Even if you're a Greek mythology newbie and you've never acquainted yourself with the likes of Athena, Aphrodite, or Hercules, you've likely heard of at least one major player on Mount Olympus: Zeus.
"Zeus is raw power — he can blast any human or monster with his lightning bolt and incinerate them," says Richard P. Martin, Antony and Isabelle Raubitschek professor in classics at Stanford University, in an email interview. "He can see everything from his commanding position in the sky. And he has all intelligence literally within him, having swallowed one of his first wives, the goddess Metis."
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Um, come again? For more information on that little tidbit and more, read on for seven fascinating facts about Zeus, the king of the Greek gods.