Earth and Heaven, twelve children occurred: six brothers - Hyperion, Iapet, Kei, Krios, Kronos, Ocean, and six sisters - Mnemosyne, Rhea, Theia, Tefida, Phoebe, Themis.

One of the six titanic brothers, Kronos, was the father of Zeus (the main god of Olympus). Zeus overthrew and emasculated his father. After that, the titans defended their brother and unleashed a war, which is called "Titanomachy". The war was lost by the Titans after a ten-year battle. And the gods of Olympus came out victorious. The Titans were thrown into the terrible Tartarus on the advice of Prometheus. In the future, there was a reconciliation between the enemies and the titans submitted to Zeus, recognizing his strength in full power over them. For this, the Thunderer granted them freedom.

If the gods of the first generation were cosmic forces (Chaos is the original emptiness and abyss), then the gods of the second generation - titans - were archaic creatures representing natural elements and disasters. They did not possess wisdom and rationality, did not know order and measure. They were distinguished by primitive savagery and rudeness, primitiveness and actions. The main tool for them was brute strength and primordial power. They did not yet have that heroism, wisdom and cosmic harmony that later distinguished the gods of Olympus - Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hera, Hermes, etc.

Marriages and children of the titans

All twelve titans and the Titanids intermarried and gave birth to another generation of ancient gods.

Hperion and Theia had three heavenly children: Helios, who personified the sun, Selena, the image of the moon, and Eos, the morning dawn. Eos became the wife of Astrea and bore him a myriad of children - all the stars in the sky (including Phosphorus and Hesperus - the morning and the star), all the winds on (Boreas, Noth, Evrus and Zephyr).

The ocean and Tefida gave birth to all the rivers on earth. And from the nymph Thetis, Ocean gave birth to Oceanid daughters.

Phoebus and Kea were not so prolific. They had only two daughters - the beautiful goddess Leto, who later became the mother of Apollo and Artemis, and Asteria, who later gave birth to the sinister Hecate - the goddess of moonlight and hell.

The Titanide Themis was associated with Zeus (chief of Olympus) and bore him six daughters. Three daughters were Moirs (Parks) - goddesses of fate. Atropos weaved a thread of fate, Cloto created a fancy pattern from these threads, and Lachesis finished life path cutting the thread of fate.

The other three daughters of Themis and Zeus were the eternally youthful Ora. Eunomia represented legitimacy, Dike was the spokesman for the truth, and Eirena brought peace with her. These three sisters guarded the gates of Olympus in white robes and the retinue of the goddess of love and beauty Aphrodite.

In ancient Greece, religion originated long before our era. People could not explain the natural phenomena occurring on earth, the issues of life and death. They thought that everything is done according to the will of the gods.

Instructions

According to ancient Greek history, about two thousand years BC. eternal Chaos reigned on earth, which contained everything for the creation of the world of people and gods. The goddess of the earth Gaia, who emerged from Chaos, gave her strength and power to the birth of life on earth. At the same time, Tartarus appeared in the bowels of the earth, an abyss filled with eternal darkness. Eros was also born out of Chaos, which revives love all around. Eros and Gaia began to create life. Other gods began to appear, many of whom lived on the high Mount Olympus, inaccessible to mortal man. They were like ordinary people: their lives were also ruled by fate. Of the large number of gods that make up the ancient Greek pantheon, certain responsibilities were assigned.

At the head of the Olympian gods was the mighty Zeus, the sky, who, with the help of thunder and lightning, inspired terrible fear. Zeus' power over other gods, people and nature was considered unlimited. The ancient Greeks imagined him as mature, with a strong sturdy figure and a dark beard, like a king sitting on a throne. Many of the Olympian gods were related to the ruler of the sky.

Hera, the wife of Zeus and the queen, had a very cool character. She patronized women and marriage, was considered the goddess of the starry sky. Hera was portrayed as a beauty, wearing a crown and holding a royal lotus.

Poseidon was the brother of Zeus, under his control was the entire water world. Earthquakes, droughts and floods occurred at the behest of Poseidon. Seafarers and fishermen lived under the auspices of this god. The ancient Greeks represented Poseidon as a dark-bearded, strong man of mature age, whose attribute was a trident.

Aida, after the overthrow of the father of Kronos in Tartarus, the brothers Zeus and Poseidon into the possession of the underworld. He ruled a kingdom into which not a single ray of sunlight could penetrate, as well as a variety of human emotions. In the middle of the lifeless space, Hades sat on the golden royal throne, next to him were the chief judges - Radamant and Minos. The Erinyes also settled here. Hypnos often came to visit here, the drink of which was able to put anyone to sleep. The terrifying sight of Hecate, who has three bodies and three heads and often gets out, frightens mortals, on whom she sends nightmares. The three-headed Cerberus prevents anyone from leaving the realm of the dead. The symbol of Hades is a two-pronged pitchfork, indicating that life and death are subject to him. The ancient Greeks, being afraid to pronounce the name of Hades, mentioned it only in allegorical form.

Athena continued and fulfilled the plans of her father Zeus. The goddess of wisdom and just war possessed rational guiding power, patronized the craft. Athena is a stately and beautiful goddess who took a vow of celibacy and chastity. Among the female goddesses, Athena was portrayed as a warrior: in a helmet with a raised visor, a spear and a shield in her hands.

Golden-haired Apollo and young Artemis are twins, deep loving friend friend and his mother Latona. The ancient Greeks considered Apollo to be the arrow god, the patron saint of the arts. The images of Apollo are different: a young man in a laurel wreath, in whose hands now a cithara, now a bow and arrows. His sister Artemis -

In ancient Greek mythology, the gods of the second generation are called titans.

They are the children of Uranus (the sky god) and Gaia (the earth goddess). There were 6 Titans, their sisters (Titanides) were also 6. They married each other and gave birth to a new generation of gods.

Ancient Greek mythology of the Titans

Sons Uranus and Gays: Ocean, Coy, Crius, Hyperion, Iapet and Kronos... The Daughters of Uranus and Gaia: Theia, Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne, Phoebe and Tefida.
The most famous of these were Hyperion and Theia.
Titan Hyperion is the father of Helios (the sun god), Selene (the moon goddess) and Eos (the Dawn goddess). Sometimes Hyperion is identified with Helios (including Homer).
Titanide Theia- the eldest daughter of Uranus and Gaia.
possessed power over the world stream, washing land and sea, giving rise to all rivers, springs, sea currents. Shelter of the sun, moon and stars.

Ocean Statue
Author: I, QuartierLatin1968, from Wikipedia
The ocean is known for its peacefulness and kindness, respected by other gods. The ocean washes the border between the world of life and death, where the entrance to the underworld is located. The horse Pegasus was born near its waters.
Pegasus(stormy current) in ancient Greek mythology - a winged horse, a favorite of the muses. He flew with the speed of the wind, with a blow of his hoof on the ground, he could knock out sources. Subsequently, Pegasus delivered thunder and lightning to Zeus to Olympus from Hephaestus, who made them.

Pegasus on the opera house in Poznan (Poland)
- the wife of her brother Ocean, with whom she gave birth to 3 thousand sons - river streams and 3 thousand daughters - oceanids.

Tephida (ancient Roman mosaic)
- brother and husband of the titanide Phoebe, who gave birth to Leto and Asteria. Kay participated in the titanomachy and was thrown by Zeus with his brothers into Tartarus.
Titanomachy- the war of the titans, the battle of the Olympian gods with the titans, which lasted for 10 years in Thessaly between two camps of deities long before the existence of the human race. The Olympians won the victory with the help of the Cyclops and Hecatoncheires.

The Fall of the Titans by Peter Paul Rubens. Royal Museums of Fine Arts (Brussels).
Kei is the god-embodiment of the celestial axis around which the clouds revolve and walk across the heavens Helios (Sun) and Selena (Moon).
Titan Kronos- the youngest son of the first god Uranus and the goddess Gaia. Initially he was considered the god of agriculture, and later, in the Hellenistic period, he was identified with the god of time, Chronos. He was the ruler of Olympus, and then overthrown and imprisoned in Tartarus.

P. Rubens "Saturn"
According to ancient Greek mythology, Uranus, fearing to die from one of his children, returned them again to the bowels of the earth. Therefore, Gaia persuaded Kronos, who was the last to be born, to emasculate Uranus. Kronos did this and became the supreme god.

D. Vasari and J. Christofano "Castration of Uranus by Cronus" (XVI century)
A golden age began under him. Kronos was afraid of the prediction of Uranus, according to which one of his children, born to him by Rhea, would overthrow him, and therefore swallowed them one by one. So he swallowed Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades and Poseidon. From the union of Kronos with the nymph Filira (which he later, fearing Rhea's jealousy, turned into a mare) a centaur was born Chiron.

Chiron teaches Achilles to play the lyre

Unlike most other centaurs, who were famous for their violence, a penchant for drunkenness and hostility to people, Chiron was wise and kind. He lived on Mount Pelion. He was a student of Apollo and Artemis, he taught many heroes: Jason (for whose journey he made the first heavenly globe), as well as Dioscuri, Achilles, whom he fed with lion meat, possibly Orpheus and others. He taught the medical art of Asclepius and Patroclus, the art of hunting - Actaeon.
Rhea, pregnant with Zeus, not wanting to lose her last child, gave birth to him in a deep cave in Crete and hid him there, and gave Kronos a stone to swallow. When Kronos realized that he was deceived, he began to look for Zeus throughout the land, but could not find. Growing up Zeus started a war with his father. After a ten-year war, Kronos was overthrown by Zeus and imprisoned in Tartarus (the deepest abyss under the kingdom of Hades).
But first Zeus freed the brothers and sisters from the womb of Kronos, forcing Kronos to vomit the children he had swallowed, and reigned over the world, making his brothers and sisters the Olympic gods ( Hestia- the goddess of the hearth, Heru- the wife and queen of the gods, Demeter- the goddess of fields and fertility, Aida- the god of the underworld of the dead and Poseidon- the god of the seas).
When Kronos castrated Uranus with a sickle, furies and giants were born from the blood of Uranus. Furies in ancient Roman mythology - the goddess of revenge (in ancient Greek mythology, they correspond erinyam).

Adolphe William Bouguereau "The Repentance of Orestes, or Orestes Persecuted by the Erinyes" (1862). Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Virginia
Author: unknown, from Wikipedia
In later myths, titans are identified with giants.
Titans were archaic deities, the veneration of which dates back to an era that was distant even for the ancient Greeks themselves. Together, the titans were most likely the personification of earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, i.e. uncontrollable natural forces, and were defeated by the Olympic gods who protected peace and order. The sons of the first titans were also called titans - Atlanta, Prometheus and Helios.

Cyclops

According to ancient Greek mythology, the children of Uranus and Gaia, along with the titans, were the cyclops. Cyclops- divine beings (or a separate people) - three one-eyed giants: Arg("Shining"), Bront("Thunderous") and Sterop("Shining").
Immediately after birth, the Cyclops were tied up and thrown by their father into Tartarus. They were freed by the Titans after the overthrow of Uranus, but were again fettered by Kronos.
When Zeus began a struggle with Kronos for power, he, on the advice of their mother Gaia, brought the Cyclopes out of Tartarus to come to the aid of the Olympian gods in the war against the titans. Cyclops forged peruns (thunder and lightning) to Zeus, which he threw into the titans. They forged a helmet for Hades, and a trident for Poseidon, taught Hephaestus and Athena crafts.
After the end of the war of the titans, the cyclops continued to serve Zeus - forging the weapon of the Thunder God.

D. Flaxman "Odysseus and Cyclops Polyphemus"
Cyclops interrupted Apollo after Zeus struck the son of Apollo Asclepius with a perun (and this perun was forged by the Cyclops). Their place in the smithy of the Peruns was taken by Hephaestus.

Polyphemus
Author: Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein, from Wikipedia
According to one of the versions, reflected in Homer's Odyssey, the Cyclopes were a whole people. Among them, the most famous is the fierce son of Poseidon. Polyphemus that Odysseus stripped of his only eye.
The Scythian people of the Arimasps were also considered one-eyed.
Where did the Cyclops myth come from?
Paleontologist Otenio Abel in 1914 suggested that in antiquity there were dwarf elephants (their skulls were found), the central nasal opening in the elephant's skull could be mistaken for a giant eye socket. These elephants were found precisely on the Mediterranean islands of Cyprus, Malta, Crete, Sicily, Sardinia, the Cyclades and the Dodecanese.

Hecatoncheira

Hecatoncheira(from Old Greek "one hundred, one hundred" and "hand") - 100-armed and 50-headed giants, the personification of the elements, according to Hesiod, the sons of the god Uranus and the goddess Gaia: Briareus(Egeon) Cott and Gies... Immediately after their birth, Uranus put them in chains and threw them into the bowels of the Earth, and Zeus freed them for war with the Titans. During the Titanomachy of the Hecatoncheires, they were called to the aid of the Olympian gods, and they opposed the Titans, bringing victory to the gods.
Later they guard the titans in Tartarus. Most likely, in fact, these were people who lived in the city of Storuchye in Haonia.

Titans and Olympians

In ancient Greece, there are two groups of gods: titans, - the gods of the second generation and the Olympian gods, or Olympians- gods of the third generation. The Titans were born by the land of Gaia and the sky by Uranus. There were six brothers - Ocean, Kei, Krius, Hiperion, Iapet, Kronos and six sisters - Thetis, Phoebus, Mnemosyne, Theia, Themis, Rhea, who married each other and gave birth to a new generation of gods - Prometheus, Helios, Selene, Eos (Aurora) and others. The youngest of the titans Kronos on the advice of mother Gaia, he castrated Uranus with a sickle to stop his endless fertility, and took the place of the supreme god of the titans.
The Olympians included the children of Kronos and Rhea - Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades (Hades), Poseidon and Zeus, as well as their descendants - Hephaestus, Hermes, Persephone, Aphrodite, Dionysus, Athena, Apollo and Artemis. Their leader was Zeus who deprived his father of power.

The history of the confrontation between the titans and the Olympians

The story of the confrontation between the Olympians and the titans began with the fact that, fearing to lose power, Kronos began to swallow his children. He swallowed Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades and Poseidon. Fearing to lose her last child, Zeus, Rhea hid him in a deep cave and gave Kronos a stone instead. Growing up Zeus rebelled against his father and forced him to return to the world the children he had absorbed. They began to fight Kronos and the other titans for power over the world.

Titanomachy or the battle of the titans or the Olympians

This fight is known as titanomachy, or battle of the titans- giants, was terrible and stubborn. The Titans — all but the Ocean — set out from Mount Ophri; Olympians - from Mount Olympus. Their forces were roughly equal. The battle lasted ten years, until Zeus learned that the Olympian gods would win only if they freed the fifty-headed, hundred-handed giants - the Hundred-handed or Hecatoncheires (Hecatenheirers) - imprisoned in the bowels of the earth (Tartarus) by Uranus.
Soon, terrible and huge, like mountains, the Hundred-Arms, as well as the giants, the cyclops and some of the titans (Ocean and Oceanids, Prometheus) joined the gods. Intoxicated by the received freedom, the Hundred-handed tore rocks from the Earth and, with force, hundreds, brought them down on the heads of the titans when they approached Olympus. The Earth moaned, the roar filled the air, everything was vibrating around. Even Tartarus shuddered from this struggle. Zeus tirelessly threw flaming lightning bolts, which he barely had time to forge and bring him cyclops. The fire engulfed the entire Earth, the seas boiled, smoke and stench covered everything with a thick veil. Pan, who knows how to induce unreasonable panic fear on enemies, also helped the thunderer.

- the son of Kronos, or Saturn and Rhea, brother of Zeus, the ruler of the underworld, where he reigns over the shadows with his wife Persephon, or Proserpina. In Roman mythology, Pluto.

Atlas - in Greek mythology, the Titanide, the son of the titan Iapetus and the oceanid Klymene. He supported heavenly vault near the garden of the Hesperides as punishment for participating in the battle with Zeus on the side of the titans.

Apollo is the son of Zeus and Lethe (Latona), the patron saint of poetry, music and singing, also the patron saint of herds. As the messenger of the will of Zeus, Apollo was the god of predictions and oracles.

Koy - Greek mythology titan, son of Uranus and Gaia, brother and husband of the titanide Phoebe, who gave birth to Leto and Asteria. Participated in the titanomachy and was thrown by Zeus together with his brothers in Tartarus.

Ares is the god of war, the son of Zeus and Hera. In early myths, the birth of Ares took place without the participation of his father from the touch of Hera to the magic flower. In later myths, Ares appeared as the son of Zeus.

Kronos is the son of the sky god Uranus and the earth goddess Gaia. He succumbed to the persuasion of his mother and emasculated his father Uranus in order to stop the endless birth of his children.

Hermes is the Arcadian god of pastures, the executor of the will of Zeus. Hermes, great inventor, patron of industry, god of the roads, guide and guide of the dead. In Roman mythology, it corresponds to Mercury.

Ocean - oldest god water element, the forefather of the gods of the sea, rivers, streams and springs. Titan, son of Uranus and Gaia. From him came a numerous generation of water deities, who made up a special water Olympus.

Dionysus is the eternally young god of the fertile forces of the earth, vegetation, viticulture and winemaking, known as the "god with bull horns", the son of Zeus and the Theban princess Semele.

Pallant is the son of Gaia and Uranus. During the gigantomachy, Athena crushed the lustful Pallant with a piece of rock, and then tore off his skin, still alive, to make an aegis for herself.

Zeus is the son of Kronos (Saturn) and Rhea, the husband of Hera, the most powerful and highest of the gods of the Greek people, the sovereign ruler of the world, the father of gods and people. In Roman mythology, Jupiter.

Prometheus is the son of the titan Iapetus and the oceanid Klymene, according to another version - Asia or the goddess of justice Themis. He gave people the divine fire hidden by the thunderer Zeus.

Mars - in Roman mythology, the god of war, the oldest deity of Rome, who was part of the triad of gods who originally headed the Roman pantheon - Jupiter, Mars and Quirinus.

Uranus is the oldest of the Greek gods. The personification of the sky in Greek myths. The progenitor of giants, goddesses of vengeance, Erinias, nymphs, hecatoncheires, giants-cyclops, Aphrodite and the titan Kronos.

Mercury - in Roman mythology, the god of trade, profit and enrichment, the patron saint of travelers, the son of Maya.

Neptune is one of the most ancient gods of the Roman pantheon. He was identified with the god of Greek mythology Poseidon.

Pan - the field and forest god, the patron saint of herds grazing in the forest and in the field, possessed the gift of prophecy, was considered the son of the prophetic Peak and the grandson of Kronos (Saturn). The Romans - Faun

Poseidon is the son of Kronos, or Saturn, and Rhea, the brother of Zeus; after the victory over the titans, with the division of domination over the world, he became the ruler of the sea. In Roman mythology, Neptune.

Jupiter - in Roman mythology, the almighty god of the sky, the king of the gods. Jupiter was revered as the supreme deity, the lord of thunder and lightning.

Janus - Roman god of doors; as such had two faces. He was also the god of treaties and alliances. Janus commanded the beginnings. Before the advent of the cult of Jupiter, Janus was a deity of heaven and light.

On the website Encyclopedia of Mythology the ancient world posted more than two hundred articles about the Olympian gods, which can be found in our mythological dictionary.

Are Titans Gods of Time? How did the universe begin? How many titans were there? Are the old-handed and the Cyclops their children? Why was Uranus castrated? What is the secret of the birth of Aphrodite? How were the Titans defeated by the Olympian Gods? Where did the titans live and where was the king of the titans exiled?

The Titans were the six elder gods of time named Kronos, Kay, Krios, Iapetus, Hyperion, and Ocean, who ruled the cosmos before the Olympians came to power. They were the sons of Uranus (heaven) and Gaia (earth).

After the titans, Gaia and Uranus gave birth to six monstrous giants - three hecatoncheires, which means "hundred-handed", and three one-eyed cyclops. Uranus was frightened by the monsters he generated and imprisoned them in the bowels of the earth, which caused Gaia to suffer greatly. She hated Uranus and, wanting to prevent the emergence of new, even more terrible children, ordered the youngest of the titans, Cronus, to emasculate her father. Aphrodite was born from drops of blood of emasculated Uranus that fell into the sea.

Titans are 6 sons and 6 daughters of Uranus (heaven) and Gem (earth). They gave birth to a new generation of gods: Prometheus, Helios, muses, etc.

The image of Aphrodite in the development of Greek mythology has undergone perhaps the most significant changes. As one of the most ancient deities, Aphrodite originally personified the spontaneous productive force of nature. But in the Olympic period, she turned into a golden-haired beauty - the goddess of beauty and love. Later myths say that she was born from sea foam, and her name is often translated as "Foamborn."

When Uranus imprisoned their storm giant brothers, the Cyclops and Hundred-handed, and imprisoned them in the belly of Mother Earth, she convinced her Titan sons to rebel. Led by Cronus, five of the six brothers ambushed their father, and he descended to lie on Earth: Hyperion, Krios, Kei, and Iapetus, stood on watch in the four corners of the world, grabbed him, and held Uranus. while Crohn, in the center, castrated him with an indestructible sickle. After they seized control of heaven, the Titans freed their giant brothers from Gaia's belly, only to throw them into Hell in Tartarus, earning their mother's fury.

Then there was a prophecy that the son of Kronos would overthrow the Titans, and thus, the Titan-king, in fear for his throne, began to devour each of his descendants as soon as they were born. Only Zeus escaped this fate through the intervention of his mother Rhea and Gaia, who hid him safely away in a cave on the island of Crete.

According to one of the legends, the titans were incinerated by the lightning of Zeus, and from this soot people appeared.

Reaching adulthood, he forced Cronus to ejaculate his siblings, and with an army of divine allies made at war with the Titans, and led them into the pit of Tartarus, from where they headed into eternity. Some say that Kronos retired to Elysium. The sisters of the six Titans, Rhea, Thea, Mnemosyne, Themis and Tephis, were known as the Titanids (women of the Titans), and many of their sons and daughters also received this name, including Helios, Atlas, and Prometheus.