The serpent revered by the Balts, and beloved by the sun goddess, Saule.
Zanahary
The supreme god of the Madagascan pantheon, he made the earth but left it desolate. Then Ratovoantany shot up like a plant from the ground, and when Zanahary returned some time later, he found Ratovoantany drying clay figures of humans he had made. But Ratovoantany was unable to give the creatures he had made life, and Zanahary would only agree to do so if they lived in heaven. Ratovoantany wanted them to live on earth. A compromise was reached, whereby Zanahary gave the humans life, and they remained on the earth, but he was authorized to take back that life, and then the creatures would dwell with him in heaven. Zanahary's wife is Andriamanitra, queen of heaven.
Zeus
Zeus was the supreme god and ruler of Olympus. To the ancient Greeks, he became the undisputed master of the universe, and as the source of all heavenly manifestations, he caused rain, drought, good weather and bad weather. He commanded tempests and created storms, and nobody dared challenge his fearsome thunderbolts. (His Roman name was Jupiter) The representation of Zeus was a most noble one... mighty, glorious, often kind, awesome and wise, although he did show a certain degree of surprising foolishness and naïveté when it came to hiding his love affairs. Some historians attribute this less than noble behavior of the to the fact that Zeus was most likely a compilation of many "supreme gods" from different areas. (When his worship spread to an area which already worshipped another god, some of the previous god’s qualities as well as his wife or lover were transferred to Zeus). Zeus demanded just and righteous action from men.
Zeus could be vengeful, as can be seen in the punishment of Prometheus. For stealing fire from Olympus and giving it to mortals, Zeus sentenced Prometheus to be forever tied to a rock, and an eagle would come daily and feast on his liver. It was not until many years later that Hercules would come and kill the eagle, freeing Prometheus. His bird was the Eagle, his tree the Oak, Dodona was his oracle. His will was revealed by the rustling of oak leaves which was interpreted by his priests. The flying horse Pegasus, once it came to Olympus, would often retrieve his thrown thunderbolts.
