Θεογονία The Theogony Poem by Hesiod
Hesiod's Theogony, a poem describing the origins and genealogy of the Gods.
We will go back to the beginning and follow the divine generations step by step.
In Hesiod's Theogony, the beginning is not described as the creation of a universe by a single creator God.
Instead, the first primordial beings emerge.
The ancient Greek word khaos is associated with a gaping opening, a void, or a primordial separation.
From this beginning, other primordial powers appear.
* Tartarus — the deep region beneath the world
* Eros — a primordial power of attraction and generation
Then other primordial beings emerge, including Nyx, Night, and Erebus, Darkness.
The divine world is beginning to take shape.
One of the most important primordial beings is Gaia.
Gaia is not merely a planet floating through space.
She is Earth itself, understood as a divine primordial power.
She brings forth Uranus, the Sky, who becomes her divine counterpart.
Together, Earth and Sky become the parents of an important generation of Gods.
And this is where the story of the Titans begins.
Uranus (Ouranos) represents the Sky.
Gaia and Uranus become parents to several groups of powerful beings.
Among their children are:
The twelve great Titans traditionally named are:
Oceanus
Coeus
Crius
Hyperion
Iapetus
Cronus
Theia
Rhea
Themis
Mnemosyne
Phoebe
Tethys
These are not yet the Olympian Gods we usually picture when we hear "Greek Gods."
They belong to an earlier divine generation.
But one of them will eventually change the entire order of the cosmos.
Uranus fears his children and keeps some of them imprisoned within Gaia.
She creates a great sickle and asks her children to oppose Uranus.
When Uranus comes to Gaia, Cronus attacks him and overthrows him.
The old divine order falls.
Cronus becomes the ruling power of the cosmos.
Cronus learns of a prophecy:
One day, one of his own children will overthrow him.
And Cronus becomes determined to prevent that future.
Cronus marries his sister Rhea.
Together they have several children:
Hestia
Demeter
Hera
Hades
Poseidon
Zeus
But Cronus fears the prophecy.
So whenever Rhea gives birth, Cronus swallows the child.
One by one, his children disappear into him.
When Zeus is born, however, she decides to save him.
She hides Zeus and gives Cronus a stone wrapped in cloth instead.
Cronus swallows the stone, believing it is the newborn Zeus.
Meanwhile, Zeus is hidden away and raised in secret.
Zeus eventually grows powerful enough to challenge Cronus.
With the help of divine allies, Zeus forces Cronus to release the children he swallowed.
The divine family is reunited.
But the struggle is not finished.
The younger Gods now face the Titans.
The great war between the Titans and the younger Gods becomes known as the Titanomachy.
Zeus and his allies fight against Cronus and the Titans for control of the cosmos.
After a tremendous struggle, Zeus and the younger generation prevail.
The Olympian order begins.
After the victory, Zeus, Poseidon and Hades divide the realms of the cosmos.
Poseidon receives the sea.
Hades receives the realm of the dead.
