"Zeus: , you are a king, and it's to your sense of king-ship I appeal, for you enjoy wielding the scepter. Aegistheus: Continue. Zeus: You may hate me, but we are akin; I made you in my image. A king is a god on earth, glorious and terrifying as a god. Aegistheus: You, terrifying? Zeus: Look at me. [A long silence.] I told you you were made in my image. Each keeps order; you in Argos, I in heaven and on earth — and you and I harbor the same dark secret in our hearts. Aegistheus: I have no secret. Zeus: You and I harbor the same dark secret in our hearts. Aegistheus: I have no secret. Zeus: You have. The same as mine. The bane of gods and kings. The bitterness of knowing men are free. Yes, Aegistheus they are free. But your subjects do not know it, and you do."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
The painful secret of gods and kings is that men are free, Aegistheus. You know it and they do not.
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Zeus
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Zeus
Zeus (/ˈzjuːs/ zews; Ancient Greek: Ζεύς, Zeús, [zdeǔ̯s]; Modern Greek: Δίας, Días [ˈði.as]) is God of the Sky, and of lightning, thunder, law, order and justice in ancient Greek religion, who ruled as king of the gods of Mount Olympus. His equivalent in Roman religious mythology was Jupiter, a name with similar origins and meaning.
6 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Zeus →
Related Quotes
"Zeus, who guided mortals to be wise, has established his fixed law— wisdom comes through suffering. Trouble, with its…"
"ὦ Ζεῦ͵ πάτερ Ζεῦ͵ σὸν μὲν οὐρανοῦ κράτος͵ σὺ δ΄ ἔργ΄ ἐπ΄ ἀνθρώπων ὁρᾶις λεωργὰ καὶ θεμιστά͵ σοὶ δὲ θηρίων ὕβρις τε κα…"
"Nothing can be surprising any more or impossible or miraculous, now that Zeus, father of the Olympians has made night…"
"Zeus, n. The chief of Grecian gods, adored by the Romans as Jupiter and by the modern Americans as God, Gold, Mob and…"
"Well, what if I'm wrong, I mean — anybody could be wrong. We could all be wrong about the and the pink unicorn and th…"
"So on he drifted for two nights and days O’er the high swell, and oft his heart forbode The end; but when the fair-ha…"
"Surely the Sun has labour all his days, And never any respite, steeds nor god, Since Eos first, whose hands are rosy …"
"There is scent of the speech of the Sabines about the altars also, which by the vow of King Tatius were dedicated at …"
"About the same time he dedicated some temples of the gods, which had perished from age or from fire, and which August…"
"I who now am called Flora was formerly Chloris: a Greek letter of my name is corrupted in the Latin speech. Chloris I…"