The next wife of Zeus was Hera. Zeus continued to be married
to Hera, she was his final wife. With her, Zeus had three children. These
children were Hebe, Ares, and Eileithya. Hebe is the goddess of youth. She
married Hercules after his final labor. Ares is the god of war and was known
for his brutality. Eileithya is the goddess of childbirth.
Zeus continued to associate with other women during his
marriage to Hera. He next had a child with Leto, the sky god’s cousin. Hera was
very jealous and had Leto pursued by the dragon, Python, to prevent the birth
of her children. Poseidon allowed her to stay on the floating island, Delos.
This is where Leto had her twin children, Artemis and Apollo. Artemis is the
god of art and poetry. Artemis is the goddess of the hunt and is known for her
golden bow.
Zeus then had a child with Maia. Maia is the daughter of the
Titan, Atlas. Atlas was punished by Zeus after overthrowing his father. He was
forced to hold up the sky. Maia and Zeus had the messenger god, Hermes. When
Hermes was born, he ended up stealing Apollo’s cattle and inventing the lyre. He
built a golden chariot and gave it to Apollo. Apollo thought Hermes was clever
so, he forgave him and they swore a sacred oath on the River Styx.
Demeter, Zeus’s
sister, was also one of Zeus’s lovers. Together they had the goddess of
springtime, Persephone. Hades, the god of the underworld, fell in love with
their daughter, captured her, and took her down into the underworld. Zeus
allowed Hades to take his daughter and Demeter was furious. She traveled the
world in search of her daughter until she found her. Persephone is responsible
for the different seasons. She could only visit her mother for part of the
year, and when she was in the underworld it would be winter.
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