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Zeus had easy access to the women of the world and took advantage of it. His power as a supreme god made him a chick magnet.
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| daughter of CRONUS and RHEA. She was sister, and wife, of Zeus. Her children are Ares, Hebe, She was extremely jealous and vindictive, and visited dire consequences upon those mortal women with whom Zeus carried on affairs. A jealous wife, she plagued Zeus, his mistresses, and his progeny, e.g., HERCULES. Zeus tried to keep his affairs secret from Hera, bur she often found out. |
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Echo was very talkative, Echo was in the wrong place at the wrong time,
talking to Hera long enough for Zeus to fool around again.
Hera, who thought it was a put-up job, was so angry she deprived Echo of the power of speech except for the ability to repeat the last words of another. |
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Zeus fell in love with Io and seduced her. To try to keep
Hera from noticing he covered the world with a thick blanket
clouds. This backfired, arousing Hera's suspicions. She came
down from Mount Olympus and begain dispersing the clouds.
Zeus changed Io's form a lovely maiden to a white heifer.
Zeus swore that he had never seen the cow before, it had just sprang right out of the earth. Seeing right through this Hera complimented the cow and asked to have it as a present. Zeus presented her with the cow. Hera arranged Arges to watch over it. (Arges had a hundred eyes and could have some of them sleep while others were awake) Desperate, Zeus sent Hermes to fetch Io. Disgused as a shepard, Hermes had to employ all his skill as a musician and story teller to gain Arges confidence and lull him to sleep. Once asleep Hermes killed Arges. As a memorial, Hera took his eyes and set them into the tail of her favorite bird,the peacock. While Io was now free Hera sent the mother of all gad-flys to sting the still bovine Io. This pushed her near madness, trying to escape she wandered the world. She came across Prometheus while chained. He gave her hope. He predicted that she would have to wander for many years. But, she would eventually be changed back into human form and would bear a child. He predicted that a decendent of this child would be a great hero and set him free. His predictions came true. During her wanderings many geographical features where named after her including the Ionian Sea, and the Bosphorus (which means ford of the cow). She eventually reached the Nile where Zeus did restore her to human form. She bore Epaphus and eleven generations later her descendant Hercules would set Prometheus free. |
 | Leda was a daughter of Thestius. She was the wife of Tyndareus. She was seduced by Zeus and gave birth to two eggs. From one hatched her daughter Helen and son Polydeuces, and from the other hatched Castor. Wife of Tyndareus, king of Sparta. In some myths Leda was seduced by Zeus, who appeared as a swan (which can be seen, faintly, in the picture at left). She bore two eggs: from one issued Castor and Clytemnestra, from the other Pollux and Helen of Troy. Another version has Zeus pursuing Nemesis who changes into a goose; whereupon he changes into a swan and couples with her. She then laid an egg (or two, the stories vary) which she gave to Leda to protect, and from which the above four are born. |
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Semele
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| Zeus had a weakness - he was passionately fond of female charms with his insatiable lust and wandering eye, an eye that fell upon goddess and mortal woman alike. |
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