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ZEUS (zoose or zyoose; Roman
name Jupiter) was the supreme god of the Olympians. He
was the father of the heroes Perseus and Heracles, the
latter of whom once wrestled him to a draw.
Zeus was the youngest son of the Titans Cronus and Rhea.
When he was born, his father Cronus intended to swallow
him as he had all of Zeus's siblings: Poseidon, Hades,
Hestia, Demeter and Hera. But Rhea hid the newborn in a
cave on Mount Dicte in Crete.
When he had grown up, Zeus caused Cronus to vomit up his
sisters and brothers, and these gods joined him in
fighting to wrest control of the universe from the Titans
and Cronus, their king. Having desposed his father and
the other Titans, Zeus imprisoned most of them in the
underworld of Tartarus.
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