God of the gods and of the sky, pictured with a thunderbolt or lightning in his hand, Zeus was the most powerful god. He had overturned his father Cronus and seized power, and everything was ultimately in his hands. Zeus was a weather god, as well as the protector of the law, the state, the society, the city, the family and strangers.

Zeus main shrine was in Dodona, where it was believed one could hear the future being told by the wind blowing through the the leafs of the holy oaktrees that grew there. In Olympia he was honoured every four years with the Olympic Games and Phidias statue of him there was considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

The birds, especially the eagle, were believed to be Zeus messengers.  The name Zeus is believed to originate in the Sanskrit dyaus which means heaven.