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====Cronus and the Olympians====
Zeus was desperate to overthrow his father and he was guided by his grandmother Gaia. Cronus did not know that his youngest sone with Rhea was still alive. In some myths, Zeus became the cupbearer of his father. His mother gave him a powerful potion and Zeus was able to give it to his father, secretly. Well, the potion acted as an enema and Cronus threw up his five children whom he had swallowed. Immediately they rallied to the cause of their younger brother. From this time on there was going to be a war for control of the world.<ref>Hesiod, Theogony, 480-494</ref>. On one side was Cronus and his brother and sisters and they were known as the Titans. On the other side was Zeus and his brothers and sister, were known as the Olympiansand opposed the Titans. They were at a disadvantage and were outnumbered by the Titans. However, Zeus was ever-resourceful and had the secret support of his mother and grandmother. Then he freed some of the monsters and the Cyclopes that had been imprisoned by Cronus many years before. The Cyclopes were grateful and in return forge thunderbolts for Zeus. They also made a trident for Poseidon and a helmet for Hades. The future King of Olympus also released the Hecatonchires .<ref>Graves, Robert, The Greek Myths (Hamondsworth, Penguin Books, 1960), p 136</ref>. Soon the Olympians were ready to take on the Titans and this result in a war between the gods known as the Titanomachy. The best sources that we have for this myth are Hesiod, sadly several epics that were composed of the events were lost.
====Battle of the Gods====
Zeus began the war with his father, who was often portrayed as being increasingly old and feeble. The future ruler of Olympus was able to persuade the Titans, Prometheus and his mother to join him and his sisters and brothers. Zeus had a definite strategy, which was typical of him <ref> Homer, Odyssey. 3.374</ref>. He ordered the Hecatonchires, who had a hundred hands each to bombard the Titans with stones. Zeus then used his mighty bolts to strike the Titans. The Titans fought back fiercely under the leadership of Atlas. The war lasted for some ten years and the Olympians emerged triumphantly, and they came to control the cosmos. Zeus imprisoned all the Titans and Cronus in Tartarus. However, some of the Titans were allowed to escape this fate. Zeus was now the undisputed ruler of the world and he ruled with the support of his brothers and sisters. In some accounts, it is recorded that he felt so secure in his power that he allowed the release of all the Titans. However, he was far from secure and he still had many struggles. This according to poets such as Homer and Hesiod all took place before humans lived on earth. It should be noted that the Titan Prometheus made humans and not Zeus, who was not a creator god <ref>Burkert, Walter Greek Religion, (Harvard, Harvard University Press, 2000, section III).
