Big Daddy Zeus

Several years ago, I began thinking that all of the religions are the same.  That someone who worships the Christian God is worshipping all of the Mayan gods rolled into one.  That someone who worships the Greek gods is worshipping Ahura Mazda, god of the Zoroastrian faith, broken down into component parts.  That different cultures use monotheism or polytheism or what-have-you based upon what concept of deism is easiest for them to understand.  One big guy in the sky who takes care of everything?  Take a look at monotheism.  That kind of unchecked power really scary?  Try something polytheistic.  This idea may be completely unfounded.  I first thought of it early in high school, and though it’s bounced around in my head now and again since then, I haven’t actually taken the time to look into it properly.

But still, when we talked about Zeus, I remembered this old notion, and would like to throw out something that may be completely preposterous.

If all of the religions are reimaginings of each other, then the majority of the Judeo-Christian God is expressed in Greek religion as Zeus.  Although he is not the original creator, as God is, they are both considered supreme beings, rulers over all, and  patriarchs.  Zeus’s grandmother, Gaia, gave Cronos a prophecy telling him that his son would overthrow him.  This prophecy came true when Zeus freed his siblings and fought and won a war against the Titans. Zeus received a similar prophesy from Gaia.  As a result, Zeus was eternally paranoid about being replaced by a more powerful son.  If Zeus is a large part of God, then His son would more or less be Jesus.  And with Jesus’ coming, Christianity, after some time, replaced the Greek religion (by then appropriated by the Romans, but close enough) as the predominant faith system.  Therefore the birth of “Zeus’s” son in another religion, and subsequent changeover of dominant religion, brought an end to Zeus’s power. Zeus is unique in that he has the power to overturn fate.  He is lauded for evading the prophesy of his downfall.  But even Zeus cannot maintain the evasion indefinitely, and he succumbed to fate in the end.