Zeus (mythology)

Zeus was the chief deity of the Olympian pantheon and was considered the omnipotent master of the universe by the ancient Greeks, as such he was by no means a full-on malevolent character - however there is no denying the fact that Zeus and his felow Olympians often engaged in petty acts of cruelty and vengeance on mortals as well as heroes and other gods.

Zeus was also infamous for his lust of mortals, indeed the all-powerful Zeus transcended male or female and even species when it came to his many affairs - which enraged Hera to no end (who was also Zeus' sister - despite being consorts).

Zeus was instrumental in the creation of the Minotaur when he disguised himself as a white bull and impregnated a human female - the reasoning behind this (as was the case for most of Zeus' exploits) was simplistic lust, Zeus was a god who often saw mortals as more appealing than his Olympian counterparts and chased them without much care (a trait shared by other Olympians, Zeus was just more prolific than most).

Zeus also had a cruel side to him, like all ancient gods, such as when he punished Prometheus for stealing fire from Olympus by having him strapped to a rock while an eagle ate his liver daily, only for the liver to regrow so as to repeat the torture for all of eternity (such extreme retribution was common amongst the Olympians and is often seen as petty and unneccessarily harsh, even by the standards of the time).

Of course Zeus was also capable of great benevolence and was the father of many heroes, such is the duel nature of this powerful and lively deity - who was considered the King of Gods and an icon of Greek religion at the time..

Acts Zeus Committed Which Can Be Considered Antagonistic
(IMPORTANT NOTE: many of Zeus' acts listed below are punishments for transgressions - since he was considered the God of Justice in the time-period of the Ancient Greek he can be considered an anti-villain in the sense his actions, while cruel, were designed to enforce order rather than create chaos)
 * When Hera gave birth to Hephaestus, Zeus threw him off the top of Mount Olympus because of his repulsive appearance.
 * Zeus condemned Prometheus to having his liver eaten by a giant eagle for giving the Flames of Olympus to the mortals.
 * Zeus turned Pandareus to stone for stealing the golden dog which had guarded him as an infant in the holy Dictaeon Cave of Crete.
 * Zeus killed Salmoneus with a thunderbolt for attempting to impersonate him, riding around in a bronze chariot and loudly imitating thunder.
 * At the marriage of Zeus and Hera, a nymph named Chelone refused to attend. Zeus transformed her into a tortoise (chelone in Greek).
 * Zeus, with Hera, turned King Haemus and Queen Rhodope into mountains (the Balkan mountains, or Stara Planina, and Rhodope mountains, respectively) for their vanity.
 * Zeus condemned Tantalus to eternal torture in Tartarus for trying to trick the gods into eating the flesh of his butchered son Pelops.
 * Zeus condemned Ixion to be tied to a fiery wheel for eternity as punishment for attempting to violate Hera.
 * Zeus sank the Telchines beneath the sea.
 * Zeus blinded the seer Phineus and sent the Harpies to plague him as punishment for revealing the secrets of the gods.