Jupiter

Jupiter was the supreme god of the Roman pantheon. Jupiter formed one of the triad of Roman gods, together with Mars and Quirinus.

Jupiter was also called Jupitter, Jove, Iovis and Diespiter. Like his Greek counterpart Zeus, Jupiter was the sky god, associated with clouds, rain and storms. His weapon was the thunderbolt. The Etruscans equated Jupiter with Tin, Tinia or Tinis.

Jupiter adopted many of the attributes, the personality and the myths of the Greek Zeus. Jupiter was the son of Saturn (Cronus) and Ops (Rhea). His consort and wife was Juno (Hera). In Rome, he shared his temple at Capitol with Juno and Minerva (Athena).

Like Zeus, his favourite bird was the eagle and the oak tree was sacred to him. His festival was held on August 19, the same day as Venus. Other days sacred to Jupiter were the Ides of every month. Some were held on the 15th of March, May, July and October. The other months held the Ides of Jupiter on the 13th. The Latin equivalent of Thursday was called dies Iovis (Jove's Day).

In astronomy, Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system, and the 5th planet from the sun. The planet is classified as a gas giant.