Over at Patheos Sunweaver posted a piece making light of Zeus.
In the comments FeistyKat remarked:
oh one other thing…Zeus was the youngest child…and yet he is the only one portrayed as gray haired in modern times. Many (if not all) ancient paintings portray his as dark haired. I think the gray hair is from associating him with the Christian concept of god. Just a personal opinion.
To which Sunweaver replied:
It’s more likely that the Greeks influenced the Romans who influenced the Christians. Pottery fragments are not a good indication of hair color, since you can only do so much with red and black. We fare no better with statues, since only a few have been analyzed to see what colors of paint were used. There are precious few mosaics, so there’s not really a way to know for certain how Zeus was viewed in the ancient world
Not quite.
We know that Zeus was envisioned with dark hair because we have literary sources on this:
Hesiod, Catalogues of Women Fragment 102
Elektra was subject to Zeus, the dark-clouded Son of Kronos.
Homer, Iliad 1.393
You only among the immortals beat aside a shameful destruction from the dark-misted Kronides that time when all the other Olympians sought to bind him.
Homer, Iliad 1.510-530
So she spoke; but Zeus, the cloud-gatherer, spoke no word to her, but sat a long time in silence. Yet Thetis, even as she had clasped his knees, so held to him, clinging close, and questioned him again a second time … The son of Kronos spoke, and bowed his blue-black (kuaneos) brow in assent, and the ambrosial locks waved from the king’s immortal head; and he made great Olympos quake.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 1.18.6
In Athens Hadrian the Roman emperor dedicated the temple of Zeus Olympios and the statue which is worth seeing since it’s size exceeds all other statues save the colossi at Rhodes and Rome, and is made of ivory and gold with an artistic skill which is truly remarkable when the size is taken into account.
Pausanias, Description of Greece 1.40.4-6
When you have entered the precinct of Zeus in Megara called the Olympieion you see a noteworthy temple. The face of the image of Zeus is of ivory and gold, the other parts are of clay and gypsum.
Furthermore, Zeus had the epikleseis Skotitas (murky dark), Aithiops (shiningly black), Konios (dusty), Maimaktês (darkly storming) among others.
And here are a selection of vase paintings clearly indicating dark hair:
In each instance Zeus is portrayed with black or brown hair of a shade similar to that of Hera, Ganymede, Herakles, etc. none of whom are traditionally represented as white or grey haired.
It’s quite false to suggest that the vase painters were incapable of representing white or grey – note the clothing these figures wear and note even more carefully the following set of images:
If the ancients had wanted to portray Zeus in this manner they could have. But they didn’t. In fact there were even cults that venerated a youthful Zeus:
Pausanias, Description of Greece 7.24.4
There are at Aigion other images made of bronze, Zeus as a boy and Herakles as a beardless youth, the work of Ageladas of Argos. Priests are elected for them every year, and each of the two images remains at the house of the priest. In a more remote age there was chosen to be priest for Zeus from the boys he who won the prize for beauty. When his beard began to grow the honor for beauty passed to another boy. Such were the customs.
Antoninus Liberalis, Metamorphoses 19
In Crete there is said to be a sacred cave full of bees. In it, as storytellers say, Rhea gave birth to Zeus; it is a sacred place an no one is to go near it, whether god or mortal. At the appointed time each year a great blaze is seen to come out of the cave. Their story goes on to say that this happens whenever the blood from the birth of Zeus begins to boil up. The sacred bees that were the nurses of Zeus occupy this cave.
The Hymn from the Sanctuary of Dictaean Zeus (no. 16), in Palaikastro
Io! most mighty youth, I salute you, son of Kronos,
almighty splendour, who stands as leader of the company of gods!
Come to Dikta at this New Year’s Day and take delight in the music,
(I) which we weave for you with harps, adding the sound of oboes,
which we sing having taken our stand around your well-walled altar.
Io! most mighty youth etc.
(II) For here it was that with their shield[s - - -]
received you, immortal babe out of Rhea’s hands, and [- - -]
Io! most mighty youth etc.
(III) [- - -] of the fair Dawn.
Io! most mighty youth etc.
(IV) [- - -] plentiful each year, and Justice ruled over mortals;
[- - -] living beings [- - -] by Peace which goes with prosperity.
Io! most mighty youth etc.
(V) [Come on, Lord! leap up for our he]rds and leap up for our fleecy [sheep];
leap up also [for the harvest] of corn, and for [our houses that there be] offspring.
Io! most mighty youth etc.
(VI) [Leap up also] for our cities, leap up also for our seafaring ships;
leap up also for the y[oung ci]tizens, leap up also for famous themis.
Io! most mighty youth etc.
I am not aware of a comparable cult to Zeus Γέρος – though after looking at this image perhaps there should be cause he looks totally bad-ass:
Tagged: zeus
