Lovers of Zeus 3

 The next of Zeus’s wives was Semele. Semele was a mortal woman and she is the mother of the wone god, Dionysus. Hera with her insane jealousy, tried to prevent the birth of her son with Zeus. gods in Greek mythology aren’t in their divine form. They are anthropomorphic.  Anthropomorphic means that the gods would be seen in human form. If gods were in their divine form around humans they would disintegrate on the spot. When Zeus went to embrace Semele he took his divine form, the fault of Hera, and she burned to death and disintegrated.  She was pregnant with Dionysus at the time. Zeus saved the unborn child by ripping it out of Semele seconds before she disintegrated. Zeus imbedded it into his thigh until it mature enough. Dionysus was the only immortal born like this, but not the only immortal to be born in a nontraditional way (Athena, Minotaur, Aphrodite, Perseus, etc.)

Nemesis was also one of Zeus’s many lovers. Nemesis is the daughter of Nyx, a primeval goddess of the night. Nemesis was the goddess who brought retribution to those who committed crimes. She was like the justice keeper in Greek mythology. Zeus disguised himself as a swan, and Nemesis eventually gave birth to an egg. Aphrodite was responsible for this because she liked to meddle in gods’ lives until she got what she wanted. The love goddess, Aphrodite, pursued Zeus as an eagle. The Hermes, the messenger god, took the egg to Leda who raised the Helen and Polydeuces, who were born from it. Helen is the famous Helen of Troy. She was responsible for the beginning of the Trojan War because she was kidnapped by the opposing side. Leda, with Helen of Troy’s children Helen and Polydeuces, raised her personal children, Clytemnestra and Castor.