god
Zeus
Chief of the Greek gods; for Marcus the Stoic a name for the rational ordering principle of the kosmos, so that 'the city of Zeus' means the universe as the true commonwealth of gods and men.
Reading notes
- Meditations §4.23.1 city of Zeus
The kosmos itself, conceived as the one true commonwealth of gods and rational beings; for Marcus, Zeus names the cosmic ordering reason rather than a personal deity.
- Meditations §5.7.1 dear Zeus
Here Zeus is the sky-god invoked for rain in the Athenians' prayer; for Marcus the name doubles as the rational power that governs the kosmos.