruffled up as if chilled and battered

by the wind-blown hail. Hera could

not bear to see this tiny creature

suffering. She cupped the cuckoo in

her hand and placed it inside her

dress against her bosom, so that it

could get warm. At this point, Zeus

assumed his normal quasi-human

form and seduced her.

The conquest of Hera was not

the only time Zeus took the form of

a bird. Zeus took on the shape of a

swan in order to seduce the

Spartan princess Leda. As with

Hera, he took advantage of his

victim’s compassion. Apparently

fleeing from an attacking eagle, he

See also: The birth of Zeus 20–23 ■ The war of the gods and Titans 32–33 ■ The

Olympian gods 24–31

fell into her arms, but when she

cradled him protectively, Zeus

raped her. In the case of the

Theban princess Semele, his choice

of species—a raptor—clearly

signaled his predatory intentions.

Taking the form of an eagle, his

royal emblem, he visited Semele

and made her pregnant. Dionysus,

god of wine and festivity, was the

result of their union.

Ruined innocence

Zeus’s conquest of Alcmene—a

mortal princess with whom he

fathered Herakles—was more

sinister. Alcmene was a paragon of

beauty, charm, and wisdom. She ❯❯

Hera

As the daughter of the Titans

Kronos and Rhea, and wife

and sister of the mighty Zeus,

it might seem odd that Hera

was commonly associated

with cattle. She was often

pictured with a sacred cow

and in the Iliad is described

as “cow-faced” or “ox-eyed.”

Such imagery was probably

more flattering than it sounds.

To the ancient Greeks, the cow

was an emblem of motherhood

and prosperity; wealth was

often measured in the number

of livestock owned.

While Hera was clearly

no sex symbol—a role more

associated with the goddess

of beauty, Aphrodite—she did

exemplify the importance

of women in everyday life in

Greece. She was celebrated

as a goddess of both marriage

and virginity. At Kanathos, in

the Peloponnese, she was

worshipped as Hera Parthenos

(“Virgin”) and was said to

renew her virginity by bathing

in the spring every year. The

Heraion of Argos—possibly

the first of many temples

dedicated to Hera—honored

her as Zeus’s consort and

queen. Argos, Sparta, and

Mycenae, according to Homer,

were the cities she loved best.

A shepherd

to seduce Mnemosyne.

A cuckoo

to seduce Hera.

A bull

to seduce Europa.

A satyr

to seduce Antiope.

A swan

to seduce Leda.

A shower of gold

to seduce Danaë.

An eagle

to seduce Semele.

A cloud

to seduce Io.

Zeus in disguise

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