Jupiter. The highest and most powerful among the gods. By this god was originally represented nature in general; and finally the supreme existence. The worship of Jupiter was universal, and numerous temples were erected to his honor. The largest and the most celebrated in Greece was that in Olympia, remarkable for its own magnificence, and for its statue of Jupiter wrought by Phidias, and for the Olympic games held in its vicinity. His oracle in the grove of oaks at Dodona was renowned, and considered the most ancient in Greece. In Rome the capitol was specially dedicated to him, and he had in that city many temples. Among the Greeks he was known as Zeus.
