zeus

IPA/zjuːs/
KK[zˈus]IPA/zuːs/

zeus — noun

1. In ancient Greek stories, the most powerful god, who controlled the sky and weat

1.nounB1
Definition

In ancient Greek stories, the most powerful god, who controlled the sky and weather, ruled all other gods and people from Mount Olympus, and was married to the goddess Hera.

Example

According to the myth, Zeus threw thunderbolts from Mount Olympus when he was angry.

collocation: throw thunderbolts

Rania's textbook described how Zeus became the ruler after defeating his father Cronus.

Zeus + active verb (became, defeated)

Common collocations
  • thunderbolt of Zeus
  • temple of Zeus
  • statue of Zeus
  • myth of Zeus
  • Zeus + punished / defeated / ruled
Synonyms
  • Jupiter

    Roman equivalent of Zeus, sharing the same role as king of the gods but in Roman mythology

Grammar Patterns

Zeus + verb (describing actions in myths)

the + epithet + of Zeus (e.g. 'the statue of Zeus')

Usage Note

Zeus is always written with a capital Z as a proper noun. It does not take a definite article in most contexts ('Zeus was angry', not 'The Zeus was angry'), though 'the' appears before an epithet ('the god Zeus', 'the temple of Zeus'). The Roman equivalent is Jupiter.

Common Mistakes

The Zeus punished the other gods.
Zeus punished the other gods.
as a personal name, Zeus does not need an article.
Zeus is a Roman god.
Zeus is the Greek god of the sky.
Zeus belongs to Greek, not Roman, mythology; his Roman counterpart is Jupiter.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Zeus, Jupiter, and Odin each rule over their respective pantheons, but they belong to different mythological traditions. Zeus (Greek) is the god of the sky and weather, known for his thunderbolt and his rule from Mount Olympus. Jupiter (Roman) shares Zeus's role as king of the gods and sky god but is part of Roman mythology, and Roman myths often present him as more disciplined and state-oriented. Odin (Norse) is a very different figure — a war god and god of wisdom, who sacrificed an eye for knowledge and rules Valhalla rather than a sunny mountain. Learners should remember that Zeus is Greek, Jupiter is Roman, and Odin is Norse; the three are not interchangeable, though English speakers sometimes use 'Jove' (from Jupiter) in poetic references to the sky god.

Zeus ↗Jupiter ↗Odin

Common collocations

Nouns

Phrases

  • the god Zeus
  • by Zeus! (old exclamation)
  • Zeus the thunderer

Prepositions

  • of Zeus (temple of Zeus, statue of Zeus, myth of Zeus)

Etymology

Proto-Indo-EuropeanAncient GreekEnglish

From ancient Greek Ζεύς (Zeus), which comes from the same Proto-Indo-European root *dyeu- meaning 'to shine' or 'sky', also found in Latin deus ('god'), Sanskrit dyaus ('sky'), and the English word Tuesday (from 'Tyr's day', with Tyr as a Germanic counterpart). The name literally meant 'sky father' in the earliest Greek religion.

First known use

1540

1540, in the meaning defined above