Was Zeus a Sun God?

Zeus, chief god of the ancient Greek pantheon, was god of the weather, lightning and the bright sky. Was he also a manifestation of the sun? Philosophers and mystics have made the connection for millennia. While the king of the Olympians is associated with a dizzying array of characteristics and phenomena he is primarily the weather god of the Greeks. Here we discuss Zeus’ name and powers, his link with storms, weather, identifications with the substance “aither” and the sun and mountain top cults.

Zeus. Ancient Greek Mythology:

Chapters
0:00 - 0:11 - Intro.
0:12 - 0:51 - Zeus Sky Father.
0:52 - 1:38 - Bright Sky or Rain.
1:39 - 2:48 - Zeus on Olympus (Narrative).
2:49 - 4:33 - Bright Sky or Rain?
4:34 - 5:35 - Zeus as the Sun.
5:36 - 6:15 - Aetherios Zeus.
6:16 - 7:17 - The Derveni Papyrus.
7:18 - 8:00 - Storm and Mountain.
8:01 - 8:50 - Mount Olympus.
8:51 - 9:20 - Homer Odyssey 6. 41-6 (Narrative)
9:21 - 9:50 - Mountain Sanctuaries.
9:51 - 10:58 - Pergamon.
10:59 - 11:53 - Mt. Lykaion.
11:54 - 13:05 - Aniconism and images.
13:06 - 13:41 - Zeus Keraunios (Zeus of the Lightning).
13:42 - 14:42 - Zeus Omnipotens.
14:42 - 15:09 - Outro.

[thomasallen]

Now, how about talking about Dione? The goddess half-lost to time who was the true wife of Zeus?

[Felipe-pknz]

Marvelous video, looking forward for more. Greetings from Brazil, sir.

[TheGreatness-ggjx]

Most excellent philology and etymology. Thanks so much.

[petrospetromixos]

I ve heard also that the thunder Zeus holds with the three edges in each side and some times five edges , is found in older Gods, like from the Summerians and another one, dont remember, is the path of the sun in the sky

[TonyJack]

Orphic Hymn 19 to Zeus of Thunder :
"To Zeus Keraunos (Ceraunus) (Thundering). O father Zeus, who shakest with fiery light the world, deep-sounding from thy lofty height. From thee proceeds the ethereal lightning's blaze, flashing around intolerable rays. Thy sacred thunders shake the blest abodes, the shining regions of the immortal Gods. Thy power divine the flaming lightning shrouds with dark investiture in fluid clouds. 'Tis thine to brandish thunders strong and dire, to scatter storms, and dreadful darts of fire; with roaring flames involving all around, and bolts of thunder of tremendous sound. Thy rapid dart can raise the hair upright, and shake the heart of man with wild affright. Sudden, unconquered, holy, thundering God, with noise unbounded flying all abroad; with all-devouring force, entire and strong, horrid, untamed, thou rollest the flames along. Rapid, ethereal bolt, descending fire, the earth, all-parent, trembles at thine ire; the sea all-shining, and each beast, that hears the sound terrific, with dread horror fears: when nature's face is bright with flashing fire, and in the heavens resound they thunders dire. They thunders white the azure garments tear, and burst the veil of all-surrounding air. O Zeus, all-blessed, may thy wrath severe, hurled in the bosom of the deep appear, and on the tops of mountains be revealed, for thy strong arm is not from us concealed. Propitious to these sacred rites incline, and to thy suppliants grant a life divine, add royal health, and gentle peace beside, with upright reasoning for a constant guide."

[mmm]

Wow! Beautiful presentation, great visuals

[TonyJack]

Orphic Hymn 20 to Zeus of Lightning :
"To Zeus Astrapaios (Astrapaeus) (Lightning Maker). I call the mighty, holy, splendid, light, aerial, dreadful-sounding, fiery-bright, flaming, ethereal light, with angry voice, lighting through lucid clouds with crashing noise. Untamed, to whom resentments dire belong, pure, holy power, all-parent, great and strong: come, and benevolent these rites attend, and grant the mortal life a pleasing end."

[stevenrodriguez]

Just came across your channel! Great stuff! Any writers out there scrolling around for source material/inspiration, check these out!

[desfurria]

So is Zeus also associated to To Hen or The One, as the world as a whole?

[TheRealTomahawk]

He would seem to be Apollo/Helios of Troy. Although maybe not the same but they are related Apollo/ Helios is the son of Zeus. However Troy was built by dardanus an”” son of Zeus lol but Dardanus is really Darda son of Zerah, and Zerah is the son of Judah. Sometime before the Hebrew (Habiru) exodus from Egypt with Moses, there was a pre-exodus with Zerah, and Darda who went to Crete before sailing to Troy to found the city. While in Crete they must have stayed for a while where idk but maybe Zerah had some children namely Minos, Rhadamanthus, and Sarpedon and they were adopted by Asterion king of Crete. Antiphates is a son of Sarpedon and he travelled to Italy with Aneas, a distant relative of his. Aneas is a dardanian descendant of Dardanus/Darda and the three boys are like his great uncles or something. They’re also related to Demeter and Cybele through a brother of Dardanus named Iasion who consorted with those two godess and nymph, and with Demeter he father Ploutus the god of wealth. The Dardanians and the Persians are related through Perses son of Helios and Perseis; Perses was murdered by his niece Medea, and Iran was first called Persia and Medea after them. Around that time was the Atlantean kingdom.
The swastica was found in Troy and the swasticas is an ancient sun symbol. Achilles being a descendant of Dan the progenitor of the Mycenaeans, may have been a god of war would no doubt have a problem with a sun god that won’t fight him, and Achilles with all the other heroes sacks the town, Apollo being Helios and father to the kings of the East.

[hermanhale]

Before people had houses they worshiped the clear, blue sky.

[TonyJack]

Orphic Hymn 15 to Zeus (trans. Taylor) (Greek hymns C3rd B.C. to 2nd A.D.) :
"O Zeus, much-honoured, Zeus supremely great, to thee our holy rites we consecrate, our prayers and expiations, king divine, for all things to produce with ease through mind is thine. Hence mother earth (gaia) and mountains swelling high proceed from thee, the deep and all within the sky. Kronion (Cronion) king, descending from above, magnanimous, commanding, sceptred Zeus; all-parent, principle and end of all, whose power almighty shakes this earthly ball; even nature trembles at thy mighty nod, loud-sounding, armed with lightning, thundering god. Source of abundance, purifying king, O various-formed, from whom all natures spring; propitious hear my prayer, give blameless health, with peace divine, and necessary wealth

[TonyJack]

Even the Orphic hymns call him mostly a thunder god

[wardafournello]

Attic dialect:
nominative ὁ Ζεύς Ζῆν
genitive τοῦ Διός Ζηνός
dativeτῷ τῷ Διῐ́ Ζηνῐ́
accusative τὸν Δίᾰ Ζῆνᾰ
vocative ὦ! Ζεῦ


Dialectal forms in the nominative case:
Δάν, Σδεύς Dan, Sdeus (aeolic type )
Διεύς Diaeus (laconic)
Ζάν Jan (Doric type )
Ζεῦς Zeus (lesbian type
Ζήν Zen (poetic form)
Θιός, Σιός Thios, Sios (Boeotian type)
Τάν Tan (Cretan type)

[TonyJack]

Zeus even in Homer's Iliad is armed with thunder and lightning, and the shaking of his aegis produces storm and tempest (Il. xvii. 593) : a number of epithets of Zeus in the Homeric poems describe him as the thunderer, the gatherer of clouds, and the like

[TonyJack]

You can't use late Greek or Roman philosophies as examples when philosophers didn't make up the majority of the people who worshipped Zeus and he's called stormy too...MAEMACTES (Maimaktês), i. e. the stormy, a surname of Zeus, from which the name of the Attic month Maemacterion was derived. In that month the Maemacteria was celebrated at Athens. (Plut. de Ir. cohib. 9.)

[TonyJack]

Ba'al Hadad was never called a sun god in Canaanite religion and literature

[TonyJack]

This video already opened using made and inaccurate terms like "Greek mythological system".Most scholars of ancient Greek religion call it a religion not a mythological system. Zeus is a storm deity even in the Mycenaean religion aka the proto Greeks

[TonyJack]

Cherry picking and misquoting sources is disingenuous