The history of
Greek mythology is part of a large group that tells about the origins of the world and details. These accounts were fashioned and scattered in an oral-poetic tradition; Greek mythology was also reflected in artifacts, some of them work of art, notably the repertory of vase-painters. The Greeks themselves referred to the myths and associated artworks to throw light on cult practices and ritual traditions that were already ancient and, at times, poorly understood. In the wide variety of myths and legends that constitute ancient Greek mythology, the deities that were native to the Greek peoples are described as having human but ideal bodies. Although each god's physical appearance is distinct, they have the power to change into anything. Most Greek information came from the Romans, but in many cases there was a change of name.
The Titans, also known as the elder gods, ruled the earth before the Olympians overthrew them. The ruler of the Titans was Cronus, who was overthrown by his son Zeus. Most of the Titans fought with Cronus against Zeus and were punished by being sent away by Tartarus. During their rule the Titans were connected with the different planets.
Gaea is the Earth goddess. Gaea seems to have started as a Neolithic earth-mother worshipped before the Indo-European attack that eventually leads to the community.
Uranus is the sky god and first ruler. He is the son of Gaea, who created him without help. He then became the husband of Gaea and together they had many children, including twelve of the Titans.
Cronus was the ruling Titan who came to power by castrating his father Uranus. His wife was Rhea. There children 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 riot against Cronus and the other Titans, beat them, and sent them to Tartarus in the underworld.
Cronus managed to escape to
Oceanus is the unending stream of water encircling the world.
Tethys is the wife of Oceanus. Together they produced the rivers and the three thousand ocean nymphs.
Hyperion is the Titan of light, the father of the sun, the moon, and the dawn.
Themis was the Titan of justice and order. She was the mother of the Fates and the Seasons.
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 dismayed against Cronus Prometheus left the other Titans and fought on Zeus side.
By some accounts he and his brother Epimetheus were delagated by Zeus to create man. In all accounts, Prometheus is known as the protector and benifactor 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 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 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 was the Titaness of the forth day and the planet Mercury. She presided over all wisdom and knowledge. Zeus became worried over prophecies that her second child would replace Zeus. To avoid this Zeus ate her. It is said that she is the cause for Zeus’s wisdom and that she still advises Zeus from his belly.
Hermes was the son of Zeus and Maia, a nymph. He was born already walking and talking. The day he was born, Hermes created the lyre, a kind of harp. Then he stole fifty of Apollo's sheep, sacrificing two of them to the gods. Being the god of thieves, Hermes cleverly hid all of his tracks. However, Apollo was the god of prediction, so he found out that Hermes had stolen his sheep. Hermes then had to swap his lyre for the sheep. Then the two gods became friends.
Chaos was the dark solid absent and whitch nothing can exist. She generated the solid mass, the earth, from whitch arose a star filled heaven.
Tartarus is the lowest region of the underworld. Tartarus rose out of Chaos and was the destination of wicked souls.
Eros was the god of love. He was thought to be a handsome and intense young man.
Erebus gave the personification of the darkness. Erebus was the region right under the earth, were shades must pass to get to the real of Hades.
Oceanus and Tethys gave the personification of the vast oceans. They produced rivers and offspring called Oceanids.
Hestia was the virgin goddess of the hearth. She was the symbol of the house and even though she wasn’t a major god every city had a hearth that was always burning. A bay would have to pass threw the hearth before going to its new family.
Hades was the world of the underworld and the ruler over the dead. He was a very greedy god and only interested in increasing his subject. He was the richest god because of all the gems and metals from the ground. His wife was Persephone, who he abducted.
Poseidon was the god of the sea. His weapon was the trident; which could shatter objects, and shake the earth. He was only second to Zeus. He was married to Amphitrite, but had many affairs. At one point he was in love with Dement.
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