GREEK MYTHOLOGY (ZEUS AND HERA)

Greek Myths For Kids

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Thousands of years ago, the ancient Greeks told wonderful stories about their many gods, goddesses and magical beings. These stories are called myths, which is short for mythology (stories about gods.) Each Greek god had one or more magical powers. The gods used their powers for good, for trickery, and/or for adventure. Although the ancient Greek storytellers were quite inventive, and each told a myth in their own way, each god's personality and powers remained the same from story to story. So no matter who was telling the story, Zeus was always king; Hera was always jealous; and so it went. 

Zeus: Greek Myths for Kids

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Who was Zeus?

Zeus was king of all the gods. Zeus ruled the entire universe - no one was mightier than the mighty Zeus. Zeus was not afraid of anything except possibly his wife, the horrible Hera.

He had many powers, some magical, and some that came with his office. Magically, Zeus was the only god who could throw lightning bolts. He could shape shift, and look like anybody. He could throw his voice and sound like anybody. As an elected official, king of all the gods, he could assign jobs to other gods, and take those jobs away.

Hera: Greek Myths for Kids

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Who was Hera?

The mighty Zeus, king of all the gods, had three sisters. Demeter was the goddess of the crops. Hestia was the goddess of hearth and home. And Hera was the goddess of marriage. She was married to Zeus, even though he was her brother. That made Hera the queen of all the gods. Hera and Zeus had two kids - Ares, the god of war, and Hephaestus, the god of fire. But Zeus had kids by other mothers including Apollo, Artemis, Hermes, and Hercules. Hera was very jealous of these children and their mothers. If she could hurt them, she did. Hera was smart, and devious, and downright evil sometimes. She tried to killHercules. Zeus spent a great deal of time protecting his children from Hera's wrath.