Zeus
In Greek mythology, Zeus was king of the gods, god of thunder and lightning. He was married to Hera, but had many affairs, including one with , a mortal woman, which produced Apollo and Artemis. Persephone was also one of his offspring.

Alien origins

In 2267, the  encountered an alien being claiming to be the god Apollo on Pollux IV.  Apollo explained that he and Zeus were actually members of a highly sophisticated race of alien beings who had visited Earth  in ancient times, allowing themselves to be worshiped as gods.  

On Earth, Zeus came to be regarded as the king of the gods, ruling from Mount Olympus, with the power of life and death.  He and the other gods had the power to alter themselves and the world around them, and their displeasure was generally fatal. With such abilities, the ancient Greeks with whom they interacted considered them gods and, after a time, the aliens themselves came to think themselves as gods in the same manner. ()

When Apollo first described Zeus, he spoke of him as a friend and equal, and as a "fellow traveler".  He later contradicted this narrative and stated he was actually Zeus's son, and had been born on Earth due to a union between Zeus and the human woman .  James T. Kirk suspected that neither version was completely true and that Apollo's appearance as a Greek god had been created for the benefit of his human visitors.

Fate

After being worshiped on Earth, mankind turned away from the Greek gods, forcing Zeus and the other gods to return home to Pollux IV.  Once back on Pollux IV, Zeus and the other Greek gods found life lonely and empty without worshipers.  Zeus eventually transcended his physical existence, described as "spreading himself thinner and thinner until he was entirely gone". Apollo claimed this was not death, but it seemed clear that those who had departed by this means were beyond returning. ()

Legacy

According to Henry Janeway, Zeus watched over travelers. ()

Appendices

Background information

Apocrypha 
Zeus appears in the comic book What Fools These Mortals Be, ruling over a small planet resembling ancient Greece. Contrary to his usual depiction, Zeus is drawn to resemble a beardless, bald man.

In the novel Gods Above it is revealed that Zeus was known by many other names in different cultures, including Jupiter, Amen-Re, Woden, Takami-Musubi and Saint Klaus (Santa Claus). In the 24th century, he prefers to be called "Old Father".

External links
 
 

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Greek gods