# Zeus — Discourses character guide > Zeus in Discourses by Epictetus. **Role:** supporting **Also known as:** O Zeus **First appearance:** 0004-i-of-the-things-which-are-in-our-power-and-not-in-our-power ## Snapshot The father of gods and men whose providence Epictetus treats as a lived fact—if Zeus cares for his citizens, then despair is a kind of blasphemy. ## Who they are Zeus in the Discourses is not a myth to be admired from a distance but a father whose care for human beings is supposed to reshape how a person grieves, fears, and desires. Epictetus argues that if Zeus truly governs the universe, then fighting against circumstance is fighting against God himself, and the punishment is a life of trembling at every letter from Rome. The tension lies in whether a person can actually trust that administration when a mother laments or a friend dies far away, and that struggle runs through the early and middle arguments about providence. ## Relationships ### [Caesar](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/characters/caesar) _psychological_ Caesar is often compared to Zeus, reflecting a psychological need to legitimize imperial power through divine association. ### [Epictetus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/characters/epictetus) _psychological_ Epictetus views Zeus as a divine rational principle, engaging in a philosophical and spiritual relationship of reverence. ### [Menelaus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/characters/menelaus) _psychological_ Menelaus appeals to Zeus as a moral arbiter, reflecting a traditional Greek religious dependence. ### [Hercules](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/characters/hercules) _family_ Hercules is the son of Zeus, a divine parent-child relationship marked by heroic destiny and paternal favor. ### [Epictetus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/characters/epictetus) _psychological_ Epictetus views Zeus as a divine rational principle, engaging in a philosophical and spiritual relationship of reverence. ### [Menelaus](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/characters/menelaus) _psychological_ Menelaus appeals to Zeus as a moral arbiter, reflecting a traditional Greek religious dependence. ## In the story ### [Discourses](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/discourses) Invoked as the divine authority and embodiment of providence in Stoic cosmology. ### [Book I](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/book-i) Referenced as the giver of rain and fruits, father of gods and men, and as the one who with the Moirae defined each person's generation. ### [Of the Things Which Are in Our Power, and Not in Our Power](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/i-of-the-things-which-are-in-our-power-and-not-in-our-power) Quoted as addressing Epictetus, explaining why only the rational faculty is given in our power. ### [How a Man Should Proceed from the Principle of God Being the Father of All Men to the Rest](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/iii-how-a-man-should-proceed-from-the-principle-of-god-being-the-father-of-all-men-to-the-rest) Referenced as the father of both men and gods, whose sonship would naturally inspire elation and noble self-regard. ### [VI: Of Providence](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/vi-of-providence) Addressed as the giver of faculties and the one who presents difficulties for human growth. ### [Of Contentment](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/xii-of-contentment) Referenced as the disposer who, with the Moirae, defined and ordered each person's generation and circumstances. ### [XIII: How Everything May Be Done Acceptably to the Gods](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/xiii-how-everything-may-be-done-acceptably-to-the-gods) Mentioned as the progenitor of all humans, emphasizing kinship and divine descent. ### [That the Deity Oversees All Things](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/xiv-that-the-deity-oversees-all-things) Referenced as the supreme deity who oversees all and places a guardian daemon with each person. ### [Of Providence](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/xvi-of-providence) Invoked as a witness to the shamelessness of those who deny providence. ### [XIX: How We Should Behave to Tyrants](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/xix-how-we-should-behave-to-tyrants) Cited as the one who has set the free man free, and as the model of rational nature that serves the common interest. ### [On Precognitions](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/xxii-on-precognitions) Referenced in the context of duty toward the divine and the consequences of misplacing the good. ### [On the Same](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/xxv-on-the-same) Zeus is cited as the source of the precepts that guide human conduct, having given each person what is their own and forbidden them from desiring what belongs to others. ### [In How Many Ways Appearances Exist, and What Aids We Should Provide Against Them](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/xxvii-in-how-many-ways-appearances-exist-and-what-aids-we-should-provide-against-them) Mentioned as the god whom the perturbed person might abuse when unable to change circumstances. ### [VIII: What Is the Nature (Ἡ Οὐσία) of the Good](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/viii-what-is-the-nature-of-the-good) Referenced as the divine maker who created humans and entrusted them to their own care. ### [XVI: That We Do Not Strive to Use Our Opinions About Good and Evil](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/xvi-that-we-do-not-strive-to-use-our-opinions-about-good-and-evil) Invoked in the text as part of the divine law and in the phrase 'No, by Zeus'. ### [How We Should Struggle Against Appearances](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/xviii-how-we-should-struggle-against-appearances) Implored as a helper and protector, along with the Dioscuri, in the storm of violent appearances. ### [XX: Against the Epicureans and Academics](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/xx-against-the-epicureans-and-academics) Invoked by Epictetus in an exclamation about the futility of trying to convince those who are deaf to their own evils. ### [Book III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/book-iii) Referenced as the divine administrator of the universe, whom one must not oppose by desiring what is not in one's power. ### [What Is the Matter on Which a Good Man Should Be Employed, and in What We Ought Chiefly to Practice Ourselves](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/iii-what-is-the-matter-on-which-a-good-man-should-be-employed-and-in-what-we-ought-chiefly-to-practice-ourselves) Mentioned as the one who has made the ruling faculty free from hindrance and compulsion, and who cannot eject one from the possession of virtue. ### [Against a Person Who Showed His Partisanship in an Unseemly Way in a Theatre](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/iv-against-a-person-who-showed-his-partisanship-in-an-unseemly-way-in-a-theatre) Mentioned as being abused by husbandmen and sailors when hindered, illustrating that even gods are criticized. ### [Against Those Who on Account of Sickness Go Away Home](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/v-against-those-who-on-account-of-sickness-go-away-home) Addressed in the imagined prayer of the philosopher who thanks God for the opportunity to participate in the divine administration. ### [To the Administrator of the Free Cities Who Was an Epicurean](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/vii-to-the-administrator-of-the-free-cities-who-was-an-epicurean) Invoked as the ultimate authority whose ordinances should guide action, with punishment being the loss of fidelity and modesty. ### [VIII: How We Must Exercise Ourselves Against Appearances (Φαντασίας)](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/viii-how-we-must-exercise-ourselves-against-appearances) Addressed as the divine figure who has given humans the capacity to endure and be happy, and who has opened the door to exit life if displeased. ### [XI: Certain Miscellaneous Matters](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/xi-certain-miscellaneous-matters) Invoked as the paternal and kindred overseer, from whom all relationships derive. ### [What Solitude Is, and What Kind of Person a Solitary Man Is](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/xiii-what-solitude-is-and-what-kind-of-person-a-solitary-man-is) Used as an example of a being who is alone but not solitary, dwelling with himself in tranquility. ### [About Cynism](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/xxii-about-cynism) The divine sender of the Cynic as a messenger and the one who exercises the Cynic. ### [Book IV: On Freedom and Familiar Intimacy](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/book-iv) Invoked in the Stoic prayer 'Lead me, O Zeus, and thou O destiny,' as the ultimate guide to freedom through acceptance. ### [About Freedom](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/i-about-freedom) Invoked in the quote 'Lead me, O Zeus, and thou O destiny' as the divine authority to whom one must submit. ### [III: What Things We Should Exchange for Other Things](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/iii-what-things-we-should-exchange-for-other-things) Implied as the source of divine laws and commands that Epictetus urges obedience to. ### [To Those Who Are Desirous of Passing Life in Tranquillity](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/iv-to-those-who-are-desirous-of-passing-life-in-tranquillity) Mentioned as the one who appointed the superintendents of external things; the gods are equally distant from all places and see all. ### [VI: Against Those Who Lament Over Being Pitied](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/vi-against-those-who-lament-over-being-pitied) Mentioned as unable to convince all men what things are good and bad, highlighting the difficulty of the task. ### [On Freedom from Fear](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/discourses_se/chapters/vii-on-freedom-from-fear) Referenced as the god who has willed opinions to be the select property of every man. ## 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