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This 7 ft. 3 in. (2.22 m.) high marble statue of Zeus, from the second century A.D., was found near the north Monumental Nymphaeum at Perge. Here he is depicted as a mature man wearing a himation (a thick long cloak) and has sandals on his feet. An eagle, one of his symbols, is at his right foot. He may have had a staff or thunderbolt in his left hand.
In historic times Zeus was considered to be the father/king of the gods who ruled the universe. In particular, he was the god of the sky and thunder. He "ruled" from Mount Olympus in northern Greece and his symbols were the thunderbolt, eagle, bull, and oak. Hera was his wife—but he was very unfaithful! Often disguising himself (as an eagle, satyr, cloud, bull, swan, etc.) in order to have sex with mortal and immortal females.
His children included Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Aphrodite, Dionysus . . . .
His statue by Phidias (fifth century B.C.) at Olympia—the site of the ancient games, not Mount Olympia—was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
