Hey everyone, welcome to Mythology Explained. In today's video, we're going to take a look at the five times Zeus came closest to dying, which is to say, as the notion of death pertains to gods, at the five times Zeus came closest to being permanently incapciated in some way, whether through banishment, imprisonment, or dismemberment - basically, five of the times Zeus came closest to either losing or never winning his crown.

Starting us off is the insurgency in which Hera, Athena, and Poseidon banded together to overthrow Zeus.

They staged a coup, managing to overcome Zeus and chain him up - whether through surprise, guile, or combined strength, is not specified. Thetis, Achilles' mother, saw what was happening, so she went and fetched Briareus, one of the Hecatonchires, the hundred-handers, the mere sight of whom subdued the gods attempting to supplant Zeus, causing them to immediately abandon their efforts without even the hint of a fight. Had Thetis not brought reinforcements, Zeus may have been deposed then and there, replaced by an oligarchy of gods.

Next we have Zeus' birth.

Cronus, the leader of the Titans and the lord of the Cosmos, learned of a prophecy, foretelling his downfall at the hands of one of his children. In an effort to forestall such an eventuality, Cronus swallowed each of his children as soon as they were born - his reasoning being that none of them could usurp him while they were imprisoned inside of him. Rhea, Cronus' wife, became more distraught with each child she lost, until she reached her breaking point. She couldn't bear to see her youngest child, Zeus, swallowed, so she swaddled a stone in baby's wrappings and proffered it to Cronus in Zeus' stead. Cronus, oblivious, not even suspecting that a ruse might be afoot, swallowed the stone without a moment's hesitation. Zeus was then raised in secret and, once he was in the bloom of manhood, made a triumphant return, but had his mother not made the switch, he very well might have spent an eternity in his father's stomach.

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