Zeus
2. The Dodonaean Zeus (Ζεὺς Δωδωναῖος or Πελασγικός) possessed the most ancient oracle in Greece, at Dodona in Epeirus, near mount Tomarus (Tmarus or Tomurus), from which he derived his name. (Hom. Il. 2.750, 16.233; Hdt. 2.52; Paus. 1.17.5; Strab. v. p.338, vi. p. 504; Verg. Ecl. 8.44.) At Dodona Zeus was mainly a prophetic god, and the oaktree was sacred to him; but there too he was said to have been reared by if the Dodonaean nymphs (Hyades; Schol. ad Hom. Il. 18.486; Hygin. Fab. 182; Ov. Fast. 6.711, Met. 3.314). Respecting the Dodonaean oracle of Zeus, see Dict. of Ant. s. v. Oraculnm.
From William Smith (ed.), Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. Text provided under a CC BY-SA license by Perseus Digital Library, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu, with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities and Tufts University. Data accessed from https://github.com/PerseusDL/canonical-pdlrefwk/ on 17 October 2026.