From the Creation to the First Olympians

THE CREATION

According to Hesiod in his Theogony, in the beginning there was nothing but a great, yawning void called Chaos. The Theogony is the most important source for the creation myths.

Chaos gave birth to the following: 1. Gaea the earth 2. Tartarus the underworld 3. Eros love 4. Erebus darkness under the earth 5. Nyx the night

Gaea produced:

1. Uranus the heavens 2. the mountains 3. the seas

THE GENERATION OF THE TITANS

Gaea (the Earth) and Uranus (the sky) then became consorts and had many children, as follows:

The 12 Titans
In the first generation of twelve Titans the males were: Oceanus Hyperion Coeus Cronus Crius Iapetus The females of the first generation of twelve Titans were: Mnemosyne Tethys Theia Phoebe Rhea Themis

The 3 Hecatonchires
The Hecatonchires were giants with one hundred arms (that is the meaning of their name). They also had 50 heads. Their names were Briareus (vigorous, aka Aegaeon (sea goat)), Cottus (striker), and Gyes (or Gyges) (big-limbed).

The 3 Cyclopes
The Cyclopes were oneeyed giants (cyclops means wheel-eyed), whose names were Arges (thunderbolt), Brontes (thunder), and Steropes (lightning).

Because the Hecatonchires and Cyclopes were malformed, Uranus hid them away in Tartarus. This greatly upset Gaia.

CRONUS KICKS URANUS OUT OF POWER

Gaea asked her children, the Titans, to help, but none dared go against their father except Cronus. One night, when Uranus came to Gaea, Cronus emasculated him with a sickle of flint.

From the blood of Uranus arose the Furies, the Giants (who will later attack Zeus), the Meliae (nymphs of the ash trees), and Aphrodite (from blood mixed with the sea foam).

The Furies are known as the Eumenides (a euphemism meaning the kindly ones) and the Erinyes (the angry ones). The three are portrayed as hideous, snake-haired women carrying smoking torches. They are Alecto (the relentless), Megaera (the jealous), and Tisiphone (the avenger).

But Cronus soon showed himself to be as tyrannical as his father, and kept the Hecatonchires and Cyclopes imprisoned. Not only that, but having been told by Uranus that he too would be overthrown by his son, Cronus swallowed all his offspring as soon as they were born. This, understandably, greatly upset his wife, Rhea.

After Cronus had swallowed Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon in succession, Rhea came up with a plan. When her next child, Zeus, was born, she replaced him with a rock wrapped in baby clothes, which Cronus promptly swallowed. Zeus was kept safe by Gaea.

Zeus was raised on Mt. Dicte (or Mt. Ida) on Crete, nourished by the she-goat Amalthea

When Zeus cried, the Curetes (or Corybantes) clashed their spears on their shields to keep Cronus from hearing him.

When Zeus had grown, he married Metis, whom he persuaded to give Cronos a concoction which caused him to vomit up Zeus siblings, as well as the stone which Cronos had swallowed thinking it Zeus. This stone was placed in Delphi as was called the Omphalos the belly-button of the universe!

The Omphalos at Delphi

THE TITANOMACHY
The boundless sea echoed terribly, earth resounded with the great roar, wide heaven trembled and groaned, and high Olympus was shaken from its base by the onslaught of the immortals; the quakes came thick and fast and, with the dread din of the endless chase and mighty weapons, reached down to gloomy Tartarus. Hesiod, Theogony 678-683

Now that Zeus siblings were free, they all decided to make war on Cronos. The war is called the Titanomachy the Battle of the Titans.

On one side: Cronos and the male Titans (with the exception of Oceanus and Hyperion), along with some of their children (e.g., Atlas). They had their base of operations on Mt. Othrys.

On the other: Demeter, Hades, Hestia, Hera, Poseidon, and Zeus. They had their base of operations on Mt. Olympus, and that is why they came to be called the Olympians. They were assisted by the one of the sons of Iapetus Prometheus. Prometheus name means forethought and he knew which side would win.

The battle raged for ten long years, until Zeus freed the Hecatonchires and Cyclopes from Tartarus. They proved to be the difference makers. Zeus then imprisoned the Titans in Tartarus behind bronze doors, with the Hecatonchires as their guards.

Atlas was punished by being made to hold up the sky forever.

THE GIGANTOMACHY

One of the giants from the Gigantomachy, recognized by his snaky legs

This attack is said to have occurred long after the offense which caused it, but Gaea is very patient and can wait for revenge. Upset that Zeus had locked the Titans away in Tartarus, Gaea stirred up the giants against him. These were the giants who had come forth when the blood of the emasculated Uranus struck Gaea.

Zeus had heard that the giants were immune to death at the hands of the gods, so he prepared himself by producing that greatest of mortal heroes, Heracles.

Gaea then produced an herb which made the giants invulnerable to mortals as well. Zeus commanded the Sun, the Moon, and the Dawn from appearing until he successfully found the herb and tore it out by the roots.

The battle took place at the home of the giants, a place known as Phlegra (the Burning Lands), located in Pallene in Thrace. The leaders of the giants were Eurymedon, Alcyoneus, and Porphyrion.

The giants attacked the gods with torches made from entire trees and by throwing boulders and mountain tops.

When the battle began, Heracles shot Alcyoneus, but the giant, having fallen on the ground, revived. Athena then told Heracles to drag him outside Pallene, for he was immortal only for as long as he remained in the land of his birth. Heracles then dispatched him.

Later, when Porphyrion attacked Heracles, Zeus distracted the giant by inspiring him with lust for Hera, and when the goddess, with torn robes, cried for help, Zeus smote him with a thunderbolt, and then Heracles shot him dead with an arrow.

But others have said that Apollo killed Porphyrion, and also Ephialtes, whom the god shot in his left eye and Heracles in his right.

And Dionysus killed Eurytus with a thyrsus, and Hecate slew Clytius with torches, and Hephaestus killed Mimas with missiles of red-hot metal.

Athena drove her chariot against Enceladus, and when he fled she threw on him the island of Sicily. And the giant Pallas she flayed, using his skin to protect her own body during the battle.

In the meantime, Poseidon pursued Polybotes across the sea, and when they came to Cos (one of the Sporades Islands, now Dodecanese) the god broke a piece of the island (called Nisyrus) and threw it on him. Yet others say that the giant lies beneath Cos.
Cos Poseidon (notice the trident)

Polybotes

 Hermes, wearing Hades' helmet, slew Hippolytus.

Artemis slew Gration.

The Moerae (the Fates) killed Agrius and Thoas with brazen clubs.

It is generally agreed that Zeus destroyed the rest with his thunderbolt, all of them being shot, as they were dying, by Heracles.

The last of the giants, some say, were buried by Heracles beneath Myconos, the small island to the east of Delos. The Olympians were victorious!!!

Typhon (aka Typhoeus)

When Zeus had driven the Titans from heaven, vast Gaea brought forth the youngest of her children through the love of Tartarus and the agency of golden Aphrodite. The hands of the mighty god were strong in any undertaking and his feet were weariless. From the shoulders of this frightening dragon a hundred snake heads grew, flickering their dark tongues; fire blazed from the eyes under the brows of all the dreadful heads, and the flames burned as he glared. In all the terrible heads voices emitted all kinds of terrible sounds. Hesiod, Theogony 820-829

Typhon was the last of the monstrous giants created by Gaea, who had mated with Tartarus to produce him. His wife was Echidna. Their children included: * Cerberus * Orthrus * Nemean Lion * The Sphynx * The Chimaera * Crommyonian Sow

* The Hydra * The eagle which ate the liver of Prometheus

Typhon had a hundred heads with a hundred different voices. When Typhon attacked, he was so fearsome that the Olympians fled to Egypt and took on the form of animals to hide. Only Athena did not abandon Zeus.

After Hermes fled Typhon in the form of an Ibis, he returned and performed his greatest service to Zeus. Typhon had taken defeated Zeus, taken all of Zeus sinews, thus incapacitating him, and had hidden them wrapped in a bear skin in a cave, guarded by the serpent Delphyne. Hermes took Aegipan with him, defeated Delphyne, recovered the sinews, and put them back in Zeus. Zeus then defeated Typhon after the Fates had convinced him to eat earthly food, which weakened him. Zeus then cast him down into Tartarus with the Titans.