Chaos
• In the beginning
there was Chaos.
A black and
omnipresent
void, absent of
all light and
immune to time.
Gaea (Terra): Mother Earth
• But a faint flicker
appeared in the
blackness and began
to grow. An
enormous rock, cold
and barren,
emerged.
• Gaea, Mother Earth
as she came to be
known, was born.
Gaea’s Longing
• Surrounded in the nothingness of Chaos’ dark
grip, bathed in utter blackness, Gaea grew
weary. Loneliness it was, yes… a human flaw.
• Great Mother Earth desired nothing more
than a companion—someone to spend
eternity beside.
Uranus (Caelus)
• She prayed. She wished.
And from the core of her
being a golden essence
seeped, rose up into the
darkness and took form.
• Uranus was born. Father
Universe—Lord of the
Heavens itself. In all his
divine glory he rained down
upon Mother Earth. He
filled her deep recesses with
life giving water.
Pontus
• By mixing their primordial
essences the world’s ocean was
given life. Pontus was born.
With the help of Uranus’ godly
rain, he encircled the world and
his veins rose up into the
mountains and filled the rivers
and lakes and streams.
• Life began. Grass grew. Vines
sprouted. Great trees rose up
and towered into the sky.
Pontus fathered many divine
children who were water spirits
and nymphs.
The Twelve Titans
• Still Gaea longed. She wanted children to love and
protect and soon the Titans were born. Human in all
ways but size. They were built like mountains and
hovered over all the land.
• Six brothers and six sisters who formed six sister-brother
pairs—some of whom even wed one another. For there
was no one else as powerful as them to ensure the
survival of their race.
The Union of the Titans
Male
Female
Ruler of Water and the Seas < Oceanus Tethys > Titaness of Life-giving Water
Titan of Light & Observation < Hyperion Theia > Titaness of Sight & Aether
Titan of Intelligence < Coeus Phoebe > Titaness of Light & the Moon
Titan of Time and the Ages < Cronus Rhea > Titaness of Fertility & Motherhood
Iapetus > Titan of Mortality & Death
Crius > Titan of Leadership & Animals
Titaness of Law, Justice & Order > Themis
Titaness of Memory > Mnemosyne
The Cyclopes
• Mother Earth loved the Titans
more than she did herself but
she was not content. She
wanted more and her next
children came in two sets of
three.
• Full of rage and passion were
the Cyclopes, “The Circle-Eyed
Ones”: Brontes “The Thunderer,”
great and bellowing; Steropes,
swift as lightning; and Arges,
bright and radiant. All three
fierce, master forgers and
builders.
The Hecatoncheires
• Next, there were the 100Handed, 50-Headed, 100-Eyed
Hecatoncheires: Briareus “The
Vigorous”; Cottus “The Furious
Striker”; and Gyges “The LargeLimbed”. Monstrous and infantile
yet more powerful than the
Titans.
• They were like the forces of
nature causing earthquakes and
tidal waves at a whim.
Gaea’s Other Children
The Cyclopes
Brontes: “The Thunderer”
Steropes: “Lightning”
Arges: “Brightness”
The Hecatoncheires
“The Vigorous” :Briareus
“The Furious Striker” :Cottus
“The Large-Limbed” :Gyges
Only a Mother Could Love
• And Gaea loved them all unconditionally because the bond
between a mother and her children is the strongest of them all;
however, her joy was soon destroyed.
• Uranus only loved the Titans who were made in his own image. He
did not recognize the younger monstrosities as his own.
Exiled
• In a violent and omnipotent rage, Uranus cast his children
down and flung them into the deepest bowels of Mother
Earth… Tartarus—the eternal chasm that is the Underworld.
• Shocked at her husband’s actions Gaea fell into despair but
patience was one of virtues. She waited. She plotted.
The Passing of Time
• The Titans grew to
adulthood and had children
of their own who in turn
had children. Life on Earth
was paradise. A Golden Age
of plenty and Uranus still
ruled.
• Nevertheless, Gaea could
never forget the youngest
of her children as she felt
their riotous desperation
from deep within her
being.
Children of the Titans
1ST Generation of
Titan (Parents)
2ND Generation of
Titans (Children)
Hyperion’s & Theia’s
Children
Eos > Titaness of the Dawn
Helios > Titan of the Sun
Selene > Titaness of the Moon
Coeus’s & Phoebe’s
Daughters
Leto > Titaness of ?
Asteria > Titaness of Dreams, Oracles, & Falling Stars
Iapetus’s Sons
Atlas > Titan of Excessive Daring & Endurance
Prometheus > Titan of Cunning Foresight; “The Fore-thinker “
Epimetheus > Titan of After-sight ; “The After-thinker”
Menoetius > Titan of Mortality, Anger, & Rash Action
Oceanus’ & Tethys’
Daughter
Metis > Titaness of Prudence, Wisdom, the Conscience
Crius’s Sons
Astraeus > Titan of the Stars
Pallas > Titan of War
Perses > Titan of Destruction—The Destroyer
A Mother’s Bidding
• It was time for action. Mother Earth whispered into
the ear of the youngest of her Titan progeny. Cronus
(Saturn) answered his mother’s desperate pleas.
• He would lead his brothers and rise up against their
father and free his uncles from their imprisonment.
The Defeat of Uranus
• In secret Gaea conjured a great adamantine sickle. A powerful and
skillfully sharpened weapon forged from deep within. She infused it
with her very essence and gifted it to Cronus, the only Titan brave
enough to strike a killing blow against his father.
• Cronus lifted the weapon, lunged forward, and tore his father
asunder. Uranus cursed Cronus and prophesized that his children too
would be betray him as he had betrayed his own father!
• Nevertheless, as Uranus’ blood oozed from his divine form, Cronus
took in most of his celestial energies as his father slowly dispersed
into the cosmos.
At War with the Universe
• The Titans and their children answered their great mother’s
plea. The battled raged and blows struck repeatedly on both
sides. But Uranus was supreme and clashed down upon
them with the weight of the Universe.
• The Titans were seemingly no match, but through the years
Gaea had prepared well.
A New Reign
• Cronus was now the Divine Ruler of the Heavens, Earth,
and Time. With his Sister-wife Rhea (Cybele) at his side,
a new age was at hand.
From the Blood Rose…
• Perplexingly, as Uranus’ blood poured out
and fell to the Earth, more children were
born.
• The Furies, three vengeful sisters, sprang up
from Gaea’s caverns.
• Some even say that because the blood
spilled in the ocean, Aphrodite Goddess of
Love rose from the sea foam.
• This was also the prelude to an even more
monstrous set of children—The Giants!
The Avenging Sisters
The Furies (Erinyes): “The Avengers”
Alecto: “The Unnameable” > Goddess of Relentless Anger
Sought Punishment for Moral Crimes
Megaera: “The Grudging” > Goddess of Jealousy and Envy
Sought Punishment for Crimes of Marital Infidelity
Tisiphone: “Vengeful Destruction” > Goddess of Vengeance
Sought Punishment for Crimes of Murder—Parricide, Fratricide, Homicide
A Mother’s Regret
• Gaea poured all her hope faith into
her son Cronus, and he did her proud
in undertaking the task to destroy
Uranus; however, he too betrayed her
trust and broke his promise.
• He did not free his brothers from the
bowels of Tartarus. He kept them
imprisoned so he could reign
supreme. Truly he was his father’s
son!
• Again, Gaea waited… and planned…