My previous post gave you an insight into the Greek Pantheon, but, how did it all begin?
Before the dawn of time, there existed only Chaos, an infinite, primal hiatus of nothingness, and from it came Gaia, the primordial Earth Goddess, Tartarus, the ethnarch of the chasmic, tenebrous region of the underworld, and Eros, the deity whose exquisite countenance enkindled the form and majesty of the myriad immortal gods that came later. Erebus, the darkness, and Nyx, the night, came next. Gaia, with her sui generis capacity to originate life, resulted in the parturition of Ouranos the antediluvian Sky God, Pontus the autochthonous Sea God and Ourea the primordial Deity of the Mountains.
The Greeks believed that the sky was a gargantuan dome made out of brass, which enclosed their world. They maintained that the earth had a maternal nature, since it provided them with an abundance of the necessities for life and sustenance. Thus, being complementary to each other as the gods of the sky and earth, Ouranos and his mother, Gaia, were later married. From this union of the earth and sky, many children were born.
First came the twelve mighty Titans, namely, Mnemosyne, Tethys, Theia, Phoebe, Rhea, Themis, Oceanus, Hyperion, Coeus, Cronus, Crius, and Iapetus. The Titans were in perpetual conflict with one another. The three Cyclopes; Brontes, Steropes, and Argus were born next and they were followed by the three Hecatoncheires (Hundred-Handed Giants) Cottus, Briareos, and Gyes. Ouranos, displeased with their looks, locked them in the depths of Tartarus (the Greek underworld). A helpless Gaia was heartbroken. She despised Ouranos for this dastardly act and, although she was in great pain and grief, Gaia bided her time and plotted her revenge.
When her children reached adulthood, Gaia sought their help in exacting her revenge on Ouranus. All her daughters and sons, except for Cronous, the youngest, refused. Cronous promised to do whatever his mother told him to. Seeing their younger brother volunteer, four of his brothers agreed to help him as well. Gaia was elated that her sons had agreed to help her and presented Cronous with an enormous stone scythe she had crafted and which was to be the weapon of choice.
One day when Gaia called for Ouranos, as usual, he came, but was unaware that four of his sons were hiding in the four corners of the earth and Cronous was hiding behind Gaia. Cronous signalled to his brothers to grab hold of an unsuspecting Ouranos and then sliced his father into a thousand pieces with the scythe and dumped him into the depths of the ocean.
A shocked and angry Ouranus cursed Cronous to be betrayed and defeated by his children just as he, Ouranus, had been deceived by his own children. He then freed his brothers from Tartarus and took the role of the leader/king according to his mothers wishes. After Gaia had ensured that her son was in charge, she went into a deep slumber and legend says that she has not woken from it till this day. On the other hand because Ouranos's blood and the ocean mixed together, it gave rise too many new dieties.
But that, and the story of Cronos's rise and how the gods defeated him are tales for another day!
Another wonderful read!
Very interesting :)
Beautifully written 👍