Is Zeus Also Known as Jupiter?
Yes! Zeus is known to the Greeks as Zeus, but to the Romans they know him as Jupiter. Zeus and Jupiter are incredibly similar deities, and it is known that the Roman civilization inherited much of their religion from the Greeks and the Etruscans (who had already been Hellenized and worshiped seven of the Greek gods themselves).
Zeus and Jupiter are both gods of the sky, the king of the gods, gods of lightning, gods of thunder, and are known to be incredibly powerful–beyond most other things in the cosmos. These are all direct similarities, but there are also some differences.
How Are Zeus And Jupiter Different?
Despite all of their similarities and related origin in the exchange of ideas among mankind, there are actually differences between Zeus and Jupiter. Here is the biggest difference between the two of them.
Their involvement in the affairs of man differs greatly. Typically, it was considered that Zeus was very directly involved with what man did. Zeus may do something like pick a side during a war or favor a hero, and he would care for what men did in their personal, individual lives and how they treated others around them.
However, the Romans considered Jupiter very uninvolved in public affairs. They considered Jupiter very distant to them and did not think Jupiter would waste his time caring about what they did every day or how they acted towards each other. The lower classes of Roman society did sometimes invoke Jupiter as being on their side and protest to the upper classes for better treatment, but that was about it.
Another big difference between Jupiter and Zeus are their flaws. Jupiter is not typically presented with any flaws at all, because the Romans saw their deities as flawless beings. Zeus is presented as a flawed character quite often by the ancient Greek authors, he has emotions and choices much like man but on a different scale and in a different framework.
Why Is Zeus Sometimes Called Jupiter?
Zeus is sometimes called Jupiter because Jupiter is his name in the Roman religion. Both of their names trace back to an Indo-European root, a deity named Dyeus Pater (Father Creator).
Zeus and Jupiter are also sometimes referred to by authors with the name Jove. Jove was what the Romans originally called Jupiter in the really ancient form of their religion.
Who Is More Powerful, Zeus Or Jupiter?
This is a difficult question, as they are nearly identical in story and ability. However, Jupiter is more directly associated with the planet named after him so it is possible that you could take that into account and say that this aspect of the deity is superior.
Of course, that’s only one possibility. I argue that Zeus is the more powerful aspect of the deity because of his battle with Typhon. Typhon was a very incredible monster, and their battle destroyed the world to such a degree that the deities had to rebuild it. In fact, Typhon was so strong and hard to kill that their battle held the potential to destroy the world several times over.