"Top ten most powerful Greek Gods"?

Alright, forgive me for this one. So, I came across the video below on YouTube, 'ugh'ed at the images, clicked away. Then clicked back because why the heck? What were the criteria for this list? What was the grading based on? Who judged? Did they know Hellenic mythology? I mean, I agree these Gods are powerful, but if we're really doing something as horrible as ranking Them, at least look a little beyond the obvious, please. Here's the list discussed, with the description:

"The stories of gods and goddess from the ancient Greek mythology are immensely popular in pop culture. Their characters were popularized and subsequently immortalized by some famous play writers in ancient Greece that included the likes of Homer and Hesiod. What makes the folklore behind these ancient Greek deities stand apart is the way their stories deviated from that of other contemporary ancient religions. The Greek gods resembled humans not only in their form but also in their nature and emotions. [...] As for the majestic Gods of ancient Greece, lets see how many of your favorites make it on our top 10 list."

Okay, so, yes. All of these Olympians (because They are all Olympians) are powerful. They're Gods, so of course They are. But I'm not exactly sure that I would have held fast to this list. Since watching the video, I've been thinking about my 'ranking', which isn't so much a question of 'who is more powerful', but one of 'are there any Gods who can command Zeus or otherwise hold power over Him'? Mythologically speaking, I would say 'yes'. I'm not going to rank them, but here are six Gods (well, They turned out to be only Goddesses) who hold sway over Zeus, King of the Gods, and are thus, well, pretty darn powerful.

Gaia
All the Protogenoi, as the First Born Deities of the Hellenic Kosmos, are essential to our survival and thus are held in high regard by the Olympians--Zeus included. Still, Gaia, as the earth Herself is rather critical. On top of that, Gaia was at the head of the rebellion against Her husband Ouranos who had imprisoned several of Her giant-sons within her womb and later, when Her son Kronos defied Her by imprisoning these same sons, she sided with Zeus in His rebellion against Him. Finally She came into conflict with Zeus because She was angered by His binding of Her Titan-sons in Tartaros. She birthed a tribe of Gigantes and later the monster Typhoeus to overthrow Him, but both failed in their attempts. So technically Zeus is stronger than Her, but He needed every single other God and Goddess he could get on His side to pull it off, which brings us to...

Hekate
After the Titanomachy, Zeus bestowed upon Her the highest of honors. As Hesiod writes in his 'Theogony: "Again, Phoebe came to the desired embrace of Coeus. [...] And she conceived and bare Hecate whom Zeus the son of Cronos honoured above all. He gave her splendid gifts, to have a share of the earth and the unfruitful sea. She received honour also in starry heaven, and is honoured exceedingly by the deathless gods. [...] For as many as were born of Earth and Ocean amongst all these she has her due portion. The son of Cronos did her no wrong nor took anything away of all that was her portion among the former Titan gods: but she holds, as the division was at the first from the beginning, privilege both in earth, and in heaven, and in sea. [...] Also, because she is an only child, the goddess receives not less honour, but much more still, for Zeus honours her."

Styx
Styx is a river Goddess, one of many. Hers is the river of hatred. Styx was a firm ally of Zeus in the Titan Wars, who brought Her children Nike, Zelos, Bia and Kratos to stand beside the God in battle. Zeus rewarded Her by making Her stream the agent of oaths which bind the Gods. Read that again: if the Gods swear an oath an They break it, They answer to Styx.

Demeter
When Hades kidnapped Demeter's daughter Kore, Demeter marched right up to Zeus and told Him to get her daughter back ASAP. Zeus, in very short, told Her it was not His problem, even though Kore was His daughter. Bereft (and possibly mightily pissed off), Demeter stopped performing her divine duties and humanity nearly starved. Since the Gods need humans if They want to receive sacrifices, Zeus caved and got Hades to release Kore.

Themis
Themis was an early bride of Zeus and His first counsellor. She was often represented seated beside His throne advising Him on the precepts of divine law and the rules of fate. Not odd, considering Themis is the Titan Goddess of divine law and order--the traditional rules of conduct first established by the gods. She is also a prophetic Goddess who presided over the most ancient oracles, including Delphi. In this role, She was the divine voice who first instructed mankind in the primal laws of justice and morality, such as the precepts of piety, the rules of hospitality, good governance, conduct of assembly, and pious offerings to the Gods. In short: Themis is a Goddess who can see the future, advices Zeus on what to do based on Her insights, taught humankind the rules on which the Gods would judge them and, oh yes, she also does the actual judging.

Metis
She is one of the elder Okeanides and the Titan-Goddess of good counsel, planning, cunning and wisdom. If you haven't  heard much about Her it's because Zeus swallowed Her whole when a prophecy was revealed that She was destined to bear a son greater than His father. Metis afterwards bore a daughter, Athena, from Zeus' head and Her wisdom and powers of judgement were entirely absorbed by Zeus, basically making Smarter and a lot more powerful. Without swallowing Metis, things could have turned out very different in the Hellenic pantheon!

• Wednesday, April 19, 2017
  Demeter Gaea Hekate Metis Mythology 101 personal Styx Themis videos Zeus

The wive(s) of Zeus

When I was younger, I firmly believed that Zeus freed His siblings from His father's belly, led the Titanomanchy, and married Hera as His one and only wife. Imagine my surprise when I came upon the works of Hesiod and found out there had been others before Her. We've already discussed the many liaisons of Zeus through His offspring, but today we look at the distinction between lover and wife.

We have established before that marriage was often a matter of moving in together, and consummating the relationship. Within the lives of ancient Hellenes, marriage was an arranged affair, usually by the parents of the two who were to be wed. The Theoi are, of course, a little different, and all we have to go on when it comes to Them are the ancient writers. Hesiod, for example, gives us a list of the lovers Zeus had before Hera: Metis, Themis, Eurynome, Demeter, Mnemosyne, and Leto. Only two of those are described as 'wife' or as 'having been married' (Metis and Themis), although it is implied for the others (Theogony 886-923). There is no mention of divorce, however, and in the text that follows, Hesiod relies more on euphemisms for sex than marriage to describe the relationships between Zeus and these women.

For Metis, for example, Hesiod first uses:

"Now Zeus, king of the gods, made Metis his wife first, and she was wisest among gods and mortal men. But when she was about to bring forth the goddess bright-eyed Athene, Zeus craftily deceived her with cunning words and put her in his own belly." (886-900)

But then elaborates a little bit later:

"[Zeus], apart from Hera, had lain in love with a fair-faced daughter of Okeanos and lovley-haired Tethys, Metis, whom he deceived, for all she was so resourceful, for he snatched her up in his hands and put her inside his belly for fear that she might bring forth a thunderbolt stronger than his own." (929a-929t)

So, which one is true? Was Zeus married to others before Hera? Personally, I believe that the unions with anyone but Hera were to either establish divine offspring, or to give Zeus dominion over areas He would not otherwise have dominion over. His liaisons prior to, and including, Hera, help to make Him the most powerful of Theoi, capable of proclaiming law, and justice, of influencing the seasons and many other feats He would not have been capable of if it were not for His involvement with these other divine women.

Hera remains Zeus' one and only true wife, and although Zeus' liaisons with others are legendary, He returns to Her in the end. She is His true wife, Queen of the Theoi, and while His affairs are usually of great importance, I strongly feel Zeus' relationship with Hera tops them all.

• Wednesday, March 13, 2013
  Demeter Eurynome Hera Hesiod Leto Metis Mnemosyne Themis Theogony Titanomachy UPG Zeus