Zeus was the main god of those who lived on Olympus. Among the many myths of Zeus, there is constant talk about his transformations and metamorphosis. Well, the god was able to change shape to achieve his goals.
The story of Zeus, as the god of the gods, begins after defeating his own father, Cronus, who had devoured his brothers, and shared the government of his father’s kingdoms with the men. Poseidon got the seas, Hades the underworld and he got the Earth. As in the case of most gods, Zeus myths reflect an insatiable need for conquests with whom to maintain love relationships, both women and men. Despite being the most important of the gods of Olympus, it was not always easy for him and he had to resort to metamorphosing to achieve his goal. Zeus’s metamorphoses were quite an adventure in which the powerful god almost always emerged victorious.
Join us in Supercurious to discover the best transformations of Zeus for his love conquests.
Zeus transformations on video
And if you want, enjoy them on video too!
When we talk about who Zeus is, we find ourselves with the most powerful and omnipotent figure in all of Greek mythology. Zeus’s transformations simply make our imaginations take off, and that is the god did not reject turning into different animals, different mortals and even became atmospheric phenomena for his love affairs. Very original passionate tours, which will surely surprise you. Let us begin!
Table of Contents
- Zeus transformations on video
- The 10 most incredible transformations of Zeus for love
- 1. An eagle, for the love of Gampínedes
- 2. The usurpation of identity, by Alcmene
- 3. Golden shower, for the love of Danae
- 4. A squirrel, for his encounter with Maia
- 5. A white bull, for the delivery of Europe
- 6. A cuckoo, to rape Hera
- 7. A swan, to lie with Leda
- 8. Io eat beef, to escape jealousy
- 9. A deadly shepherd, to seduce Semele
- 10. Asteria as quail, to flee from Zeus
The 10 most incredible transformations of Zeus for love
1. An eagle, for the love of Gampínedes
We begin this journey through the transformations of Zeus to conquer his lovers, with the only man with whom the god is known to have fallen in love. It was Gaminedes, a young prince son of King Laomedonte of Troy. Its beauty was such that it dazzled Zeus, to the point of deciding to transform into an eagle. Once turned into this animal, the god caught the young man with his beak and kidnapped him, leading him to Olympus, where she made him her lover. To reward him for his good will, Zeus named him cupbearer of the gods and granted him immortality.
2. The usurpation of identity, by Alcmene
And one of the most terrible metamorphoses of Zeus was the one he executed to win the conquest of Alcmene. She was a beautiful woman, wife of King Host. But the fact that she was married to her did not prevent the god from falling in love with her and wanting to take her to her bed. So, she waited for her husband to go on a journey and took the form of it. She thus she managed to sleep with Alcmene, and from that relationship protected by the lie, one of the sons of Zeus, Heracle, would be born.
3. Golden shower, for the love of Danae
The third of Zeus’s transformations that we will talk about is Danae’s. She was the only daughter of Acrisius, king of Argos. Her father locked her in a bronze chamber with no doors or windows, only a small hole in the ceiling through which sunlight entered. The confinement had the purpose that she could not conceive, because an oracle had announced that she would be assassinated by her own grandson. Zeus, who had fallen in love with her, entered through the hole in the ceiling in the form of golden showers and impregnated her. When Perseus was born, Argos did not want to kill them directly so as not to provoke the wrath of Zeus and locked them in a wooden box, throwing them into the sea. There they were saved by Poseidon who left them on the island of Serifos.
4. A squirrel, for his encounter with Maia
Zeus’s metamorphoses knew no limits, and they easily took place in animals to win the favors of their objects of desire. Next on our list of lovers is Maia, the eldest of the seven Pleiades. One night, in a secret cave, sheltered from the eyes of the other gods, she lay with Zeus, who according to some myths had transformed into a squirrel-like rodent, possibly to get to the location unseen. From that relationship Hermes was born.
5. A white bull, for the delivery of Europe
The myth of Europa is one of the most interesting when we delve into the forays and metamorphoses of Zeus for love. The woman who gives the continent its name was the princess daughter of Agenor and Telephasa, kings of Phoenicia. One day she was walking in a meadow near a beach, when she appeared before her eyes and became the object of Zeus’ desires. Then the god did not hesitate to change her appearance again to get the girl’s love. He transformed into a bull with gleaming white fur and crescent-shaped horns and mixed with the animals of the king’s herd. Europe saw it and was fascinated by its beauty. She got closer and discovered that it was as docile as a small hummingbird, so she climbed on her back. Then Zeus started running towards the sea, and swam he reached the island of Crete, of which Europe from now on would be sovereign.
6. A cuckoo, to rape Hera
We well know that the goddess Hera was the sister and wife of Zeus. But their relationship began in a rather dark way, precisely with one of Zeus’ most dastardly transformations. The God he transformed into a small cuckoo to get closer to her. Once he had managed to be in her arms, taking advantage of Hera’s love for animals, he returned to take her own form and raped her.. Hera, embarrassed by what happened, agreed to marry him.
7. A swan, to lie with Leda
The fifth of these transformations of Zeus was the one used to lie with Leda, the wife of King Tyndareus of Sparta. Zeus took advantage of the fact that the woman was walking along a river and was transformed into a swan. He pretended to be chased by an eagle and took refuge in her arms, seducing her.. That same night Leda slept with her husband. The myth tells that she Leda laid two eggs. From one were born Helena and Pollux, who were sons of Zeus and therefore immortal, and from the other Clytemnestra and Castor, who were mortal and the offspring of King Tyndareus.
8. Io eat beef, to escape jealousy
And in addition to Zeus’s transformations, made on his own appearance, he sometimes had to apply them to save his lovers. It was the case of Io, priestess of Hera. The young woman initially rejected Zeus’ advances in love, but her father threw her out of the house so that the wrath of the god would not fall on him. Eventually she Io agreed to become Zeus’s lover, but she was found out by the jealous Hera. So the god, to protect her from his wife, turned her into a white calf.
9. A deadly shepherd, to seduce Semele
The next of the metamorphoses of Zeus that we present to you is that of Semele. She was a young woman who became a lover of Zeus. To seduce her, the god took the form of a mortal shepherd. Hera, jealous, warned the young woman that she was having relations with Zeus himself and that she should ask him to show himself as he really was. The young woman, who was pregnant and knew that her lover would not deny her anything, she asked him. Zeus initially refused, but at Semele’s insistence, he showed himself in all his splendor and the girl was immediately burned. Zeus managed to save his son, whom he sewed to his leg to end the pregnancy. That baby was Dionysus, who over time went down to the underworld and rescued her mother, taking her to live with the gods on Olympus.
10. Asteria as quail, to flee from Zeus
And we close this tour of the transformations of Zeus, with the story between the god and Asteria, who was the sister of Leto, the mother of Apollo and Artemis. In this case it was not Zeus who was transformed, but when the god tried to rape her, Asteria turned into a quail so she could escape him.
And you, Did you know these metamorphoses of Zeus for his love conquests? Do you know any more? What do you think of the behavior of the gods of Olympus? We look forward to your comments! If you want to know more about love relationships in Greek mythology, we invite you to read our post about the violations of Poseidon. Apparently the god of the seas also liked serial abuse. And if what you want is a deep knowledge about all the myths and legends that make up this mythology, don’t miss this selection of the best greek mythology books.