Zeus Almighty

Do you ever wonder what drives rich, powerful men — these CEOs of Fortune 500 companies, these captains of industry, these rulers of the worlds’ superpowers? What makes them do what they do? What makes them engage in the struggle up the ladder of success?

Compared to other men who believe that there is an order to life, that certain energies rule the universe, and who are content to surrender themselves to this source from which they live and move and realize their being, competitive, driven men make their own rules and play high-stakes games in the arena of power.

Jean Shinoda Bolen, M.D., a Jungian analyst and clinical professor of psychology at the University of California at San Francisco, is the author of The God in Every Man. In this book, she draws portraits of masculine qualities embodied in the gods of Greek mythology and describes their manifestation in the modern man. In psychological terms, one might refer to a “god” or a “goddess” as an archetype.

I attended a three-day seminar on the “Exploration of the Self” premised on Jung and Bolen’s work and organized by the Friends of Jung Society in the Philippines. What I discovered was that understanding these Greek god archetypes gives one a better handle on the varied and diverse personalities of men.

Bolen says, “I see the archetype as possibility. It’s what can develop in the personality. It is laid down much in the way one would put a certain amount of, say, salt in a solution. The crystalline structure is inherent, but you don’t see it until there’s enough substance to make it crystallize. Under certain conditions, the inherent pattern will constellate. It’s the same in a human personality: given a certain life energy, a certain pattern, a certain experience, a certain culture, certain archetypes will constellate.”

Bolen’s archetypes are used as models to understand some of the powerful forces that move in our understanding of ourselves. But since a discussion of all the Greek god archetypes would take the length of an entire manuscript, I have chosen one to write about that I find most fascinating — good ol’ Zeus.

A word on the Greek god Zeus. He, along with his two brothers Poseidon and Hades, were the first generation of male Olympian gods. They divided the world among themselves, and each held dominion over his particular realm. Zeus ruled the heavens (sky); Poseidon, the sea; and Hades, the underworld. Zeus ruled the realm of power and thought; Poseidon, the realm of emotion and instinct; and Hades, the realm of the dim, feared world of unseen patterns.

Zeus was the god of gods; he ruled over all, and his personal attributes are those we equate with powerful fathers, kings, chief executives, officers of corporations or armies, top-dog alpha males, boss figures. His powers extended to both earth and sky and he is credited with having both a macro view of the world and an eagle eye giving him the ability to zoom in on the minutest of details — in other words, all the qualities of a great leader.

A Zeus archetype is intelligent, driven and self-motivated; he goes for what he wants in the way a hungry lion zeros in on its prey. But in spite of all the power, he is not arrogant. He does not wield it with malice or caprice. He is comfortable in his own skin and people respect him for his very reason: they listen to him and heed his call without question. He is enveloped in charisma and magnetism, which enables him to tame even the most disagreeable non-believer.

All these — wisdom, power, charisma — are not merely qualities that Zeus archetypes possess. It is who they are. It is synonymous with their being. And for a Zeus to thrive he must have a kingdom — and not just any kingdom, but a vast one that involves hundreds if not thousands of subjects. In the modern world this translates to vast economic or political holdings and a multitude of manpower or constituents.

Zeus’ kingdom defines him and the loss of it would be the death of him. This explains why men who fall under the Zeus archetype are not good with sharing power; they simply can’t. Doing so would negate their very being.

But as in all else, there is a downside to this larger-than-life phenomenon. A Zeus archetype, exactly like the Greek god himself, can never be faithful to one woman. Zeus, the Olympian, had numerous wives and liaisons with both goddesses and mortals who all bore him children. Because his very essence is tied up with his kingdom, a Zeus is incapable of loving another completely. He is unable to make intimate and personal connections with others. He is incapable of empathy.

The modern Zeus archetype usually has an official wife to whom he holds himself accountable, just as Zeus did with first wife, Hera. But he changes mistresses like he changes clothes. This for him is just a matter of course and for which he makes no apologies whatsoever.

Another downside to this archetype is that he cannot nurture Zeus sons because he is terrified of his power being usurped. In Greek mythology, Zeus led the revolt against his father, Cronus, and the dynasty of the Titans. Zeus defeated and banished them. He is, therefore, paranoid about that legacy reliving itself through his sons. Most often, the sons of Zeus archetypes do not quite measure up to their fathers for the very reason that they were not nurtured to be such.

Women are smitten with Zeus archetypes: the energy they radiate, the charisma they exude, and the power they wield is more aphrodisiac than one woman may need in her lifetime. So it is not a wonder that in our culture there are many rich and powerful men who, as much as they leave a lot to be desired in the looks department, have a succession of the most beautiful women draped on their arms. Women claim that it is next to impossible to resist a Zeus, unless, of course, they are a female version of the Zeus archetype. In that case, a male Zeus and a female Zeus must battle in a different arena altogether.

How does one know he is in the presence of a Zeus? One will know it instinctively; he or she will feel it. It is much too powerful to be ignored. A Zeus is a man who has a commanding and yet relaxed presence. And as Jean Shinoda Bolen puts it, “Being a Zeus archetype is not a matter of power, or of dominance. It is that magic that makes a man take a position in anything, based on his authenticity, and hold it.”

We all know of men who embody the Zeus archetype, probably even intimately in this age of instant information at our fingertips. I have met a few in my lifetime and, yes, they are the most charismatic creatures on earth, but up until recently, those I had encountered were not what we would generally consider good looking. But finally, I have met one who is Zeus personified, in looks and persona, and whose life almost reads like the biography of Zeus, god of Olympia. Simply fascinating, they can make the Greek archetype come to life. Do you know a Zeus out there?