Zeus is often shown carrying his thunderbolts made by Hephaestus for him. If Zeus is a storm god, how do you think the Greeks came to associate Zeus' anger with hurling thunderbolts (lightning) to Earth and causing thunder to rumble and roar?

Question

anonymous · Answer

One of the most popular gods in North America is the so-called Thunderbird, described as a towering bird spanning heaven.  Numerous tribes preserve traditions of the bird that hurls lightning from heaven, bringing destruction and fire:

"The well-nigh universal American conception of the thunder is that it is caused by a bird or brood of birds�the Thunderbirds.  Sometimes the Thunderbird is described as huge, carrying a lake of water on its back and flashing lightnings from his eyes; sometimes as small, like some ordinary bird in appearance and shy;even the humming-bird occurring as an analogy."

anonymous · Answer

The Egyptian Min offers an early example of the thundergod, his defining symbol appearing already on predynastic pottery and rock art tracing to the fourth millennium BCE.  In addition to serving as a god of storm and war, Min also featured prominently as an agent of fertility.

anonymous · Answer

Lightning in Inca religion was the major theophany of the weather god, known as Ilyap'a, now usually hispanicized to Illapa�Illapa was also the god of war, of trade, and god of death.  It was represented as a constellation outlining a man wielding a club in his left hand and a sling in his right