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Many of the Greek gods were bisexual. Did Zeus have any male lovers?

cmw
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2 Answers2

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It seems there is only one: Ganymede.

I've consulted these sources for a list of Zeus' lovers:

Here are his lovers, in alphabetical order:

  • Aegina, a nymph
  • Alcmene, princess of Mycenae by whom Zeus fathered Heracles
  • Callisto, a nymph
  • Danaë, princess of Argos by whom Zeus fathered Perseus
  • Demeter, goddess of the harvest
  • Dione, a Titaness
  • Electra, princess of Mycenae
  • Eurynome, an Oceanide and Zeus' third bride, mother of the Charities
  • Europa, a Phoenician woman
  • Ganymede, Trojan hero
  • Hera, Zeus' sister and first wife
  • Io, a priestess of Hera in Argos
  • Leda, a Spartan queen
  • Leto, Titan goddess of motherhood
  • Maia, one of the Pleiades
  • Metis, a Titaness
  • Mnemosyne, Titan goddess of time, and mother with Zeus of the Nine Muses
  • Nemesis, goddess of revenge
  • Persephone, Zeus' daughter
  • Semele, princess of Thebes by whom Zeus fathered Dionysus
  • Taygete, a nymph and one of the Pleiades
  • Themis, Titan goddess of law

Again, Ganymede is the only male on this list. But given Zeus' romantic eclecticism, it's probably safe to assume he's not the only actual male lover. The earliest version of the myth (in the Iliad) doesn't claim they were lovers, however.

Mr. Bultitude
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    I would like to see the proof he was zeus' lover. Rather odd to have just one male. He was always portrayed as Zeus' cupberarer – Fey Ray Jun 18 '16 at 22:53
  • @Fey I don't have proof myself. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. Hopefully this new question will get some love. – Mr. Bultitude Jun 29 '16 at 18:51
  • @Fey Ray, check out in Homer's, Iliad, Book XX, lines 233-235: it sums up that the reason Zeus choose Ganymede was because he was the best looking of all mortals, and therefore should be among the immortals. – user12711 Sep 05 '17 at 20:31
  • It does not claim and possibly they became lovers the same time when homosexualism was popular among greeks. – rus9384 Oct 15 '17 at 19:25
  • @FeyRay https://mythology.stackexchange.com/questions/1773/what-is-the-earliest-source-to-claim-that-zeus-and-ganymede-were-lovers – cmw Jun 18 '23 at 00:06
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While the vast majority of Zeus's lovers were female, one of Zeus's lovers was the mortal Ganymede.

Ganymede is noted as the only one of Zeus's lovers to whom he granted immortality.

Robert Longson
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