The Titans

The mighty Titans were a powerful race that ruled the world before the Olympians, in time of the Golden Age of men. They were immortal giants of incredible strength and knowledge of old religion rituals and magic. They are also known as the Elder Gods and their dwelling place was Mount Othrys. In Greek culture, they were interpreted as personifications of the earth (Gaea) and the sky or heavens (Uranus).

The first generation of Titans were descendants of Gaea and Uranus who originally gave birth to Twelve Titans, six males and six females. Males were Coeus, Cronus, Crius, Hyperion, Iapetus and Oceanus, while females were Mnemosyne, Phoebe, Rhea, Theia, Themis, Tethys. Some brothers and sisters consorted with each other, while others consorted with sons and daughters of their relatives and gave birth to the second generation of titans. Hyperion and Theia gave birth to Eos, Helios and Selene, while Coeus and Phoebe gave birth to Leto and Asteria. Oceanus and Tethys gave birth to Oceanids and Potamoi who are in general not referred as titans. However, oceanid Clymene, the daughter of Oceanus and Tethys, helped Iapetus to continue the next generation of titans and bore him Atlas, Prometheus, Epimetheus and Menoetius. Crius and his half-sister Eurybia, the daughter of Gaea and Pontus, gave birth to Astraeus, Pallas and Perses. And finally, in later ages Cronus and Rhea gave birth to younger gods, Zeus, Hades, Poseidon, Hera, Hestia and Demeter who rebelled against Cronus and his followers. They called themselves the Olympian Gods, after they place Mount Olympus.

THE FIRST GENERATION TITANS

The first generation of Titans were Coeus, Crius, Cronus, Hyperion, Iapetus, Mnemosyne, Oceanus, Phoebe, Rhea, Thea, Themis and Tethys.

Coeus was one of the Titans, son of Uranus and Gaia. His name means questioning, while the respective Roman deity was Polus, the celestial axis around which the heavens revolve. Based on his Greek name, it has been suggested that Coeus may have also been the Titan of inquisitive minds and intellect.

Coeus also represented one of the four pillars that hold the heavens and the earth apart. He was the pillar of the north, while the other three pillars were personified by his brothers Hyperion, Iapetus and Crius. The four brothers played an important role in dethroning their father, Uranus; as they were located in the four corners of the earth, they held Uranus in place, while their brother Cronus castrated him with the diamond sickle that their mother Gaea had given him.

Although Coeus does not have an active role in Ancient Greek religion, he was important through his children, Leto and Asteria, whom he had with his wife and sister, Phoebe. Leto was one of Zeus' lovers and gave birth to the twin Olympians, Artemis and Apollo.

During the Titanomachy, Coeus tried to stop Zeus and the other Olympians; failing, he and the rest of the Titans were banished to the Underworld. Trying to escape, Coeus broke his chains but was forced to stay by Cerberus, the guardian of the underworld.

Coeus Is also called Polus, Koios.

Crius was one of the Titans, son of Uranus and Gaea. He married Eurybia, daughter of Pontus and Gaea, and had three children, Astraios, Pallas and Perses. His grandchildren were:

Crius was considered one of the four pillars that hold the heavens and the earth apart. He represented the pillar of the south, while the other three pillars were personified by his brothers Iapetus, Coeus and Hyperion. The four brothers had an important role during the dethroning of their father, Uranus; as they were in the four corners of the earth, they held Uranus in place, while their brother Cronus castrated him with a sickle that their mother had given them.

In the Titanomachy, the war between the Titans and the Olympians, Crius participated siding with the Titans, but did not have a specific role. When the Titans were defeated, Crius along with the rest of his siblings was thrown into Tartarus, the lower level of the Underworld. Crius Is also called Kreios, Krios.

Cronus was the ruling Titan who came to power by castrating his father Uranus. His wife was Rhea, while their offspring were the first of the Olympians. To ensure 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 revolted against Cronus and the other Titans, defeating them, and banishing 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. A festival was also held in Athens, honouring Cronus; it was called Kronia and it took place on the twelfth day of the month Hekatombaion. Cronus Is also called Saturn, Kronos, Cronos.

Hyperion was one of the Titans, son of Uranus and Gaia. He represented light, wisdom and watchfulness. He was the father of the sun, the moon, and the dawn. In some early texts, the sun is mentioned as Helios Hyperion; however, in later texts, including Homer's and Hesiod's writings, Hyperion and Helios are two different deities, the latter being a physical representation of the sun. Hyperion is not mentioned in the Titanomachy, the War that resulted in the overthrow of the Titans and the start of the era of the Olympians.

Hyperion was married to his sister, Theia, and they had three children, Helios (the sun), Selene (the moon) and Eos (the dawn). He was considered one of the four pillars that hold the heavens and the earth apart, and since his daughter was dawn, he was probably the pillar of the east. The other three pillars were his brothers Coeus (pillar of the north), Crius (pillar of the south), and Iapetus (pillar of the west). These four Titans were the ones that held their father Uranus in place, while Cronus castrated him with a sickle.

Iapetus was a Titan, son of Uranus and Gaea, and father of Atlas, Prometheus, Epimetheus and Menoetius. His name derives from the Greek word meaning to pierce usually with a spear; therefore, Iapetus may have been considered as the god of craftsmanship, although other sources site him as the god of mortality.

Iapetus was also considered the personification of one of the four pillars that hold the heavens and the earth apart, a role that he later bequeathed to his son, Atlas. He represented the pillar of the west, the other three being represented by his brothers Crius, Coeus and Hyperion. The four brothers actively played a role in the dethroning of their father Uranus; as they were all in the four corners of the earth, they held Uranus firmly in place while their brother Cronus castrated him with a sickle.

Iapetus' sons were thought to have been the ancestors of humans, and that they had some detrimental qualities that not only led to their own demise, but they also passed them down to humans. So, although Prometheus was clever, he bequeathed scheming to mankind; Epimetheus, guileless as he was, passed down stupidity; Atlas, being powerful and patient, gave excessive daring; and finally, Menoetius, an arrogant personality, bequeathed violence. Iapetus Is also called Japetus, Iapetos.

Mnemosyne was one of the Titans, daughter of Uranus and Gaea, and goddess of memory. She was also occassionally referred to as Mneme; however, this was the name of another goddess. She was the oracular goddess of the underground oracle of Trophonios in the region of Boeotia.

Zeus slept with Mnemosyne for nine consecutive days, eventually leading to the birth of the nine Muses. In Hesiod's Theogony, the kings and poets were inspired by Mnemosyne and the Muses, thus getting their extraordinary abilities in speech and using powerful words.

The name Mnemosyne was also used for a river in the Underworld, Hades, which flowed parallel to the river of Lethe (which means forgetfulness). Usually, the souls of the dead would drink water from Lethe, so that they would forget their past lives when they would be reincarnated. However, the souls of the novices were told to drink water from Mnemosyne. This myth may have been part of a small mystic religion or be tied to Orphic poetry.

Oceanus was an ancient Greek god. According to one version, he was born by the union of the primal gods Chaos and Gaea, sanctified by god Eros. Another version has it that he was one of the twelve Titans, thus a son of Gaea and Uranus.

Oceanus was married to his sister, Tethys, with whom he had numerous children, called Oceanids. These were the lesser gods and goddesses of the rivers, the sea, and the springs. In fact, Oceanus and Tethys were so fertile that the overproduction of the aqueous elements of nature would cause floods; so, they divorced to stop this from happening. The couple was not involved in the Titanomachy against Zeus, so the latter let them continue their reign in their watery kingdom.

In ancient Greek art, Oceanus was depicted having bull horns and the tail of a serpentine fish instead of legs. He was later considered as a simple sea god or the personification of the sea. Oceanus Is also called Ocean, Oceanos.

Phoebe was one of the Titans, daughter of Uranus and Gaea. She was married to brother Coeus, with whom she had Asteria (the starry one) and Leto. The Olympians Apollo and Artemis, twin siblings, were the children of Leto; thus, they were often referred to as Phoebus and Phoebe respectively, taking their alternative names from their grandmother. Phoebe was associated with the moon and the Oracle of Delphi, and was considered to be the goddess of prophecy.

In the Titanomachy, the War between the Titans and the Olympian gods which resulted in the defeat of the former, Phoebe did not participate and therefore, she was spared imprisonment in Tartarus. Phoebe Is also called Phoibe.

Rhea was one of the Titans, daughter of Uranus and Gaea. She was the sister and wife of Cronus, also a Titan. She was responsible for the way things flow in the kingdom of Cronus (her name means 'that which flows').

Rhea and Cronus had six children; Hestia, Hades, Demeter, Poseidon, Hera and Zeus. Cronus, afraid that he would be overthrown by his children just like he had done with his father, decided to swallow all of them. However, he was tricked by Rhea, who managed to save Zeus from his father. When Zeus grew up, he forced his father to disgorge his siblings and eventually overthrew him.

Although Rhea was considered the "mother of gods", similarly to Gaea and Cybele, she did not have a strong cult and many followers. She had a temple in Crete, the place in which she hid Zeus to save from his father. In art, she started appearing in the fourth century BC; however, she was often depicted with characteristics similar to those used for Cybele, thus making the two goddesses indistinguishable. Rhea was often symbolised as a pair of lions that pulled a celestial chariot. This symbol was often placed on city gates, the best known example being that at the city of Mycenae, where two stone lions guarded the gates. Rhea Is also called Ops, Rea.

Thea was one of the Titans, daughter of Uranus and Gaea. The alternative spelling of her name, Theia, means divine; goddess; while her other name, Euryphaessa, is a combination of the Greek words "eury", meaning wide, and "phaos", meaning bright. Hence, she was the goddess of light and was thought to be of considerable beauty. She was also the deity that endowed gold, silver and gems with their radiance.

Based on a poem by Homer, Thea was married to her brother Hyperion, giving birth to Helios (the Sun), Selene (the Moon), and Eos (the Dawn). She was an oracular goddess, as she was the prophetic deity of an oracular shrine in the region of Phtiotis in Thessaly. Thea Is also called Euryphaessa, Thia, Theia.

Themis was one of the Titans, daughter of Uranus and Gaea. She was the human-like representation of the natural and moral order. The name derives from the Greek word meaning that which is current and contemporary. According to Hesiod, she was the second wife of Zeus, a marriage that helped the supreme Olympian to stabilise his power over all gods and humans.

Themis also represents the law and undisputed order, the divine right. She was the goddess that created the divine laws that govern everything and are even above gods themselves. In general, Themis had three subsistences; goddess of natural order, which manifested through the Hores (the Hours), meaning the seasonal and never-ceasing rotation of time; goddess of moral order, manifested through Eunomia (fair order), Deke (trial) and Erene (peace), which were the utmost characteristics of the society, and through the Moires, which represented the destiny of every human being; and finally, goddess of prophecy, shown through the Nymphs, as well as the virgin Astraea.

Initially, Themis substituted her mother in the Oracle of Delphi, having inherited the ability to foresee events from her; however, when Apollo was born, Themis cared so much for him that she eventually offered the Oracle to him.Themis Is also called Justice.

Tethys was one of the Titans, daughter of Uranus and Gaea. She was married to her brother, Oceanus, and gave birth to the river gods, who lived in the rivers that were then known to the Greeks, such as the Nile and Alpheus; and to three thousand water goddesses, called Oceanids. Despite being the mother of so many deities in the Greek mythology, Tethys was not actively worshipped. During the Titanomachy, she raised Hera as her stepchild, brought to her by Rhea.

According to one myth, Hera did not like that Callisto and Arcas were placed in the heavens by being turned into the constellations Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, so she asked Tethys to do something about it. To appease Hera, Tethys denied the constellations from being able to touch the sea and fall below the horizon; instead, they were forever doomed to circle the sky.

The second generation of Titans were Atlas, Eos, Epimetheus, Helios, Leto and Prometheus.

Atlas was one of the Titans, son of Iapetus and Clymene, and brother of Prometheus, Epimetheus and Menoetius. During the Titanomachy, the War between the Titans and the Olympian gods, Atlas and his brother Menoetius sided with the Titans, while Prometheus and Epimetheus helped the Olympian gods. Atlas was the leader in the batttle; however, being on the losing side, Zeus condemned him to eternally stand on the western side of Gaea (the earth) holding Uranus (the sky) on his shoulders. Therefore, the contemporary depiction of Atlas holding the Earth on his shoulders is a misconception.

He was the Titan god of astronomy and navigation and he was married to his sister, Phoebe. He had numerous children, including the Hesperides, the Hyades, Hyas, the Pleiades, Calypso, Dione and Maera. He was associated with the Atlas mountains in northwest Africa. According to a later myth, when Perseus went to that region, a giant named Atlas tried to drive him away. So, Perseus revealed Medusa's head, whom he had already killed, thus turning Atlas into stone (the Atlas mountains themselves).

In the myth of the Twelve Labours of Heracles, the demigod was sent to bring the golden apples from Hera's garden, tended by the Hesperides and guarded by the dragon Ladon. Heracles asked Atlas to bring the apples to him; during that time, he would replace him in holding up the sky. Atlas went and brought the apples to Heracles; he then attempted to trick him into holding the skies forever. However, Heracles managed to evade the trick and left with the apples.

Eos was a Titan goddess in Greek mythology, daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia. She was the goddess of the dawn and had two siblings; Helios, god of the sun; and Selene, goddess of the moon. She was married to Astraeus, god of the dusk and together, they had numerous children that represented everything that occurred during the union of the dusk and the dawn, i.e. the twilight. Among her children were the four Anemoi (winds), as well as Eosphorus (the Morning Star) and the Astra Planeta (wandering stars or planets). She was described as having rosy fingers, a light pink gown woven with flowers, wearing a tiara and having large white-feathered wings.

According to another source, she was the consort of god Ares, causing the jealousy of Aphrodite, who cursed her with insatiable sexual urge. As a result, Eos abducted various young men, including Cephalus, Tithonus and Orion. She had two sons with Tithonus, Memnon and Emathion. Memnon fought on the side of the Trojan in the Trojan War, where he died.Eos Is also called Aurora.

Helios was one of the Titans, son of Hyperion and Theia. He was the personification of the Sun and his sisters were the goddesses Selene (the Moon) and Eos (the Dawn). He drove the chariot of the sun across the sky on a daily basis, as it was pulled by horses named Pyrois, Aeos, Aethon and Phlegon. In later times, Helios was considered being the god of light, Apollo, although sometimes they would still be thought of as distinct deities; after all, Helios was a Titan, while Apollo was an Olympian. He was married to either Perse or Clymene, and had a number of children; they included the Charites, Phaeton, Circe, Aeetes, Pasiphae, Heliadae and Heliades.

Helios did not play a major part in Greek mythology, as he was eventually replaced by Apollo. However, one of the best known stories around Helios revolves around his son Phaeton, who tried to drive his father's chariot; however, he lost control and set the earth on fire. He also appears in the Homeric Epic, the Odyssey, in which Odysseus and his men reached an island dedicated to the god. There, Odysseus' men, starving, killed some of the cattle and Helios was infuriated; he complained to Zeus and threatened that he would take the sun and make it shine in the Underworld. So, Zeus destroyed the ship of Odysseus with a lightning bolt, killing of all of the men except for Odysseus. Helios Is also called Sol.

Leto was a Titan goddess in Greek mythology, daughter of the Titans Coeus and Phoebe. She was an early and favourite lover of Zeus.

Zeus married Hera while Leto was pregnant. While the pregnancy started before the marriage, Hera was still jealous of Leto. For the duration of Leto's pregnancy, Hera created problems. She pushed Leto out of Olympus. As Leto wandered on the earth, no person would let her stay in their home for fear Hera would be offended. On top of that, Hera had the dragon Python chase her. Zeus saved her by sending the North Wind, Boreas, to carry her out to sea. Finally, the desolate, rocky island of Delos, which had nothing to lose, accepted her. The other goddesses gathered there to help Leto during the labour. Hera stayed away and managed to detain Eileithyia, goddess of childbirth, but Iris eventually succeeded in bringing her to the island. Leto first gave birth to Artemis, and after another nine days of labour, to Apollo. Still fleeing Hera's wrath, she went to Lycia. The peasants tried to prevent her from drinking from their well, so she turned them into frogs.

Although Leto's problems continued for a little more, she now had two fast growing children, both of whom became powerful archers, to protect her. Only four days old, Apollo managed to kill Python. Then, the Euboean giant Tityus tried to rape Leto, but was killed by the children. As they grew into their full power, the twins wanted to avenge Leto's honour as well as to protect her safety. Niobe boasted that she was more deserving of adulation then Leto, because she had given birth to seven sons and seven daughters. The twins replied to this by slaying all but one of Niobe's children. As the mother of two powerful gods, Leto returned to Zeus's favour despite Hera's disapproval. After Apollo killed the Cyclopes, Leto was able to persuade Zeus to lighten his punishment. She spent much of her time hunting with Artemis. She sided with the Trojans during the war and helped heal Aeneas from his battle wounds.

More: Zeus, Hera, Artemis, Apollo, Coeus, Phoebe

Prometheus was one of the Titans, son of Iapetus (also a Titan) and Clymene, an Oceanid. His brothers were Epimetheus, Atlas and Menoetius. The name derives from the Greek word meaning 'forethought'.

During the Titanomachy, the war between the Titans and the Olympian gods, Prometheus sided with Zeus, helping to overthrow the old gods. Siding with the winning side, Prometheus avoided being punished with the rest of the Titans and was therefore not sent to Tartarus, the Underworld.

In all accounts, Prometheus was presented to be the protector and benefactor of mankind. In an event called Trick at Mecone, he tricked Zeus by asking him to choose between two offerings; beef hidden inside an ox's stomach (something pleasing hidden inside a repelling exterior) or bones wrapped in glistening fat (something inedible hidden inside a pleasing exterior). Zeus chose the latter and hence, a precedent was created in what humans could sacrifice from that moment; so, they kept the meat for themselves and sacrificed bones to the gods.

As a result of the trick at Mecone, Zeus was infuriated and decided to hide fire from mortals as punishment. Prometheus, in an effort to help humanity again, managed to steal fire back and give it to humans. More enraged, the father of gods asked Hephaestus to create Pandora, the first woman, who according to Hesiod, would bring troubles to mankind. He also punished Prometheus by having him chained to a rock, where an eagle ate his liver during the day, and the liver was regenerated during the night due to Prometheus' immortality. He was later saved by the demigod Hercules.

More: Titans, Iapetus, Epimetheus, Atlas, Menoetius, Zeus

Prometheus Is also called Promitheas.

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