Unlike many Greek divinities, the origins of Zeus' name are undisputed. "Zeus"
is connected with an ancient Indo-European deity Dyeus, which roughly translates
as 'sky', 'day' (as opposed to night) and 'clear'. All of these point to his
role as a god of the heavens, the sky and thunder.
IconographyAs the king of the Greek Gods, Zeus has been portrayed
endlessly in art, often with specific aspects or symbols to identify him and his
purpose. For example, early Classical vase paintings often show him throwing
thunderbolts, identifying him as a powerful warrior deity, affiliated with
Hephaestus the god of the forge and maker of thunderbolts (see figure 1).
However, as the classical period progressed, it became fashionable to depict
Zeus seated on a throne, holding a sceptre, often accompanied by the goddess
Nike, thus symbolising his role as king and patriarch of the gods (see figure
2). It is important to note, however, that Zeus was not considered to be a
tyrant and literature depicts him as fair and even-handed, especially
considering that one of his mani functions was the lord of Justice. Regardless
of his specific iconography, Zeus is always portrayed as an imposing man,
full-grown and with a beard - indicating his status as experienced patriarch of
the Olympian family, as opposed to other male deities such as Apollo and Hermes
who are often depicted as young men (ephebes) with no beards; erotically
appealing, but not powerful. Zeus' power is further indicated by his symbols of
the eagle, the bull and the full-grown oak tree.
BirthBefore the pantheon of Greek gods we are familiar with ruled atop
Olympus, an earlier generation of deities, known as Titans, held power. The
ruler of these divine beings was Cronus, son of Gaia (Mother Earth). Cronus'
mother had informed him that he would be usurped by one of his offspring who
would be tremendously powerful. Therefore, whenever Cronus' wife Rhea bore a
child he would swallow the newborn god to prevent them from overturning his
power. Having devoured Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades and Poseidon, Cronus was
tricked by his wife who, out of love for her child, bore Zeus in secret, while
offering a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes to Cronus in place of the baby.
Sources disagree as to the upbringing of Zeus, some saying he was raised by
Gaia, others by the Nymph Metis, still others maintain that he was brought up by
Amalthea the goat! Regardless, all sources agree that when he was fully grown,
Zeus returned to mount Olympus to confront his father.
Zeus Overturns CronusAgain, sources conflict on the details of the
encounter between Zeus and Cronus, some say that Metis administered an emetic
drug in order to make Cronus vomit up his devoured children, while others say
that Zeus cut open his father's stomach to release his brothers and sisters.
Zeus proceeded to free the Gigantes (100 handed giants), Cyclopes (one eyed
giants) and Hecatonchires (three giants each with fifty heads), all the siblings
of Cronus whom the tyrant had imprisoned in Tartarus. In thanks for their
freedom, the Cyclopes gave Zeus the knowledge of how to craft thunderbolts.
Armed with these weapons and aided by his brothers and sisters as well as the
freed giants, Zeus waged war on the Titans (this battle is popularly referred to
as the Titanomachy). The Titans were overthrown and relegated to Tartarus to be
punished for all eternity guarded by the Gigantes. Atlas, however, was singled
out for special punishment as he had been the joint-leader of the Titans (with
Cronus) and Zeus forced him to bear the weight of the sjk on his shoulders for
ever. Not all those of the generation of the Titans sided with Cronus; Oceanus
remained neutral, and Promethius is said to have been a great help to Zeus.
Having usurped the old gods, Zeus instated himself as the king of Olympus and
lord of the sky, delegating domains to his siblings (e.g. Poseidon was given
dominion over the sea and Hades control of the Underworld). The only beings
whom Zeus did not claim control over were Destiny and the Fates, who continued
to be infallible throughout the reign of Zeus, as can be seen in Homer's Iliad,
in which Zeus tells Thetis he cannot save her son's life for he is destined to
die.
GigantomachyFollowing the fall of the Titans, Zeus' grandmother, Gaia,
grew angry towards the new order of gods, either because she felt that the
Titans were being treated unfairly, or because she felt that she was not being
sufficiently honoured in the new Olympian regime. Therefore, in revenge, she
gave birth to a race of Giants; hideous creatures, gargantuan in size and
nigh-on invincible. Amongst the hordes were famous beasts such as Echidna and
Typhon. As soon as they were born, these giants launched an offensive on Mount
Olympus, forcing the gods to wage battle yet again. The giants attempted to
reach the heavens by stacking the mountains of Thessaly, Ossa and Pelion. The
gods stood against the giants, but would not have won if not for the aid of
Athene (who, some sources say, was born in the midst of the battle from Zeus'
head) and of Heracles, who struck the death-blow to Alcoyoneus, the leader of
the Giants. The Gigantomachy was a popular theme in Classical art, often
displayed on temples, such as the east metope of the Athenian Parthenon.
Zeus' WifeHaving established himself king of the gods, Zeus made his
sister Hera his wife and queen (and it is most probably because of this union
that Hera is known as the goddess of marriage). Hera is almost always portrayed
as Zeus' wife and can barely be considered a major mythological figure in hr own
right. She mostly appears as meddling in Zeus' affairs, often exacting fierce
revenge on her husband's lovers. A prime example of this is when Zeus fell in
love with Io and Hera, in full knowledge of this, forced Zeus to hide the truth
by transforming the girl into a cow (Aeschylus' Promethius Bound). Hera is also
known for having viciously attacked Zeus' illegitimate children, most infamously
Heracles, who she drove mad and caused to kill his own wife and children.
Zeus' Famous Lovers and ChildrenAside from Hera, Zeus' lovers were many
and varied, sometimes his affections falling to goddesses, others to mortal
women. As mentioned above, Zeus raped Io, and seems to have had quite a
penchant for young girls, going on to have relations with such maidens as Leto
(who mothered Helen of Troy), Alcmene (who mothered Heracles), Europa (who
mothered Minos and Sarpedon) and many other less notorious affairs are mentioned
throughout the mythological tradition. These women and children Hera was able
to persecute, however, when Zeus chose to lay with a goddess her ability to
punish was limited, and Zeus chose to lay with a goddess reasonably often.
Amongst his divine lovers were Leto (mother of Apollo and Artemis), Mnemosyne
(who gave birth to the nine Muses), Dione (mother of Aphrodite) and Demeter (who
bore Persephone). It has been theorised that these relationships went
unpunished as they were in some way universal and natural - Guerber suggests
that as Zeus was the god of the sky, his affairs with such beings as Dione
(moisture) were symbolic and no different from his relationship with Juno (the
atmosphere). It can thus be seen that Zeus' affairs with women were many and
almost always resulted in a child. Zeus' love, however, was not restricted to
women, as illustrated by the famous instance of Zeus, who was besotted with a
beautiful youth names Ganymede, abducting the boy and carrying him up to Olympus
to be the immortal cup-bearer to the gods and his consort. Although this kind
of behaviour could be seen as outrageous in today's society, the Athenian
practice of pederasty (in which an older male citizen would take under his wing
a young man/ephebe in order to introduce him into the ways of adult society
while conducting a sexual relationship) was common and a more or less essential
part of a young man's pubescence. Thus, in this myth, Zeus can be seen to be
taking on the role not of lecherous rapist as in the case of his relationships
with mortal women, but of a mature, responsible citizen male, inducting a naive
boy into the ways of the society of the gods.
Zeus and MankindThe regard in which Zeus held man is unclear, as
different myths involving Zeus' relationship and encounters with humankind offer
varied evidence. For example, in the famous myth of Promethius and Pandora,
Zeus forbids man to be given fire as Zeus wishes to keep it for the gods and to
prevent humans from advancing by gaining the methods with which to cook food,
forge tools and keep warm. When Promethius disobeyed this decree by stealing a
spark of divine fire and giving it to men, Zeus chained the titan and punished
him by having an eagle peck out his liver every day. Not satisfied with
punishing Promethius, Zeus also had his fellow gods craft the first woman,
Pandora, and gave her to the world with a box she was never to open. However,
Zeus had given her intense curiosity, thus leading to her being unable to follow
instruction and opening the box, releasing all the evils of the world to plague
mankind. While this story would suggest Zeus had great animosity towards
mankind on the whole, it seems as though later in the development of the human
race Zeus' feelings softened, as displayed by the story of Philemon and Baucis.
According to Guerber's version of the myth, Zeus would often visit earth,
assuming some disguise, and visit men in order to ascertain the state of the
world first-hand. One day, Zeus deigned to visit the poor but pious couple
Philemon and Baucis. When Zeus arrived in the guise of a mortal, the couple
were eager to show hospitality according to the laws of xenia (a specific code
of guest-friendship dictating how to care for a guest, incidentally Zeus was the
guardian of strangers and the enforcer of xenia) and they chose to kill their
last goose to feed their guest. Seeing their generosity Zeus revealed himself
and granted them both long life in the service of the gods as was their wish,
and when they died Zeus transformed them both into oak trees who stood in front
of his temple for centuries.
Zeus' CultAlthough, as the major god of the Greek pantheon, Zeus had
cult sites all over Greece, his largest and most famous panhellenic precinct was
at Olympia. It was at this site that the Ancient Olympic games originated, and
men from all over Greece would collect there in order to compete against each
other for their own honour and that of their city state. These games were
highly politicised, with often warring cities competing against each other for
the glory and prestige of victory. In fact, although it was normal for
panhellenic precincts to have treasuries in which to keep the votive offerings
of different cities, the treasuries at Olympia were situated on the main road
through the site, thus encouraging gifts as no city wanted to be shown-up by
their neighbours for not having given sufficient gifts. The temple of Zeus at
Olympia was the home of the famous statue of Zeus (see Figure 2) now lost, it
was one of the wonders of the ancient world and Pausanias (an ancient Greek
travel writer) urges any visitor to Olympia to experience it.
The cult site
of Olympia may have been the largest in existence, but there were other sites
all over Greece, each with slightly different ideas about Zeus, his role and how
one should worship him. For instance, Herodotus tells us that Zeus was often
perceived as a weather god, and thus his worship was often concentrated on
mountaintops, close to the sky. The most important of Zeus' mountain-sites was,
of course, Mount Olympus, although there is no archaeological evidence for a
peak-sanctuary, it is likely there was either some sort of precinct on the
mountainside, or that Olympian rituals were carried out there. Such sanctuaries
have, however, been excavated elsewhere, e.g. on Mount Hymettus, and it appears
as though these were mostly associated with rain rituals.
Albeit rarely, Zeus
is sometimes referred to in ritual contexts as 'he who signals' or 'he of the
omens', thus suggesting that he performed some sort of Oracular role. As Zeus
was an embodiment of Fate amongst other things, it seems appropriate that he be
asked for omens rather than specific divine favours as no amount of prayer will
enable Zeus to go against the course of Fate. This aspect of Zeus is further
illustrated by a few oracular sites, at Dodona in Epirus (reported to be the
oldest oracle in the Greek world, active until the late Hellestic eraas well as
at Siwa in Egypt. Hornblower states that the priests of the oracle would
interpret messages given by the god, in the forms of the flight paths of birds
in and around the holy oak trees, divination by drawing lots (cleromancy), by
the sounds of a gong and/or the song of nearby birds.
As mentioned above,
Zeus was traditionally represented as a fully grown man. The cult on Crete,
however, appears to have worshipped Zeus as an ephebe as all the art depicting
him shows a long-haired youth on the verge of manhood.
Zeus' Numerous rolesZeus, like most of the gods of the Greek pantheon,
had many roles and epithets aside from his main function as weather god and king
of Olympus. His title Zeus Panhellenios shows his applicability to all of
Greece as it literally translates as "Zeus of all the Hellenes". As mentioned
above, Zeus was the lord and enforcer of Xenia, leading to him having the name
of Zeus Xenios, the patron deity of hospitality, guest-friendship and punisher
of all those who violated the laws of xenia. In addition, Zeus Agoraios kept
watch over business dealings at the marketplace (agora) and was ready to punish
rogues, thieves and unfair traders. A further aspect of Zeus was as the keeper
of oaths and punisher of those who violated those oaths. As a result, oaths
were often sworn by 'almighty Zeus' and people who violated the terms of their
oaths were made to
Zeus the man?Euhemerism is the method of interpretation which seeks to
rationalise the fantastical in order to make it more understandable and
hopefully reveal an indication as to the truth behind such stories. The founder
of this school of thought, Euhemerus, proposed the idea that Zeus was not a god
at all, but rather that he was a king, who had been glorified after his death,
probably with some sort of extravagant funerary monument, and his fame had led
to the stories of his life being distorted until he was eventually turned into a
deity in the minds of subsequent generations.
is connected with an ancient Indo-European deity Dyeus, which roughly translates
as 'sky', 'day' (as opposed to night) and 'clear'. All of these point to his
role as a god of the heavens, the sky and thunder.
IconographyAs the king of the Greek Gods, Zeus has been portrayed
endlessly in art, often with specific aspects or symbols to identify him and his
purpose. For example, early Classical vase paintings often show him throwing
thunderbolts, identifying him as a powerful warrior deity, affiliated with
Hephaestus the god of the forge and maker of thunderbolts (see figure 1).
However, as the classical period progressed, it became fashionable to depict
Zeus seated on a throne, holding a sceptre, often accompanied by the goddess
Nike, thus symbolising his role as king and patriarch of the gods (see figure
2). It is important to note, however, that Zeus was not considered to be a
tyrant and literature depicts him as fair and even-handed, especially
considering that one of his mani functions was the lord of Justice. Regardless
of his specific iconography, Zeus is always portrayed as an imposing man,
full-grown and with a beard - indicating his status as experienced patriarch of
the Olympian family, as opposed to other male deities such as Apollo and Hermes
who are often depicted as young men (ephebes) with no beards; erotically
appealing, but not powerful. Zeus' power is further indicated by his symbols of
the eagle, the bull and the full-grown oak tree.
BirthBefore the pantheon of Greek gods we are familiar with ruled atop
Olympus, an earlier generation of deities, known as Titans, held power. The
ruler of these divine beings was Cronus, son of Gaia (Mother Earth). Cronus'
mother had informed him that he would be usurped by one of his offspring who
would be tremendously powerful. Therefore, whenever Cronus' wife Rhea bore a
child he would swallow the newborn god to prevent them from overturning his
power. Having devoured Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades and Poseidon, Cronus was
tricked by his wife who, out of love for her child, bore Zeus in secret, while
offering a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes to Cronus in place of the baby.
Sources disagree as to the upbringing of Zeus, some saying he was raised by
Gaia, others by the Nymph Metis, still others maintain that he was brought up by
Amalthea the goat! Regardless, all sources agree that when he was fully grown,
Zeus returned to mount Olympus to confront his father.
Zeus Overturns CronusAgain, sources conflict on the details of the
encounter between Zeus and Cronus, some say that Metis administered an emetic
drug in order to make Cronus vomit up his devoured children, while others say
that Zeus cut open his father's stomach to release his brothers and sisters.
Zeus proceeded to free the Gigantes (100 handed giants), Cyclopes (one eyed
giants) and Hecatonchires (three giants each with fifty heads), all the siblings
of Cronus whom the tyrant had imprisoned in Tartarus. In thanks for their
freedom, the Cyclopes gave Zeus the knowledge of how to craft thunderbolts.
Armed with these weapons and aided by his brothers and sisters as well as the
freed giants, Zeus waged war on the Titans (this battle is popularly referred to
as the Titanomachy). The Titans were overthrown and relegated to Tartarus to be
punished for all eternity guarded by the Gigantes. Atlas, however, was singled
out for special punishment as he had been the joint-leader of the Titans (with
Cronus) and Zeus forced him to bear the weight of the sjk on his shoulders for
ever. Not all those of the generation of the Titans sided with Cronus; Oceanus
remained neutral, and Promethius is said to have been a great help to Zeus.
Having usurped the old gods, Zeus instated himself as the king of Olympus and
lord of the sky, delegating domains to his siblings (e.g. Poseidon was given
dominion over the sea and Hades control of the Underworld). The only beings
whom Zeus did not claim control over were Destiny and the Fates, who continued
to be infallible throughout the reign of Zeus, as can be seen in Homer's Iliad,
in which Zeus tells Thetis he cannot save her son's life for he is destined to
die.
GigantomachyFollowing the fall of the Titans, Zeus' grandmother, Gaia,
grew angry towards the new order of gods, either because she felt that the
Titans were being treated unfairly, or because she felt that she was not being
sufficiently honoured in the new Olympian regime. Therefore, in revenge, she
gave birth to a race of Giants; hideous creatures, gargantuan in size and
nigh-on invincible. Amongst the hordes were famous beasts such as Echidna and
Typhon. As soon as they were born, these giants launched an offensive on Mount
Olympus, forcing the gods to wage battle yet again. The giants attempted to
reach the heavens by stacking the mountains of Thessaly, Ossa and Pelion. The
gods stood against the giants, but would not have won if not for the aid of
Athene (who, some sources say, was born in the midst of the battle from Zeus'
head) and of Heracles, who struck the death-blow to Alcoyoneus, the leader of
the Giants. The Gigantomachy was a popular theme in Classical art, often
displayed on temples, such as the east metope of the Athenian Parthenon.
Zeus' WifeHaving established himself king of the gods, Zeus made his
sister Hera his wife and queen (and it is most probably because of this union
that Hera is known as the goddess of marriage). Hera is almost always portrayed
as Zeus' wife and can barely be considered a major mythological figure in hr own
right. She mostly appears as meddling in Zeus' affairs, often exacting fierce
revenge on her husband's lovers. A prime example of this is when Zeus fell in
love with Io and Hera, in full knowledge of this, forced Zeus to hide the truth
by transforming the girl into a cow (Aeschylus' Promethius Bound). Hera is also
known for having viciously attacked Zeus' illegitimate children, most infamously
Heracles, who she drove mad and caused to kill his own wife and children.
Zeus' Famous Lovers and ChildrenAside from Hera, Zeus' lovers were many
and varied, sometimes his affections falling to goddesses, others to mortal
women. As mentioned above, Zeus raped Io, and seems to have had quite a
penchant for young girls, going on to have relations with such maidens as Leto
(who mothered Helen of Troy), Alcmene (who mothered Heracles), Europa (who
mothered Minos and Sarpedon) and many other less notorious affairs are mentioned
throughout the mythological tradition. These women and children Hera was able
to persecute, however, when Zeus chose to lay with a goddess her ability to
punish was limited, and Zeus chose to lay with a goddess reasonably often.
Amongst his divine lovers were Leto (mother of Apollo and Artemis), Mnemosyne
(who gave birth to the nine Muses), Dione (mother of Aphrodite) and Demeter (who
bore Persephone). It has been theorised that these relationships went
unpunished as they were in some way universal and natural - Guerber suggests
that as Zeus was the god of the sky, his affairs with such beings as Dione
(moisture) were symbolic and no different from his relationship with Juno (the
atmosphere). It can thus be seen that Zeus' affairs with women were many and
almost always resulted in a child. Zeus' love, however, was not restricted to
women, as illustrated by the famous instance of Zeus, who was besotted with a
beautiful youth names Ganymede, abducting the boy and carrying him up to Olympus
to be the immortal cup-bearer to the gods and his consort. Although this kind
of behaviour could be seen as outrageous in today's society, the Athenian
practice of pederasty (in which an older male citizen would take under his wing
a young man/ephebe in order to introduce him into the ways of adult society
while conducting a sexual relationship) was common and a more or less essential
part of a young man's pubescence. Thus, in this myth, Zeus can be seen to be
taking on the role not of lecherous rapist as in the case of his relationships
with mortal women, but of a mature, responsible citizen male, inducting a naive
boy into the ways of the society of the gods.
Zeus and MankindThe regard in which Zeus held man is unclear, as
different myths involving Zeus' relationship and encounters with humankind offer
varied evidence. For example, in the famous myth of Promethius and Pandora,
Zeus forbids man to be given fire as Zeus wishes to keep it for the gods and to
prevent humans from advancing by gaining the methods with which to cook food,
forge tools and keep warm. When Promethius disobeyed this decree by stealing a
spark of divine fire and giving it to men, Zeus chained the titan and punished
him by having an eagle peck out his liver every day. Not satisfied with
punishing Promethius, Zeus also had his fellow gods craft the first woman,
Pandora, and gave her to the world with a box she was never to open. However,
Zeus had given her intense curiosity, thus leading to her being unable to follow
instruction and opening the box, releasing all the evils of the world to plague
mankind. While this story would suggest Zeus had great animosity towards
mankind on the whole, it seems as though later in the development of the human
race Zeus' feelings softened, as displayed by the story of Philemon and Baucis.
According to Guerber's version of the myth, Zeus would often visit earth,
assuming some disguise, and visit men in order to ascertain the state of the
world first-hand. One day, Zeus deigned to visit the poor but pious couple
Philemon and Baucis. When Zeus arrived in the guise of a mortal, the couple
were eager to show hospitality according to the laws of xenia (a specific code
of guest-friendship dictating how to care for a guest, incidentally Zeus was the
guardian of strangers and the enforcer of xenia) and they chose to kill their
last goose to feed their guest. Seeing their generosity Zeus revealed himself
and granted them both long life in the service of the gods as was their wish,
and when they died Zeus transformed them both into oak trees who stood in front
of his temple for centuries.
Zeus' CultAlthough, as the major god of the Greek pantheon, Zeus had
cult sites all over Greece, his largest and most famous panhellenic precinct was
at Olympia. It was at this site that the Ancient Olympic games originated, and
men from all over Greece would collect there in order to compete against each
other for their own honour and that of their city state. These games were
highly politicised, with often warring cities competing against each other for
the glory and prestige of victory. In fact, although it was normal for
panhellenic precincts to have treasuries in which to keep the votive offerings
of different cities, the treasuries at Olympia were situated on the main road
through the site, thus encouraging gifts as no city wanted to be shown-up by
their neighbours for not having given sufficient gifts. The temple of Zeus at
Olympia was the home of the famous statue of Zeus (see Figure 2) now lost, it
was one of the wonders of the ancient world and Pausanias (an ancient Greek
travel writer) urges any visitor to Olympia to experience it.
The cult site
of Olympia may have been the largest in existence, but there were other sites
all over Greece, each with slightly different ideas about Zeus, his role and how
one should worship him. For instance, Herodotus tells us that Zeus was often
perceived as a weather god, and thus his worship was often concentrated on
mountaintops, close to the sky. The most important of Zeus' mountain-sites was,
of course, Mount Olympus, although there is no archaeological evidence for a
peak-sanctuary, it is likely there was either some sort of precinct on the
mountainside, or that Olympian rituals were carried out there. Such sanctuaries
have, however, been excavated elsewhere, e.g. on Mount Hymettus, and it appears
as though these were mostly associated with rain rituals.
Albeit rarely, Zeus
is sometimes referred to in ritual contexts as 'he who signals' or 'he of the
omens', thus suggesting that he performed some sort of Oracular role. As Zeus
was an embodiment of Fate amongst other things, it seems appropriate that he be
asked for omens rather than specific divine favours as no amount of prayer will
enable Zeus to go against the course of Fate. This aspect of Zeus is further
illustrated by a few oracular sites, at Dodona in Epirus (reported to be the
oldest oracle in the Greek world, active until the late Hellestic eraas well as
at Siwa in Egypt. Hornblower states that the priests of the oracle would
interpret messages given by the god, in the forms of the flight paths of birds
in and around the holy oak trees, divination by drawing lots (cleromancy), by
the sounds of a gong and/or the song of nearby birds.
As mentioned above,
Zeus was traditionally represented as a fully grown man. The cult on Crete,
however, appears to have worshipped Zeus as an ephebe as all the art depicting
him shows a long-haired youth on the verge of manhood.
Zeus' Numerous rolesZeus, like most of the gods of the Greek pantheon,
had many roles and epithets aside from his main function as weather god and king
of Olympus. His title Zeus Panhellenios shows his applicability to all of
Greece as it literally translates as "Zeus of all the Hellenes". As mentioned
above, Zeus was the lord and enforcer of Xenia, leading to him having the name
of Zeus Xenios, the patron deity of hospitality, guest-friendship and punisher
of all those who violated the laws of xenia. In addition, Zeus Agoraios kept
watch over business dealings at the marketplace (agora) and was ready to punish
rogues, thieves and unfair traders. A further aspect of Zeus was as the keeper
of oaths and punisher of those who violated those oaths. As a result, oaths
were often sworn by 'almighty Zeus' and people who violated the terms of their
oaths were made to
Zeus the man?Euhemerism is the method of interpretation which seeks to
rationalise the fantastical in order to make it more understandable and
hopefully reveal an indication as to the truth behind such stories. The founder
of this school of thought, Euhemerus, proposed the idea that Zeus was not a god
at all, but rather that he was a king, who had been glorified after his death,
probably with some sort of extravagant funerary monument, and his fame had led
to the stories of his life being distorted until he was eventually turned into a
deity in the minds of subsequent generations.