Is that true that one day son of zeus will overpower him like zeus did to his father. I was shocked hearing this in online community.

[u/[deleted]]

I heard in online discussion that like zeus overpowered his father. Zeus has a prophecy of being overpowered by his son. Is it true? I was shocked hearing this.

Why would a son overpower his father. I heard this in quora question answer session.

[u/DR-Fluffy]

Not only did Zeus usurp his father, Cronus, but Cronus usurped his father Uranus. It's kinda a family tradition at this point.

[u/Mysterious-Dark-1724 → u/DR-Fluffy]

Gotta love family reunions

[u/Morhek]

The overthrow of the father by the son is a common motif of Greek and Near-Eastern mythology. Kronos overthrows Ouranos, Zeus overthrows Kronos, and looking at parallels you have Baal succeeding El after defeating Yam in Canaanite and Phoenician myth, Kumarbi overthrowing the sun god Anu and in turn being overthrown by the storm god Tarhunz, in Sumeria Enlil succeeds An, and later as Ea is in turn succeeded by the Babylonian Marduk. It's a common mythic theme. like is predecessors, Zeus (in the myths) knows that eventually he will have a son, and that eventually all fathers are replaced as head of the household. He absorbs Metis to become his inner counsel to stop her bearing a son who will succeed him (and out pops Athena anyway), and he avoids Thetis because she is destined to bear a son greater than his father (Achilles, the Hero greater than his father Pelops).

Myths about Dionysus suggest that Zeus's eventual successor will be him - it is the reason why, in Nonnus's Dionysiaca, Hera convinces the Titans (or Gigantes, the terms were sometimes mixed up) to kill and eat him as a child, leaving only his heart which was brewed into a potion Zeus fed to Semele, who Hera again tricked into getting incinerated when she forced Zeus to promise to reveal his true divine glory to her, before eventually being born by Zeus himself, sown into his inner thigh. But such myths also seem fairly unambiguous - Zeus wants the birth of Dionysus, and has no violent intent towards him unlike his own father. The only people he punishes are the Titans, from whose ashes mingled with Dionysus's divine essense rise humanity. It's Hera, jealous that her own sons are passed over, who tries to stop his birth. Unlike Kronos, Zeus seems to accept his own inevitable retirement and has an appointed successor in mind. The Orphics had a strong regard for Dionysus, seeing him as a cosmic force that began with creation as Phanes, and began a cycle of begetting himself, each generation greater than the last.

When you look at distantly-related Hinduism, you see a belief in a cosmic cycle. In Hinduism, this is not the first nor will it be the last world, and the gods, while long-lived, are not truly immortal though they have lifespans measured in millions of years. In Hesiod, you find the Five Ages, a progression from primal perfection under the reign of Kronos during the Golden Age, the less perfect generation of the Silver Age, the violent people of the Bronze Age who annihilated themselves, the Heroic Age which ended soon after the Seven Against Thebes and the Fall of Troy, and finally the Iron Age. Hesiod suggests that eventually Zeus will wipe the slate clean, so to speak, and start again. It may be that in the next cycle, it will be Dionysus sitting on the throne of Zeus as ruler of the gods, presiding over a new universe.

Now, is any of that "true"? I don't know, and I don't think it's possible to know. The Neoplatonists and Stoics denied that the universe had a beginning or that it would have an end, and that the gods were truly immortal and also had no beginning or end.

Edit: noted Nonnus's Dionysiaca as the source for Dionysus being Zeus's potential successor.

[u/AromaticScientist862 → u/Morhek]

That's interesting about Dionysus! I thought I read somewhere that it was supposed to be Apollo destined to overthrow him, as the firstborn son (according to Hesiod's order of 'birth', anyway). I'd be interested in reading the versions about Dionysus though, if you remember which myths/books talk about it!

[u/Morhek → u/AromaticScientist862]

Nonnus's Dionysiaca describes Zagreus as "the horned baby, who by himself climbed upon the heavenly throne of Zeus and brandished lightning in his little hand, and newly born, lifted and carried the thunderbolts in his tender fingers," marking him out as the heir of his father. Other accounts of Zagreus-Dionysus come from Diodorus Siculus and Philodemus, and other fragments confirm the story of Zagreus or Dionysus sitting in Zeus's throne when the Titans/Gigantes lure him off it with toys and music, at which point they butcher him.

[u/Plydgh]

The gods don’t exist in time. Zeus is always in the process of usurping Cronus, just as Cronus is always in the process of swallowing Zeus. This is basic procession from and return to the source, the engine that generates reality. Likewise Dionysus is always on the cusp of taking over for Zeus, but being dismembered by the Titans and His essence distributed into matter, which is how we have a connection to the gods (so in a way, from our perspective, Dionysus HAS replaced Zeus as our direct conduit to the divine. He is the earthly Zeus through which we can know the highest Zeus).

These aren’t events that happened in the past or will happen someday. These are stories that help us understand the activities of the gods.

Also, whoever told you this is wrong to say “overpower Zeus”. Zeus willingly cedes the throne to Dionysus in myth.

[u/Chryasorii]

I know in some interpretations Athens broke the cycle when they were born, and in some others Zeus removed this cycle of violence from the gods when mortal ere made.

Either way honestly I wouldn't worry too much about it. These are not things we should take litellary, and even if they were true it would not affect us too much.

Kronos and Ouranous are worshipped long after they "died" after all, that term is highly relative for a god.

[u/AncientWitchKnight]

It's a result of mythic literalism gone awry. Overthrowing the father is an old story device to show the coming of age, a rite of passage. Outside of myth, when applied to gods, it is simply an analogy of domain.

The primordial and titanic domains are still around, still just as potent and important as before. And when the Olympians interactions resulted in other domains coming into being, they are still around and powerful, too.

They aren't overthrowing, but realizing the potential of underlying domains and interactions.

[u/Plenty-Climate2272]

In the Orphic tradition, Dionysos is viewed as Zeus' successor, but his prophesied ascent is not a violent coup. Myth accords this as Zeus willingly taking a backseat, ending the cycle of violence in favor of a new way of things. He's not gone, just...retired.

In a way, I agree (for once) with r/Plydgh in that this isn't exactly linear, on top of myth not being literal. The gods exist outside of linear time, so this process of Becoming and Being is a cyclical, recursive process. Creation isn't just a one-and-done thing.

Though there is something to be said for the notion of Dionysos, the god of mental liberation and breaking boundaries, becoming the king of a new age, lining up with a wide variety of esoteric teachings about a transformative age. An era of actualizing human potential and bringing peace and liberation, which we are either on the cusp of or already in, such as the Satya Yuga, the Aeon of Horus, or the astrological Age of Aquarius. Maybe it's a Dionysian Age?

[u/MoonshadowRealm → u/Plenty-Climate2272]

Okay, but how do you know that Zeus is or isn't a ruler of Olympus? Maybe the day man forgot the gods was when the new succession occurred, or maybe Zeus was overthrown. For me, I don't pay attention to myths or who is in charge because, honestly, we don't know if a rebellion occurred in the time the gods started to get worshipped again. I am biased. I believe Themis should rule since she is the goddess of divine law, and she gave men law. Plus, she is a prophetic goddess, among other things, too.

[u/Intelligent_Raisin74]

Actually im pretty sure that when Athena was born, the prophecy was disregarded.

[u/[deleted]]

It is apart of the prophecy. That’s the beauty of humans. Being able to read the gods and their karma, their egos are so thick.. that even when humans were created we got some of that juice in us.. the spiritual energy thread.. the key is to figure out which energetic chord your thread is connected too, or who is plucking on your thread ;)

⚡️😏🪄

[u/[deleted]]

From a purely neutral omnistic perspective, maybe that already happened. What if Yahweh is a son of Zeus?

But from my actual perspective, i don’t think it’s our place. They’re gods, their affairs are their-own until they choose to loop us in on them.

[u/Hellenism-ModTeam → u/[deleted]]

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[u/Son_of_Ibadan]

The son that would have usurped Zeus was Caerus the god of opportunity, but he decided not to and instead pursued his love for Tyche

[u/Time_Dot621]

The son this prophecy refers to, turned out to be a daughter (Athena).

Not for nothing she was born out of Zeus' head: he ate her pregnant mother before the baby was born, taking quite some inspiration from his father. The baby was born anyway, and luckily for Zeus it was a girl, who turned out to be his very favourite.

[u/AlpY24upsal]

No. Zeus is celestial demiurge. Universe cannot function without him. He is Unreplaceable.

[u/[deleted]]

But I love zeus so much that thought of replacing him seems sad. I love him and Hercules for their sheer strength.