The Greek Titans

Gaia

Gaia is the Earth goddess. She mated with her son Uranus to produce the remaining Titans. Gaia seems to have started as a Neolithic earth-mother worshipped before the Indo-European invasions that eventually lead to the Hellenistic civilization.

Uranus

Uranus is the sky god and first ruler. He is the son of Gaia, who created him without help. He then became the husband of Gaia and together they had many offspring, including twelve of the Titans. His rule ended when Cronus, encouraged by Gaia, castrated him. He either died from the wound or withdrew from earth

CronusCronus was the ruling Titan who came to power by castrating his Father Uranus. His wife was Rhea. Their offspring were the first of the Olympians. To insure his safety Cronus ate each of the children as they were born. This worked until Rhea, unhappy at the loss of her children, tricked Cronus into swallowing a rock, instead of Zeus. When he grew up Zeus would revolt against Cronus and the other Titans, defeat them, and banish them to Tartarus in the underworld. Cronus managed to escape to Italy, where he ruled as Saturn. The period of his rule was said to be a golden age on earth, honoured by the Saturnalia feast.

Rhea

Rhea was the wife of Cronus. Cronus made it a practice to swallow their children. To avoid this, Rhea tricked Cronus into swallowing a rock, saving her son Zeus.

Oceanus

Oceanus is the unending stream of water encircling the world. Together with his wife Tethys produced the rivers and the three thousand ocean nymphs.

Tethys

Tethys is the wife of Oceanus. Together they produced the rivers and the three thousand ocean nymphs.

Hyperion

Hyperion is the Titan of light, the father of the sun, the moon, and the dawn.

Mnemosyne

Mnemosyne was the Titan of memory and the mother of Muses.

Themis

Themis was the Titan of justice and order. She was the mother of the Fates and the Seasons.

Iapetus

Iapetus was the father of Prometheus, Epimetheus, and Atlas.

Coeus

Titan of Intelligence. Father of Leto.

Phoebe

Titan of the Moon. Mother of Leto.

Prometheus

Prometheus was the wisest Titan. His name means "forethought" and he was able to foretell the future. He was the son of Iapetus. When Zeus revolted against Cronus Prometheus deserted the other Titans and fought on Zeus side. By some accounts he and his brother Epimetheus were delegated by Zeus to create man. In all accounts, Prometheus is known as the protector and benefactor of man. He gave mankind a number of gifts including fire. He also tricked Zeus into allowing man to keep the best part of the animals sacrificed to the gods and to give the gods the worst parts. For this Zeus punished Prometheus by having him chained to a rock with an eagle tearing at his liver. He was to be left there for all eternity or until he agreed to disclose to Zeus which of Zeus children would try to replace him. He was eventually rescued by Hercules without giving in to Zeus.

Epimetheus

Epimetheus was a stupid Titan, whose name means "afterthought". He was the son of Iapetus. In some accounts he is delegated, along with his brother Prometheus by Zeus to create mankind. He also accepted the gift of Pandora from Zeus, which lead to the introduction of evil into the world.

Atlas

Atlas was the son of Iapetus. Unlike his brothers Prometheus and Epimetheus, Atlas fought with the other Titans supporting Cronus against Zeus. Due to Cronus's advance age Atlas lead the Titan's in battle. As a result he was singled out by Zeus for a special punishment and made to hold up the world on his back.

Metis

Metis was the Titaness of the fourth day and the planet Mercury. She presided over all wisdom and knowledge. She was seduced by Zeus and became pregnant with Athena. Zeus became concerned over prophecies that her second child would replace Zeus. To avoid this Zeus ate her. It is said that she is the source for Zeus wisdom and that she still advises Zeus from his belly. It may seem odd for Metis to have been pregnant with Athena but, never mentioned as her mother. This is because the classic Greeks believed that children were generated solely from the fathers sperm. The women were thought to be nothing more than a vessel for the foetus to grow in. Since Metis was killed well before Athena's birth her role doesn't count.

The Origin of the Greek Gods

Cronus (also spelled Cronos or Kronos). In Greek mythology, Cronus was the leader and (in some myths) the youngest of the first generation of Titans. His mother was Gaia, and his father was Uranus, whom Cronus envied. Uranus hid the youngest children of Gaia, the one-hundred armed giants (Hecatonchires) and the one-eyed giants, the Cyclopes, in Tartarus so that they would not see the light, rejoicing in this evil doing. This caused pain to Gaia (Tartarus was her bowels), so she created grey flint and shaped a great sickle and gathered together Cronus and his brothers to ask them to obey her. Only Cronus was willing to do the deed, so Gaia gave him the sickle and set him in ambush. Cronus jumped out and lopped off his father's testicles, casting them behind him. From his blood on the Earth came forth the Gigantes, Erinyes, and Meliae.

From the testicles of Uranus in the sea came forth Aphrodite. For this, Uranus called his sons Titans, meaning "strainers," for they strained and did presumptuously a fearful deed, for which vengeance would come afterwards. Cronus was identified in antiquity with the God Saturn of Roman mythology. In an alternate version, a more benevolent Cronus overthrew the wicked serpentine Titan, Ophion. In doing so he released the world from bondage and for a time ruled it justly. After dispatching Uranus, Cronus re-imprisoned the Hecatonchires, the Gigantes, and the Cyclopes and set the monster Campe to guard them. He and Rhea took the throne as King and Queen of the gods. This time was called the Golden Age, as the people of the time had no need for laws or rules; everyone did right, so there was no need. Rhea gives to Cronus a rock wrapped in clothes. Cronus sired several children by Rhea: Demeter, Hera, Hades, Hestia, and Poseidon, but swallowed them all as soon as they were born, since he had learned from Gaia and Uranus that he was destined to be overcome by his own son as he had overthrown his own father. But when Zeus was about to be born, Rhea sought Uranus and Earth/Gaia to devise a plan to save him, so that Cronus would get his retribution for his acts against Uranus and his own children. Rhea gave birth to Zeus in Crete, handing Cronus a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes which he promptly swallowed.

Then she hid Zeus in a cave on Mount Ida in Crete. According to varying versions of the story: He was then raised by Gaia. He was raised by a goat named Amalthea, while a company of Kouretes, soldiers, or smaller gods danced, shouted, and clapped their hands to make noise so that Cronus would not hear the baby's cries. He was raised by a nymph named Adamanthea. Since Cronus ruled over the earth, the heavens, and the sea, she hid him by dangling him on a rope from a tree so he was suspended between earth, sea, and sky and thus, invisible to his father. Zeus forced Cronus to disgorge the other children in reverse order of swallowing: first the stone, which was set down at Pytho under the glens of Parnassus to be a sign to mortal men, then the rest. In some versions, Metis gave Cronus an emetic to force him to disgorge the babies, or Zeus cut Cronus's stomach open. Then Zeus released the brothers of Cronus, the Gigantes, the Hecatonchires, and the Cyclopes, who gave him thunder and the thunderbolt and lightning, which had previously been hidden by Gaia. In a war called the Titanomachy, Zeus and his brothers and sisters with the Gigantes, Hecatonchires, and Cyclopes overthrew Cronus and the other Titans. Cronus and the Titans were confined in Tartarus, a dank misty gloomy place at the deepest point in the Earth. Ironically, Zeus also imprisoned the Hecatonchires and the Cyclopes there as well.

Cronus was worshipped as a corn god, from his association with the Golden Age. He was a god of the harvest, grain, nature, and agriculture. He was usually depicted with a sickle, which he used to harvest crops as well as castrate his father. In Athens, on the twelfth day of every month (Hekatombaion), a festival called Kronia was held in honour of Cronus and to celebrate the harvest.

Mythological Creatures

Calydonian Boar: Calydonian boar was a monster in Greek mythology, who was sent by Artemis to destroy the region of Calydon, when she felt disrespected as the king of Calydon failed to honour her.

Centaur: In Greek mythology, the Centaur were creatures who were half-human and half-horse, who inhabited the region of Magnesia and Mount Pelion, Mount Pholoe and the Malean peninsula. . The centaurs were usually said to have been born of Ixion and Nephele Another version, however, makes them children of a certain Centaurus, who mated with the Magnesian mares. This Centaurus was either himself the son of Ixion and Nephele or of Apollo and Stilbe, daughter of the river god Peneus. In the later version of the story his twin brother was Lapithus, ancestor of the Lapiths, thus making the two warring peoples cousins.

Cerberus: Cerberus was a three-headed dog who guarded the gates of Hades to prevent anyone who crossed river Styx, from escaping the Underworld

Charybdis: Charybdis was a beautiful naiad (water nymph), who was changed into a sea monster by an enraged Zeus.

Cretan Bull: Cretan bull was a mythical bull who fell in love with the Greek goddess, Pasiphae. Their offspring was Minotaur.

Cyclopes: Cyclopes were primordial giants, from the Greek mythology, typically characterized by a single eye in the middle of their forehead. The name is thought to mean “circled-eye” Given their penchant for blacksmithing; many scholars believe the legend of the Cyclopes' single eye arose from an actual practice of blacksmiths wearing an eye patch over one eye to prevent flying sparks from blinding them in both eyes.

Erymanthian Boar: The Erymanthian Boar was a gigantic, fiery Greek mythical creature who inhabited the wild regions near Mount Erymanthos.

Gigantes: Gigantes, also referred to as the giants, were the children of Gaia and Gaea, who were fertilized by the blood of Uranus, after he was castrated by his son Cronus. Tribe of one hundred Giants. Some say their father was Tartarus the hell pit, others that they were born from the blood of the castrated Uranus (Heaven).

Gorgons: In Greek mythology, gorgons were the three sisters whose hair were made of live, venomous snakes, and had the ability to turn anyone to stone with their gaze.

Griffins: Griffins were Greek mythical creatures with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. According to a popular belief, they were assumed to be the guards of treasures.

Harpy: In ancient Greek mythology, harpy was a winged spirit, who used to steal food from Phineas, the Phoenician King of Thrace.

Hippocampus: Hippocampus was a legendary creature, normally depicted with the upper torso of a horse and lower torso resembling a fish.

Lernaean Hydra: One of the most fearsome Greek mythical creatures, Lernaean hydra was a serpent like water beast with nine heads and poisonous breath. Believed that if one of its head was cut of two more would replace it. The Hydra was an offspring of Typhon and Echidna, both of whom where offspring of the earth goddess Gaia.

Laelaps: In Greek mythology, Laelaps was a dog, with an amazing ability of getting whatever he was hunting.

Manticore: Manticore was a Greek mythical creature, resembling the Egyptian sphinx, with a body of a red lion and a human head, with three rows of heads and a voice like a trumpet.

Mares of Diomedes: The Mares of Diomedes, also referred to as the Mares of Thrace in some accounts, were four man-eating horses who featured in ancient Greek mythology.

Mermaid: Mermaids were mythical aquatic creatures in Greek mythology, typically characterized by a human head, and torso and the tail of a fish. Some say they drown men by taking them down underwater, but they forget that humans cannot breathe underwater and they try bring men to their underwater kingdom causing them to drown and die.

Minotaur: Minotaur was yet another Greek mythical creature who inhabited the Cretan Labyrinth, typically characterized by the head of a bull and the body of a man. Read more on Minotaur in Greek mythology. He lived at the center of the Cretan Labyrinth, which was an elaborate maze-like construction[3] built for King Minos of Crete and designed by the architect Daedalus and his son Icarus who were ordered to build it to hold the Minotaur. The minotaur was the offspring of Pasiphaë and the Cretan Bull, to breed Pasiphaë got had a hollow wooden cow built in which she climbed into to breed with thee Cretan Bull.

Nemean Lion: Nemean lion was a mythical monster from ancient Greek mythology, who was eventually killed by Hercules.

Nymph: In Greek mythology, nymphs were female spirits most often associated with a particular location or a water-body.

Pegasus: Pegasus was an immortal winged horse, which rose from the blood of Medusa, when she was slain by Perseus. Read more on legend of Pegasus.

Phoenix: The phoenix was a legendary bird which was believed to burn itself to death and emerge from ashes of the same fire, once every five hundred years.

Siren: The term 'siren' is used to refer to the three dangerous bird-women, from the island Sirenum scopuli, who were often portrayed as seductresses in ancient Greek mythology.Stymphalian Birds: Stymphalian birds were the man-eating bird pets raised by Ares, the god of war. These birds were typically characterized by beaks of bronze and sharp metallic feathers.

Talos: In Greek history, Talos was a giant man made of bronze, who guarded the island of Crete in order to protect the Phoenician princess, Europa.

Teumessian Fox: Teumessian fox was a huge fox born to Echidna, the 'Mother of All Monsters', and destined never to be caught.

Typhon: One of the most deadly mythical creatures in Greek mythology, Typhon was a monster who attempted to destroy Zeus - the Greek god, at the will of Gaia.