History Main / EverybodyLovesZeus

* ''Fanfic/TheMarvelousWorldOfDC'' features Zeus briefly. He appears as a SkyFace to his [[RelatedInTheAdaptation nephew]], ComicBook/TheMightyThor when Thor is defending the island of Themyscira from ComicBook/TheMask. Mala, one of the Amazons who Thor spends time with, states that [[DownPlayedTrope Zeus isn't held as highly on Themyscira as goddesses like Hera and Athena]], but when he appears, he's only friendly and helpful to Thor. The dodgiest thing he does is [[BoltOfDivineRetribution electrocuting]] Stanley Ipkiss, and that's just to [[BeatTheCurseOutOfHim purge him of Loki's brainwashing.]] Then again, since Thor already has plenty of JerkassGods in his family- his [[CainAndAbel adopted brother Loki]], his EvilUncle [[EverybodyHatesHades Hades]], and his [[ClashingCousins cousins Pluto, Hela and Ares,]] having Zeus as his family and on his side is [[TropesAreNotBad a heartwarming decision by the author.]] Much friendlier than Thor's normal relationship with Zeus in Marvel Comics.

** Generally the gods of the Riordanverse (which include the Egyptian and Norse Gods) are not shown to be lacking flaws, but a number of them show themselves to be nicer than their original tellings, be it from personal growth or sidestepping their faults. Even Gods generally are shown to be evil or unpleasant, like Ares, Set, and Loki, are not depicted as utterly beyond sympathy or positives.

** Zeus is given an unflattering depiction as sexist, hypocritical, petty, and a shameless philanderer whose relationship with his wife Hera is more than a little dysfunctional as a result. Other Olympians mostly don't seem to have a great opinion of him... but his rep is still better than that of his brother [[EverybodyHatesHades Hades]], who has flaws of his own but is overall an {{Adorkable}} NiceGuy.

* ''Literature/TheLostYearsOfMerlin'' and its SequelSeries do this in their take on Myth/CelticMythology. Dagda is depicted as a god of wisdom, which is accurate, but also of peace and freedom, which is...less so, as the Celts basically thought that any god worth his salt had to be some sort of warrior. The sexual appetite that you see among most {{Top God}}s also goes unmentioned, as do his more CrazyAwesome traits. Meanwhile, the villain is Rhita Gawr, depicted as the (only) Celtic WarGod, when he's actually a rather minor, mortal character from Myth/ArthurianLegend.

[[quoteright:350:[[Disney/{{Hercules}} https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/oldies_but_goodies_disney_edition_zeus.jpg]]]]

* ''Disney/{{Hercules}}'':

** Zeus is portrayed as a light-hearted if not buffoonish king and loyal husband to Hera. While the [[WesternAnimation/HerculesTheAnimatedSeries spin-off series]] brings up his flaws -- like forgetting he and his wife's anniversary, occasionally losing his temper and the whole "Prometheus" thing -- Zeus' frequent infidelity is never brought up (most likely non-existent to keep the G-Rating).

Gods associated with light and lordship over other gods are typically portrayed as heroic and relatable while their [[EverybodyHatesHades darker counterparts are super violent and manipulative and other icky stuff]]. It should be noted that this trope can apply to virtually any god/goddess of Classical Mythology, largely due to ValuesDissonance and operating AboveGoodAndEvil. And it should also be noted that the original Zeus was also capable of good deeds, therefore supporting a lot of good portrayals of him (for instance, he dotes on his children, with the exception of Ares, but even then, that was because Ares controls a domain that many humans dislikes: War (unless you're from Sparta)).

Light can blind and light is good. And by "light is good", we mean it's good you aren't struck down by light''ning''.

Gods associated with light and lordship over other gods are typically portrayed as heroic and relatable while their [[EverybodyHatesHades darker counterparts are super violent and manipulative and other icky stuff]]. It should be noted that this trope can apply to virtually any god/goddess of Classical Mythology, largely due to ValuesDissonance and operating AboveGoodAndEvil.

** Zeus is portrayed as a light-hearted if not buffoonish king and loyal husband to Hera. While the [[WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}} spin-off series]] brings up his flaws -- like forgetting he and his wife's anniversary, occasionally losing his temper and the whole "Prometheus" thing -- Zeus' frequent infidelity is never brought up (most likely non-existent to keep the G-Rating).

** Likewise for ''Anime/ShinMazinger'''s Zeus, who takes this further by dressing in [[GoodColorsEvilColors golden armor]]. In this continuity his fossilized arm is an extremely valuable source of {{Unobtainium}} - [[HumongousMecha Mazinger Z]] both use this material in its construction and (after its MidSeasonUpgrade) can [[TransformingMecha transform]] into a replica of the actual arm for its FinishingMove.

** Zeus is given an unflattering depiction as sexist, hypocritical, petty, and a shameless philanderer whose relationship with his wife Hera is more than a little dysfunctional as a result. Other Olympians mostly don't seem to have a great opinion of him... but his rep is still better than that of his brother [[EverybodyHatesHates Hades]], who has flaws of his own but is overall an {{Adorkable}} NiceGuy.

* The ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'' series [[PlayingWithATrope plays with this idea.]] In the first game, Zeus is essentially the GreaterScopeParagon, serving as a benevolent ally to Kratos who helps him both overtly and subtly. The second and third games however set Zeus up as the BigBad, driven mad with fear and paranoia that Kratos [[spoiler:his son]] will usurp his throne. As it turns out, [[spoiler:Zeus only became a villain after Kratos opened Pandora's Box and infected him with the evil of Fear... it's implied he was still something of a [[JerkassGods Jerkass God]] even before this (as he was still a ruthless, adulterous tyrant) but Kratos managed to [[NiceJobBreakingItHero exacerbate his flaws and turned him into a monster.]]]]

Gods associated with light and lordship over other gods are typically portrayed as heroic and relatable while their [[EverybodyHatesHades darker counterparts are super violent and manipulative and other icky stuff]].

** Likewise for ''Anime/ShinMazinger'''s Zeus, who takes this further by dressing in [[GoodColorsEvilColors golden armor]]. In this continuity his fossilized arm is an extremely valuable source of {{Unobtainium}} - [[HumongousMecha Mazinger Z]] both uses this material in its construction, and (after its MidSeasonUpgrade) can [[TransformingMecha transform]] into a replica of the actual arm for its FinishingMove.

Zeus was lord of Mount Olympus and TopGod that ran Greece. He got his throne by killing his father and taking it and [[Theatre/OedipusTheKing condemned anyone else who did the same]], he ate his first wife, he cheated on his second wife/older sister incessantly (including with one of his other sisters), allowed his wife to torment his demigod bastards to suicide, he chained Prometheus to a rock to have his liver eaten forever for giving mankind fire, he unleashed pain and suffering on the Earth and had a mortal girl take the blame for it, smiting random humans with lightning from his ivory tower and [[JerkassGods countless other horrible things]]. However, adaptations like to show Zeus as a cool guy that likes to party and is justified whenever he has to bring out a firm hand. Why? Because Heaven and Light = Good.

** Hera's petty jealously is usually in place past the Silver Age, but pre-New 52 the murderous bit of her misdirected anger was generally swept aside or only used to show her lashing out in a moment of rage instead of something she'd plan and plot and prior to ''ComicBook/WonderWoman2011'' she was treated as more reasonable, kind and likeable than Zeus.

** Zeus is portrayed as a light-hearted, if not buffoonish king and loyal husband to Hera. While the [[WesternAnimation/{{Hercules}} spin-off series]] brings up his flaws -- like forgetting he and his wife's anniversary, occasionally losing his temper and the whole "Prometheus" thing -- Zeus' frequent infidelity is never brought up (most likely non-existent to keep the G-Rating).
** Hera gets this treatment even more so. In the original myth, Heracles was not Hera's child and was a product of her husband cheating on her. Feeling spiteful, Hera actively sabotaged his life and tried to make his suffer, even [[spoiler:forcing him to kill his own family]]. Here, Hercules is ''her'' son and no mention of Zeus cheating on her is ever brought up, so the adaptation portraying Hera as the kind, patient and level-headed of the two. Even in the episode "Hercules and the Return of Typhon" it is revealed that [[spoiler:she was the one who threw the lightning bolt that led to Typhon's defeat and that she allowed Zeus to take the credit for image reasons]].

** Poseidon, the father of the main character Percy, is portrayed as a bit kinder than he was in original mythology. That said "Percy Jackson and the Greek Gods" mentions that today he'd probably get arrested for what he did to Demeter.
** Generally the gods of the Riordanverse (which include the Egyptian and Norse Gods) are not shown to be lacking flaws, but a number of them show themselves to be nicer than their original tellings, be it from personal growth or sidestepping their faults. Even Gods generally shown to be evil or unpleasant, like Ares, Set, and Loki, are not depicted as utterly beyond sympathy or positives.

* Myth/NorseMythology is rather weird about this. The chief god in recorded mythology, Odin, is more of a death-god figure and a trickster, inverting this in every possible way. However, Týr, whose name is etymologically related to Zeus, might have been the original TopGod, and he is definitely a honorable person, sacrificing his own hand to imprison Fenrir. The sun (Sól or Sunna) meanwhile is a goddess that doesn't really do anything besides being eaten by wolves at the end of the world, though there is evidence to suggest that she was once a highly revered deity among the Norse.

* The ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'' series [[PlayingWithATrope plays with this idea.]] In the first game Zeus is essentially the GreaterScopeParagon, serving as a benevolent ally to Kratos who helps him both overtly and subtly. The second and third games however set Zeus up as the BigBad, driven mad with fear and paranoia that Kratos [[spoiler:his son]] will usurp his throne. As it turns out, [[spoiler:Zeus only became a villain after Kratos opened Pandora's Box and infected him with the evil of Fear... it's implied he was still something of a [[JerkassGods Jerkass God]] even before this (as he was still a ruthless, adulterous tyrant) but Kratos managed to [[NiceJobBreakingItHero exacerbate his flaws and turned him into a monster.]]]]

** Meridia is a [[OurGodsAreDifferent Daedric Prince]] whose sphere is obscured to mortals, but is associated with LifeEnergy, [[LightIsNotGood Light]], and [[ProudBeauty Beauty]]. As such, she has an extreme hatred for anything undead. Rainbows are common symbols of Meridia, and she typically takes the form of a [[ProudBeauty beautiful woman]], sometimes with [[WingedHumanoid angel-like wings]]. She is one of the more benevolent Daedric Princes, as well as one of the few to be almost universally considered "good" by mortals. That said, Meridia has been known to [[DisproportionateRetribution express her anger toward those who earn her displeasure in very nasty ways]]. She [[KnightTemplar has no compunction against]] causing [[WhatIsOneMansLifeInComparison collateral damage]] in her quest to eliminate anything undead, and makes it clear that [[GoodIsNotNice any "good" she does is purely to further her own causes]]. She is also very vindictive if you reject her or [[TautologicalTemplar question the morality of her actions]] in any way. Her plane, the Colored Rooms, is a colorful realm of vast floating stones, strewn about with trails of colorful dust and clouds. The "ground" between the stones looks like luminescent water, but is solid enough to walk on.

* The Pantheon that resides in Anor Londo in ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsI'' are all associated with fire, light and the Sun. Gwyn, Lord of Sunlight, is the patriarch of the old royal family and king of Anor London who rallied his armies and, with the help of the Lord Souls and the other lords, staged a full-on attack on the Everlasting Dragons and brought about the Age of Fire. In-universe, they are worshipped as gods, but as the player continues, they find out that he was in reality manipulative and deceitful, [[spoiler:having tainted TheSacredDarkness by branding the dark sign on the loyal pygmies and making the dark the scary monstrous thing that it is today and committing "the first sin" by linking the fire]], creating the CrapsackWorld that the games take place in.

** While Zeus wasn't the most empathetic of the Greek deities and was undoubtedly a terrible husband, he can be considered a relatively good parent. Granted, he cheated on Hera unceasingly, but he was shown to love the sons produced by these infidelities and often protected them from the rage of his wife, who could be ridiculously vengeful despite the rightfulness of her indignation and liked to vent it on the innocent bastards. Keep in mind also that there is a clear disconnect from how the myths portrayed him and how the Ancient Greeks saw him, with many a philosopher disdaining the myths for tainting Zeus' reputation.
** Helios (the charioteer of the Sun) is one of the more positively portrayed gods of Greek myth, probably because the best-known myth features him forced by his own oath to give his son Phaeton the reins of the sun chariot, leading to Phaeton's death. That said, he's also the father and grandfather of witches, lending his power to Circe and Medea, and the Ancient Greeks generally avoided outright sun worship.

* Inverted for Huitzilopochtli, the [[Myth/AztecMythology Aztec]] sun god. The Aztec's infamous reputation for HumanSacrifice came from their rituals in which still-beating hearts were offered to him so as to give him the strength to prevent eternal night from covering the land. And yet the threat of daylight ending forever wasn't enough to prevent the Aztecs' vassals (from who the sacrifices were taken) from joining the conquistadors.
* Myth/NorseMythology is rather weird about this. The chief god in recorded mythology, Odin, is more of a death-god figure and a trickster, inverting this in every possible way. However, Týr, whose name is etymologically related to Zeus, might have been the original TopGod, and he is definitely a honorable person, sacrificing his own hand to imprison Fenrir. The sun (Sól or Sunna) meanwhile is a goddess that doesn't really do anything besides being eaten by wolves at the end of the world, though there is evidence to suggest that she was once a highly revered deity among the norse.

* The ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'' series [[PlayingWithATrope plays with this idea.]] In the first game Zeus is essentially the GreaterScopeParagon, serving as a benevolent ally to Kratos who helps him both overtly and subtly. The second and third games however set Zeus up as the BigBad, driven mad with fear and paranoia that Kratos [[spoiler:his son]] will usurp his throne. As it turns out, [[spoiler:Zeus only became a villain after Kratos opened Pandora's Box and infected him with the evil of Fear... it's implied he was still something of a [[JerkassGods Jerkass God]] even before this (as he was still a ruthless, adulterous tyrant) but Kratos managed to exacerbate his flaws and turn him into a monster.]]

* The ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'' series [[PlayingWithATrope plays with this idea.]] In the first game Zeus is essentially the GreaterScopeParagon, serving as a benevolent ally to Kratos who helps him both overtly and subtly. The second and third games however set Zeus up as the BigBad, driven mad with fear and paranoia that Kratos [[spoiler:his son]] will usurp his throne. As it turns out, [[spoiler:Zeus only became a villain after Kratos opened Pandora's Box and infected him with the evil of Fear... although it's implied he was still something of a [[JerkassGods Jerkass God]] even before this]], but Kratos exacerbated the problem and turned him into a monster.]]

* The ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'' series [[PlayingWithATrope plays with this idea.]] In the first game Zeus is essentially the GreaterScopeParagon, serving as a benevolent ally to Kratos who helps him both overtly and subtly. The second and third games however set Zeus up as the BigBad, driven mad with fear and paranoia that Kratos [[spoiler:his son]] will usurp his throne. As it turns out, [[spoiler:Zeus only became a monster after Kratos opened Pandora's Box and infected him with the evil of Fear.]]

Light can blind and light is good. And by "light is good", I mean it is good you aren't struck down by light''ning''.

* Subverted big time for ''TabletopGames/MagicTheGathering'' 's Heliod, Theros' god of the sun. When the Theros block first came around, he seemed like an upstanding, moral Zeus-analogue, even championing Elspeth as his hero. Then ''Literature/{{Godsend}} Part 1'' came along and showed how much of a cruel, petty tyrant he was, and it went downhill when ''Part 2'' came out and he [[spoiler:murdered her out of jealousy and spite]]. Now he's easily one of ''Magic'''s greatest {{Hate Sink}}s.

Compare {{Disneyfication}}, GodIsGood, JesusWasWayCool and LightIsGood.

[[caption-width-right:350:Tyrant. Hypocrite. Adulterer. Rapist. Kinslayer. [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Family Man.]]]]

** Meridia is a [[OurGodsAreDifferent Daedric Prince]] whose sphere is obscured to mortals, but is associated with LifeEnergy, [[LightIsNotGood Light]], and [[ProudBeauty Beauty]]. As such, she has an extreme hatred for anything undead. Rainbows are common symbols of Meridia, and she typically takes the form of a [[ProudBeauty beautiful woman]], sometimes with [[WingedHumanoid angel-like wings]]. She is one of the more benevolent Daedric Princes, as well as one of the few to be almost universally considered "good" by mortals. That said, Meridia has been known to [[DisproportionateRetribution express her anger toward those who earn her displeasure in very nasty ways]]. She [[KnightTemplar has no compunction against]] causing [[WhatIsOneMansLifeInComparison collateral damage]] in her quest to eliminate anything undead, and makes it clear that [[GoodIsNotNice any "good" she does is purely to further her own causes]]. She is also very vindictive if you reject her or [[TautologicalTemplar question the morality of her actions]] in any way. Meridia is believed to have originally been one of the Magna-Ge, the "Star Orphans" who abandoned the creation of Mundus part way through along with Magnus. She was then [[FallenAngel cast out]] of [[SpiritWorld Aetherius]] for consorting with "illicit spectra", implied to be the Daedra. After the Daedra complained of her "trespassing" in Oblivion, Meridia, [[HeroicWillpower through sheer force of will]], "bent and shaped" the rays of Magnus (the sun) to create her own [[EldritchLocation Daedric realm]] in Oblivion, known as the Colored Rooms. It is a colorful realm of vast floating stones, strewn about with trails of colorful dust and clouds. The "ground" between the stones looks like luminescent water, but is solid enough to walk on.
** Kynareth is one of the Aedra, the et'Ada ("original spirits") who made sacrifices during the creation of Mundus, the mortal plane. She is a prominent member of the Nine Divines, a SaintlyChurch considered far more benevolent than any Daedric Prince. The Nords worship her as "Kyne", the shieldmaiden, [[WarGod war goddess]], and weather goddess. She is one of the most beloved of the gods, with Nords invoking her name to grant them strength in battle and carry them to [[WarriorHeaven Sovngarde]] if they fall. In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'', when one character abandons her worship of Kyne after realizing what a blatant Catch22Dilemma this is [[note]]Fight without hesitation and if you live, Kyne blessed you. If you lose, Kyne blesses your spirit.[[/note]], she is unambiguously regarded as wrong by even her own son. Even though he only survived a HopelessWar because of cowardice and desertion, he vows to return to battle if Kyne spares his mother and gives her a chance to become faithful again.