The Titans were born of Gaia,
Mother Earth, and her son Uranus and, 18 children were born:
The 3 Giants: Cottus, Briareus
and Gyges. Each of them had 50 head and 100 arms. They were the mightiest of Gaia's
children who even the Titans and Olympians feared. The 3 Cyclopes: Brontes,
Sterops and Arges. Each had only one eye, were enormous with strong limbs. The
12 Titans were 6 sons and 6 daughters. The daughters were: Theia , the
early goddess of light; Rhea an earth goddess who became the mother of
the Olympian gods; Themis , another earth goddess; Mnemosyne ,
epitome of memory; Phoebe , an early moon goddess; Tethys ,
embodiment of the fertile ocean. The sons were named: Oceanus , the eldest
of the Titans and god of the primordial river and rivers themselves; Coeus ,
who would become the father of Leto; Crius ; Hyperion , an early god
of the sun; Iapetus , the father of Prometheus; Cronus , of the
twelve Titans, who rose up against
Uranus.
Gaia’s enlisted the aid of
Cronus, her youngest child and one of the Titans. She gave Cronus a sharp sickle. When Uranus came at night to lay with Gaia,
Cronus struck and seizing his father's genitals, he sliced it off. He then
tossed the organ into the sea.
The blood spattered over Gaia and
more children were born from the blood: The Furies, Alecto; Tisiphone, and
Megara. The avengers of wrong, who against perjury and crimes against one's own
family; the Giants born in full armor and with spears in their arms; the Meliae
the Nymphs who would inhabit the forests of Greece. From the organs in the sea there was white
foam. From this foam, Aphrodite the goddess of love, beauty and sexual rapture
rose. Naked and riding on a scallop shell, the sea carried her to Cyprus.
After the Titans were freed, they
made Cronus their king and also freed their brothers the Cyclopes and Giants
from Tartarus. However, Cronus threw the Cyclopes and Giants back to dungeons
in Tartarus.
12 of the Titans were still free
and eight of them married and had children: Theia and Hyperion - Gave birth to
the sun Helios and two daughters Selene, the moon and Eos the dawn. Phoebe and
Coeus had two daughters, Leto and
Asteria; Oceanus and Tethys linked with the seas; and their offspring include
3,000 rivers and 3,000 female Ocenanids. Cronus and Rhea the father and
mother of the Olympian Gods produced six children. Three daughters: Hestia,
Demeter, and Hera and three sons Hades, Poseidon and Zeus.
Cronus as a ruler of the immortals
was more a tyrant than Uranus. He feared the prophecy of Gaia and Uranus', that
he would one day be overthrown by his own son. To prevent this, he swallowed his
newborn children whole as soon as they were born, so that they could do no
harm.
Rhea, grieving for the loss of her
children went to her parents Gaia and Uranus for aid, and when she conceived
her sixth child, Zeus They sent Rhea to Lyktos in Crete and when she gave birth
to Zeus, she gave him to Gaia who hid him in a cave in and cared for him. Rhea returned to Cronus and gave him large
stone wrapped blankets. Cronus thinking that it was the newborn swallowed the
stone.
When Zeus grew up, he travelled
to the oceans and sought the help of Metis, a wise Oceanid. Metis gave him a
potion. Zeus returned and disguised as a cupbearer gave Cronus the drink. After
drinking the potion, he threw up all his children, including the stone he
swallowed.
Once Zeus was in control, he
battled the nearly invincible Titans with the help of his brothers and sisters.
Gaia said that Zeus could only
win if they had the help of the Cyclopes and Giants still imprisoned in
Tartarus the Underworld. Zeus freed his six uncles. The Cyclopes forged new
weapons for the Olymians: For Zeus, thunder and lightning; For Hades, the helmet
of darkness, which made him invisible; For Poseidon, a trident, which
would become the emblem for the future god of the sea.
The Titans led by a new Titan, Atlas,
could not overcome Zeus with the new weapons and the help of the Giants and
Cyclopes. Zeus finally overthrew the Titans and locked them deep in the depths
of Tartarus.
Only one of the Titans, who had
opposed Zeus avoided eternal imprisonment. The Titan Atlas, was condemned by Zeus
to bear the weight of the heavens forever on his head and shoulders.
Zeus reigned as lord of the gods and
the Olympian Gods came into being and their reign would last forever.
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