.:I used to roll the dice - feel the fear in my enemy's eyes:.
.the myth;
» God(dess): Zeus
» Reference: Theoi
» Family: {mother & father} Rhea & Cronus {spouse} Hera. {children} Seriously? This God wasn't called the Father of Gods and Men for no reason. [see below]
» Played By: Gabriel Macht
» Human Alias: John Smith (How mundane.)
» Human Age: 39.
» God of...: all of you. But seriously. Zeus is the King of the Gods. He's the god of weather, the skies, law and order.
» Flair:
[i] Zeus can manipulate weather. It helps if he's in the open air or at the top of a high building.
[ii] Due to his affinity for lightning, he can affect electrical currents. If he's feeling particularly emotional (angry, angrier, horny), there may be a power surge or a power cut.
» Flair Type: Both are ACTIVATED.
» Fitting in: Zeus is the CEO of StormTech, a company whose subsidaries include a mobile phone provider, an electronics firm and a chain of computer stores.
» History: Zeus is the last-born son of Cronus and Rhea. When Cronus's appetite for his own offspring finally became too much for Rhea, she gave birth to Zeus, handed off a large stone to Cronus to nibble on and hid Zeus to be raised on Crete. He was raised by Adamanthea and, every time the wee godling cried, the Kouretes would raise hell to cover the sound of little Zeus' cries.
Zeus grew to manhood which spelled trouble for Cronus. Zeus' first consort, Metis, gave Cronus an emetic, forcing him to vomit up Zeus' five siblings; Hestia, Demeter and Hera, Hades and Poseidon. While Cronus was having the worst bout of gastro ever, Zeus was releasing Cronus' brothers from Tartarus and, by all their powers combined, they fought to overthrow Cronus. This was the Titanomachy or the War of the Titans and it resulted in Cronus being imprisoned in Tartarus and Zeus assuming his rightful position as King of the gods. His brothers also had their realms to rule (Hades, the Underworld and Poseidon, the seas). There was a slight run-in with Gaia, which he hopes she won't hold against him, whereby he ended up fighting more of her children who, really, were just being little bitches about the fact that Zeus won.
Zeus is so often defined more by his lovers and his children than by his deeds. It seems that overthrowing the Titans, albeit with help, was his last large-scale act of badassery. After this, he seems to have taken more of a supervisory capacity with most of his exploits involving goddesses, nymphs and mortal women and, occasionally, visiting justice on mortal men. So, really, his baddassery became more individualised.
Just in case anyone is worried about Zeus growing soft amidst all the skirt-and-trouser-chasing, he did fight the Giants and win which is more than the Phillies managed this year.
Zeus' influence was certainly seen in many of the great events of the ages, including the Trojan War. He rarely directly intervened but one such instance was when he stepped in on Hector's side, helping him to defeat Patroclus. He often guided his children's actions and comforted them, as and when it was required. The War itself variously amused and enraged him.
Hera was his wife (also his sister but this is Greek mythology). Together, they certainly had Ares, Hebe and Hephaestus.
Metis, his first consort, was the mother of Athena. While some myths state that Athena burst fully-formed from Zeus' head, he'd like to say that, of all his children, she's been the least prone to giving him a migraine.
Leto, lovely, lovely Leto, was the mother of the twins, Artemis and Apollo. Zeus remains incredibly proud of these two; they're some of his finest work.
Hermes was his son by Maia, who had a surprise!pregnancy by Zeus.
Mnemosyne was the mother of the Muses, all nine. Again, a father could not be more proud of these lovely ladies.
Demeter was the mother of Persephone and Persephone was the mother of Melinoe and Zagreus. Perfection begetting perfection begetting perfection. Zeus remains rather smug about this.
Themis gave birth to a great many of Zeus' children, including Astraea, various nymphs, Nemesis and the Fates.
Zeus sort of accidentally knocked up Gaia not once, but twice, resulting in the births of Agdistis and then the Kentauri.
Selene, goddess of the Moon, gave birth to two of Zeus' daughters, Pandia and Ersa.
Of note, we haven't gotten to Zeus' mortal lovers yet. There were many, including Leda, mother of Helen and Pollux, Alcmene, mother of Heracles (the favourite son), Danae, mother of Perseus and Semele, mother of Dionysus. Zeus made time with many nymphs and semi-divine women. I reiterate that this chap was called the Father of Gods and Men for a bloody good reason; he seems to have taken it upon himself to repopulate the world a number of times over.
» Personality:
[i] Arrogance: Zeus is arrogant. It's his single defining characteristic. It's how he gets shit done. Zeus wouldn't have had the balls to overthrow Cronus if he didn't have the belief and, boy, this god has oodles of self-belief. His arrogance is pretty well-deserved. He really is all that; king of the gods and a consummate seducer of women (and men). Zeus believes that he can defeat Cronus again. He has to believe it, really, or he'd go quite mad.
[ii] Pride: Zeus is proud. Similar to arrogance except that he is very much aware of his status in the world. He takes enormous pride in the fact that he is king and he takes pride in each and every one of his epithets. He's proud of his children, too. They are all so very different but they all bear such striking similarities to various aspects of his own personality that it flatters his ego, enormously. The Fates, the Muses, his hero-sons and goddess-daughters; it delights Zeus to know that he is their progenitor and that, through them, he continues to exert quite the influence over the world.
[iii] Promiscuity: Zeus does love women, though. Obviously, he prefers it when they are receptive of his advances but he's not above abduction and rape. He can get extremely angry when he doesn't get what he wants and this includes women. As a rule, he prefers the art of seduction. It should be noted that Zeus does not flatter or pander to women. He is very straight-talking and does ooze a certain sex appeal. He knows it, though. By the gods, he knows it.
[iv] Feminism. Sort of: Zeus is not misogynistic. He genuinely admires women and their strengths and qualities. It in no way excuses the way he has treated his wife but Zeus is perfectly well able to justify his actions to himself, if to no one else. He is more than capable of objectifying women and he will punish those who aren't receptive to his charms. There are those he loves and who he would raise to the heights, if not for his wife. Who he also loves. There's nothing straight forward about this god's love-life. Semele, Leto, Metis, Selene; goddesses all.
[v] Reserve: Zeus is quite distant, as a father, particularly with the mortal offspring. There are a few he knows well, like Heracles, who is the favourite mortal-born. Zeus had next to nothing to do with the upbringing of his children. Sewing Dionysus into his thigh so that the little tyke had a fighting chance at maturing was a huge concession on his part. (To quote from Juno, not Juno: But I'm guessing it looks probably like a sea monkey right now and we should let it get a little cuter. ) So, yes, Zeus does play favourites but if any child of his is successful or daring or vibrant, he will treat them accordingly.
[vi] Unlawful: He despises it when anyone attempts to thwart/oppose/undermine his authority. Any perceived insult will be acted upon, immediately. Like any god, Zeus is wilful, he is capricious and he is ruthless. It will take a little bit of adjustment to realise that, in the twenty-first century, it is no longer one law for mortals and another law entirely for Zeus. He'll likely have a team of lawyers on retainer for such incidents. His family would do well not to openly oppose him because he is unlikely to take kindly to any such disappointment.
[vii] Hypocrisy: Certainly, there is something very hypocritical about Zeus. It is all do as I say and not as I do. He hates to lose and he hates it when he does not have the upper hand. He will not admire anyone who outwits him. It is one thing for him to cheat on his wife and sew his wild oats but, by his beard, there'll be trouble if the tables are turned. Conversely, he repays loyalty with loyalty. Styx and her children, for example.
[viii] Intelligence: Zeus is smart. He has to be. How else could one god maintain a stranglehold on the throne of Olympus? He is fair, though. Again, he has to be. He respects his brothers although that does not keep him from coveting (and occasionally having) what is theirs. (Hi, Amphitrite, by the way. Zeus will be looking for your number.) Seriously, though, he is more than capable of deferring to another's skill or knowledge, provided the bottom line is: What Zeus says, goes.
[ix] Unyielding. Ness. Unyieldingness?: There is something quite suave about Zeus, but unyielding, too. He's like iron, wearing a really nice suit. Don't anger him, though, or you'll end up chained to a rockface, or the side of a skyscraper, with eagles nibbling at your liver. You got that, Father?
» Sample Journal:
[video post]
[filter: private]
This will not stand. I should have killed all your children, Gaia. And you, Father. You should be in pieces, washed up on the sure with Ouranus. Like father, like son. You'll know the truth of it, soon enough.
[/Filter]
[Zeus is restless but as still as stone. Only those who know him well might sense that he is all uncoiled, unreleased energy. The air virtually crackles around him, or at least the video feed falters, momentarily]
This will not stand. I would say to arms but our enemies have quite the advantage. Children, brothers, sisters. Tell me about this place. Every fortress has some weakness and every God shall have his day.
» Sample Roleplay:
Zeus was angry. So angry that the electricity in an entire city block blew. Children burst into tears for some unearthly reason. A family had travelled all the way from Ohio to see the Christmas tree in front of the Rockefeller Centre and now it was raining and the lights were out. Ohio, indeed. Try Olympus. Try descending from the heights at such speed that one almost had vertigo.
Try having vertigo and mortal flesh and blood when one is used to assuming an array of shapes. Zeus could not abide the ringing in his ears and the blurring of his vision. Oh, and the headaches! Such headaches! One of his underlings - his personal assistant or his personal assistant's personal assistant - suggested, rather timidly, that he might require glasses. To be fair to Zeus, he did not fire her. No, he simply had her redistributed to one of the offices in Nebraska. Zeus didn't know where Nebraska was but he was sure it was sufficiently far away that she wouldn't trouble him again.
Now, he had to deal with the fact that it was raining. Sheets of rain. He knew that he was affecting the weather but he was unused to the weather affecting him. He was soaked to the bone and all the idiots with their umbrellas kept walking into him. The sky above thundered. The television screens in the electronics shop remained blank.
He sighed and stepped into a doorway so that he could compose himself. His eyes drifted shut and the rain eased almost immediately as he imagined himself far away. Olympus or the Bahamas or between some woman's willing thighs.
"It's clearing," said a voice.
He opened his eyes and looked at the woman who spoke. She was truly beautiful. Mortal (but, then again, who wasn't these days?) with long black hair and an expensive suit.
He smiled. "It is, isn't it?"
Notes:
[i] Though I am also the mun of two of Zeus' daughters, a grandson and a half-brother, this won't affect CR. Having discussed this with Hades' mun, Zeus' CR can come down to three things: he's either fucked it, spawned it or pissed it off. Sometimes all three. It's very hard to avoid being related to Zeus. X)
[ii] To any new muns, I'm utterly open to interpretation on the begetting of Zeus' various children. Just drop me a line and we can talk babies. And lovers.