Zeus (
;
[3] Ancient Greek: 
Ζεύς, 
Zeús, 
[zdeǔ̯s];
[4] Modern 
Greek: 
Δίας, 
Días [ˈði.as]) was the 
sky and 
thunder god in 
ancient Greek religion, who ruled as 
king of the gods of 
Mount Olympus. His name is 
cognate with the first element of his 
Roman equivalent Jupiter.
Zeus is the child of 
Cronus and 
Rhea,
 the youngest of his siblings to be born, though sometimes reckoned the 
eldest as the others required disgorging from Cronus's stomach. In most 
traditions, he is married to 
Hera, by whom he is usually said to have fathered 
Ares, 
Hebe, and 
Hephaestus.
[5] At the 
oracle of 
Dodona, his consort was said to be 
Dione, by whom the 
Iliad states that he fathered 
Aphrodite.
[8] Zeus was also infamous for his erotic escapades. These resulted in many godly and heroic offspring, including 
Athena, 
Apollo, 
Artemis, 
Hermes, 
Persephone, 
Dionysus, 
Perseus, 
Heracles, 
Helen of Troy, 
Minos, and the 
Muses.
[5]
He was respected as an 
allfather who was chief of the gods
[9] and assigned the others to their roles:
[10] "Even the gods who are not his natural children address him as Father, and all the gods rise in his presence."
[11][12] He was 
equated with many foreign 
weather gods, permitting 
Pausanias to observe "That Zeus is king in heaven is a saying common to all men".
[13] His symbols are the 
thunderbolt, 
eagle, 
bull, and 
oak. In addition to his 
Indo-European inheritance, the classical "cloud-gatherer" (Greek: 
Νεφεληγερέτα, 
Nephelēgereta)
[14] also derives certain iconographic traits from the cultures of the 
Ancient Near East, such as the 
scepter.
 Zeus is frequently depicted by Greek artists in one of two poses: 
standing, striding forward with a thunderbolt leveled in his raised 
right hand, or seated in majesty.