They were not only the fathers of individual gods and heroes, but also of nations. One of Odin’s epithets, meanwhile, was the All-Father. Zeus was the literal father of many gods and heroes and also acted in a paternal role to those Olympians who did not have parents. Zeus and Odin were also looked at as father figures in mythology. They were similarly pictured with the trappings of wisdom and authority – a long gray beard and authoritative build. The Greek Zeus and the Norse OdinĪt a glance, Odin and Thor seem to be remarkably similar.īoth were the kings of their respective pantheons. In Norse mythology, Odin’s son is even more similar to the Olympian king than Odin himself. There was a Norse god who used his powerful frame to throw lightning at his enemies, however. While he hurled thunder down from Olympus, Odin walked among men in search of hidden knowledge. While Zeus was a master of the sky, Odin walked the line between the realms of the living and the dead. Odin is often dressed more simply than regally and lacks Zeus’s iconic thunderbolts. There are noticeable differences, however. Both were shown as wise, bearded men who exercised paternal authority in their realms. Images of the two gods seem remarkably similar. Jupiter wasn’t off to a winning start.Odin and Zeus were both kings of their pantheons, Odin in Northern Europe and Zeus in Greece. Despite Jupiter’s best attempts to sabotage her, Venus succeeded and earned the right to stay on Earth. All Venus had to do was find the perfect couple and keep them together for a week. Furious, Jupiter reappeared and, having failed to order Venus back to Olympus, set her a typically fiendish challenge. In one story from 1949, Venus relocated Olympus to the planet Venus in Zeus’ absence before boredom drove the goddess back to Earth in search of love. Oddly, Hercules had pleaded with his Jupiter to be reborn from the Norse realm of Valhalla.ĭuring the Golden Age, Jupiter took a more significant role in Timely Comics, supporting the stories of the goddess Venus - the Roman name for the goddess of love Aphrodite, from which the romantic comic took its name. The demigod hero was granted a new life on Earth by his father. American comics were understandably tackling the very real rise of evil in Europe at the time, and Simon and Kirby, who would create Captain America a year later, tested the concept with Marvel Boy.

He played a bit part in Joe Simon and Jack Kirby’s Daring Mystery Comics #6 in 1940.

The blending of mythology was part of the deal from Jupiter’s first Timely appearance.

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