The Titans were in fact the rulers of the earth and heavens, in a time before the supremacy of the Olympian gods, yet most of them ended up incarcerated in Tartarus.
The story of the Titans begins with the Earth goddess, Gaia. Without a mate Gaia had a son, Uranus (Ouranos).
Uranus took dominion over the sky, and made himself the first ruler of the universe. Uranus and Gaia then became lovers, producing a series of children.
The first offspring were the Hecatonchires, the “hundred-handed ones”, a trio of massive giants. The second set were the Cyclopes, another trio of giants, though not as large as the Hecatonchires, they were easily distinguishable by their single eye set in their foreheads.
Uranus claimed to be aghast at the ugliness of the Hecatonchires and Cyclopes, and hid them away in the deepest reaches of the underworld, imprisoning them in Tartarus. In reality though, Uranus was scared of their great strength, and feared for his own position as supreme ruler. Fear of his offspring though did not stop him having further children, and a third set were born, the Titans.
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| Kronos and Rhea - Numérisation Google - PD-life-70 |
Gaia found it too painful to keep the Cyclopes and Hecatonchires imprisoned deep within her, and so hatched a plan to release them, a plan that would also stop Uranus producing any more children. Only Cronus, her youngest Titan son, was willing to attempt Gaia’s plan.
Cronus waited with an adamantine sickle in hand until Uranus next tried to mate with Gaia. When the sky descended to earth, the male Titans, other than Cronus, held their father down, at which point Cronus castrated Uranus.
There are variations as to whether Uranus died at this point or just withdrew from earth. From the blood spilt though were born the Furies, the Gigantes and the Meliae. The goddess Aphrodite was also born from the sea, as Uranus’ phallic member was disposed of.
Each Titanes then married one of his sisters. The pairings were Cronus and Rhea, Iapetus and Themis, Oceanus and Tethys, Hyperion and Theia, Crius and Mnemosyne, and Coeus and Phoebe. Despite being the youngest, but because of his patricide, Cronus and Rhea became the supreme rulers of the other Elder Gods.
Each of the Elder Gods had their own area of dominion;
Oceanus and Tethys produced the rivers and oceans, and also all of the ocean nymphs. Hyperion was in charge of light, and with Theia, their offspring were Helios, the sun, Selene, the moon, and Eos, the dawn. Coeus was the Titan of Intelligence; Mnemosyne was memory and the mother of the Muses; whilst Themis was in charge of justice, as well as mother to the Fates and Seasons.
The period of time that followed was known as the “Golden Age”, and was a period of harmony and prosperity for man and gods.
Cronus though, was not so different from his father. Like Uranus, he was desperate to keep hold of his power, so he also locked his siblings, the Hecatonchires, Cyclopes and Gigantes in Tatarus.
Cronus was told a prophecy by his mother, that one of his children would take his throne. With Rhea, Cronus had six children, Demeter, Hestia, Hera, Hades, Poseidon and Zeus. As each child was born they were swallowed whole by their, in orderto prevent the prophecy coming true.
Zeus would have followed the others into the stomach of Cronus but Rhea, with the assistance of Gaia, substituted a stone wrapped in baby clothes for him.
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Zeus grew up on Crete before returning to land of Cronus. There with the help of Metis, the offspring of Oceanus, he tricked Cronus into taking a potion that regurgitated Zeus’ siblings. With his siblings by his side, Zeus then led a revolt against Cronus and the other Titans.
A ten year war, known as the Titanomachy, ensued between the Titans and the siblings of Zeus. The Titans were led by Cronus, who was aided by Coeus, Crius, Hyperion, Iapetus, Atlas, Menoetius, the Gigantes, and Campe. Atlas would actually lead on the battlefield, as Cronus lead from afar.
Zeus was supported by the Hecatonchires and Cyclopes, who he released from Tartarus at the request of Gaia. The three Hecatonchires were said to help by hurling mountains, one hundred at a time during the battles.
The three brothers, Zeus, Poseidon and Hades, received weapons from the three Cyclopes to aid in the war. Zeus received the thunderbolt, Hades got the Helmet of Darkness and Poseidon got his Trident. By putting on his helmet, Hades became invisible and managed to slip into the camp of the Titan’s and destroy their armaments.
With the war won, Zeus had to deal with the Titans. The female Titans were not punished as they had remained neutral throughout the war; likewise Oceanus was left alone for the same reason.
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| Prometheus Chained - Carl Rahl (1812–1865) - PD-art-100 |
Coeus, Crius, Hyperion, Iapetus, Menoetius, and the Gigantes were all sent to the deepest depths of the underworld. Imprisoned in Tartarus, the Hecatonchires though free, stayed as guards over their siblings. In some accounts, Cronus was also imprisoned, though in others he fled after the war; Zeus tracked him down and then killed him with a thunderbolt.
Atlas was singled out for special punishment, due to his role as the leader of the Titans on the battlefield.
The ten year war had taken a toll on the sky, Uranus, and Atlas was charged with holding the heavens aloft for all eternity. Atlas stood alone until his meeting with Heracles.
As one of Heracles’ Twelve Labours, Heracles needed to get the Golden Apples that grew in the garden of Hera. Heracles was advised by Prometheus to send Atlas to retrieve the apples, as the garden was tended by Atlas’ daughter the Hesperides.
To allow this to occur, Heracles offered to hold the heavens. Atlas, though he collected the apples, then saw Heracles as a ready made substitute for himself for eternity, and therefore offered to deliver the apples himself. Heracles saw through the lie, and tricked Atlas into take the heavens again, whilst Heracles adjusted his cloak as padding. Even with this popular story there are different versions, and Heracles is often credited with releasing Atlas; building the Pillars of Heracles to hold the heavens in Atlas’ place.
The majority of the Titans who roamed free, had little influence on the later tales of the Olympian gods. Three though crossed the path of Zeus and suffered.
Prometheus was the wisest of the Titans, and made himself the benefactor and protector of man. Prometheus tricked Zeus into allowing man to keep the best parts of any sacrificed animals. In retribution, Zeus took the gift of fire from mankind; subsequently Prometheus steals fire from Mount Olympus and gives it back to man.
Angered once too often, Zeus punishes Prometheus by chaining him to a rock. Every day an eagle, or vulture, would tear out the Titan’s regnerating liver. There he was to stay until he foretold who would succeed Zeus. Prometheus never had to tell Zeus the answer, though as he was rescued by Heracles.
Prometheus’ brother, Epimetheus, was punished by Zeus for failing to give a positive trait to every animal. His punishment was not so severe as his brother, as his transgression was not so great. He accepted Pandora as his wife, as a gift from Zeus. Ultimately leading to the opening of Pandora’s Box, and the release of evil into the world.
The female Titan, Metis, had helped Zeus in the rescue of his siblings. Metis ended up being the first wife of Zeus, and gave birth to her first child, Athena. A prophecy was made though that Metis’ second child would replace Zeus. To avoid any chance of this happening, Zeus ate her. Though ingested it would be said that Metis would remain the source of Zeus’ wisdom and knowledge in the future.
The Titans were in many ways the original gods, which were relegated by a younger generation of Olympians. The relegation was due in part to growth in power of the Hellenes Greeks, and the subsequent prioritising of their deities. In the same way many female deities, such as Hera, Rhea and Persephone, had been much more powerful before the inception of the Olympic gods.
Copyright - First Published 5th March 2008
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