Chaos : Chaos, a Greek term translated as "chasm" by West, is the first being to come into existence in Hesiod's Theogony. In the Greek, it is essentially a great abyss, and empty, formless, and infinite space, not at all like our notion of things out of order.
Chaos is responsible for the existence of Nyx, who later bears some of the more terrible aspects of the universe, such as War and Famine. For this reason, Chaos becomes associated with the darker aspects of the universe.
Parthenogenesis : Parthenogenesis is reproduction without sexual intercourse. It is used by many of the earliest deities, including Chaos, Nyx, and Eros. In these early instances the main reason behind it seems to be the lack of other sexual partners. Later, very powerful gods use this method to produce offspring without the messiness sometimes involved in having a partner sort of like what Madonna does today.
Zeus uses parthenogenesis to produce Athena all by himself out of his own head. Hera gives him tit for tat and also parthenogenically produces the god Hephaistos. Cosmology : Cosmology is the study or theory of the form, content, organization, and structure of the universe.
Cosmogony : Cosmogony is a theory or account of the origin of the universe. Numerous cosmogonical accounts of the universe exist in addition to Hesiod's Theogony, such as the Hittite "Kingship of Heaven" myth, the Babylonian myth Enuma Elish , and the account of creation in the biblical book of Genesis. Within the Theogony, there are several instances of theomachy, such as the uprising of Kronos and his siblings against Ouranos, and the overthrow of Kronos by Zeus and his siblings.
Many Near Eastern myths also prominently feature theomachy, such as the Hittite myth of the overthrow of Alalu by Anu, and the overthrow of him by Kumarbi. In addition, the Babylonian epic Enuma Elish gives us the story of the overthrow of Tiamat by Marduk. A common feature of many of these Near Eastern stories is that cosmogony is somehow dependent on a grand, cataclysmic theomachy. Sources: Caldwell, Richard S.
They produced a pair of twins called the Graiae or Grey Sisters; their names were Enyo and Pemphredo. They looked like old women with grey skin. The last sister had the bad luck to be mortal. Medusa and Poseidon had an affair at one point, and he got her with child. When the hero Perseus slew Medusa, her two children sprang forth. One was the winged horse Pegasus, and the other was a warrior called Chrysahor. Her name was Callirrhoe, and they had a son called Geryones or Geryon who was a three-headed giant.
Around this time, another monster called Echidna was born. Gaia, meantime, mated with Tartarus and had a monstrous son called Typhon or Typhaon. Echidna and Typhaon became mates and their children proved to be among some of the most infamous monsters in Greek mythology: Cerberus , Orthus, the Chimera , and the Hydra. Echidna mated with her son Orthus, and they had two children: the Sphinx and the Nemean Lion.
Ceto and Phorcys had another, last child with the body of a great snake. That last child also had the job of guarding golden apples.
Oceanus and Tethys married each other and had thousands of offspring, including various river gods and water nymphs. The river gods were called the Potamoi, while the nymphs were often called the Oceanids. Hyperion was said to have observed the movements of the stars, sun and moon; he was thus the first astronomer. Hyperion eventually gave his children the job of maintaining and controlling the movements and cycles of the heavenly bodies.
They had three sons: Perses, Pallas and Astraeus. The latter married Eos, the goddess of the dawn, and they had an astounding number of children including the three winds, Zephyr, Notus and Boreas, the Dawn-star Eosophurus, and all of the other stars.
Styx decided to take him up on the offer. Olympus with her children. Zeus honored Styx by decreeing that an oath sworn by the River Styx was unbreakable. Coeus and Phoebe had two daughters, Leto and Asteria. Hesiod described her as a protective figure, especially of the young, and she also brought good fortune to her worshippers.
As a ruler, Cronus proved to be no better than Uranus. He re-imprisoned the Cyclopes and the Hecatochonieres. Upon learning of a prophecy made by both Uranus and Gaea that one of his sons would overthrow him, he decided to get rid of any child that he and Rhea had.
Cronus swallowed each child as soon as it was born. After getting pregnant with her sixth child, Zeus, Rhea fled and gave birth in secrecy. She left Zeus with either Gaea or the Curetes who kept him hidden and gave Cronus a large stone wrapped in a blanket that he swallowed. Hesiod briefly describes the fates of the four sons, most of whom ran afoul of Zeus.
During this segment Zeus appears to be an adult ruler, so the stories take place after his final conflict with Cronus. Menoetius was brave but arrogant, and Zeus blasted him with a thunderbolt, sending him all the way down to Erebus. Zeus punished Atlas for his part in the war with Cronus by condemning him to bear the heavens on his shoulders for eternity.
Prometheus was the wiliest of the sons, and he liked humans. He wanted people to keep more of their hard-earned food rather than sacrificing it to the gods.
He killed an ox, butchered it, and made two piles. Zeus saw through the trick, but chose the fat and bone pile anyway. He then angrily decreed that men could never be given fire. Prometheus, however, decided to steal some fire anyway and give it to the humans. Zeus was really angry and condemned Prometheus to be chained to a rock while an eagle ate his liver every day.
Prometheus was immortal, and his liver always grew back. The pain must have been excruciating, and Prometheus languished for centuries until Heracles happened by and set him free.
Zeus also targeted Epimetheus, who was just as friendly and kind as Prometheus, but lacking in his intelligence or guile. He ordered the god Hephaestus, the smith of the gods to make the first woman. Athena then dressed her. Later versions of the story would name the woman Pandora, and she was created to punish men. The Titanomachy Zeus spent his childhood in hiding. After reaching adulthood, he began consulting with Gaea about ways to defeat and overthrow his father.
She advised him that he would need allies. This led to a ten-year long war called the Titanomachy. The Titanomachy pitted the first generation of what would become the Olympian gods against Cronus and most of the other Titans.
Oceanus remained neutral, while Prometheus and Epimetheus fought alongside Zeus and his siblings. Atlas, by contrast, helped lead the Titans in battle. The Cyclopes, in gratitude, made thunderbolts for Zeus; these were his deadliest and most famous weapons. Zeus used his thunderbolts to very destructive effect. In the end, the Titans lost, and many of them were confined in Tartarus. The Hecatachroneires were given the job of serving as jailers.
Hades and Persephone eventually made their home there. Hesiod mentioned that they had a dog who was quite friendly to people coming in, but extremely vicious to anybody attempting to leave. Later stories would identify the dog as Cerberus. Styx, the goddess of the River Styx, also came to live in the Underworld. Typhon then battled Zeus. Typhon was a monster with a hundred heads, each one being that of a different type of creature or animal: dragon, lion, bull, etc. After defeating Typhon, Zeus cast him into Tartarus.
Many of the gods mentioned in the Percy Jackson series, for example, are Olympians. They owe their name to the fact that most of them live on Mt. After the war, Zeus took seven wives. His first wife was Metis, a daughter of Oceanus and Tethys. Gaea and Uranus, however, warned him that Metis would have powerful children — including a son who would overthrow him. Zeus tricked Metis into taking on a form small enough to swallow, and he quickly inhaled her.
Their children included the Horae or Hours, a trio of goddesses that controlled the seasons. Zeus also married Eurynome, another daughter of Oceanus and Tethys, and they had three daughters who were collectively called the Graces.
Their names were Thaleia, Euphrosyne, and Aglea, and they were known for their great beauty. Zeus took his sister Demeter as his fourth wife, and they had a daughter named Persephone , who eventually got married to Hades. Zeus then married Leto, daughter of the Titans Coeus and Phoebe. They had twin children, Apollo and Artemis.
Both youngsters were known for their good looks and prowess at archery. At one point, Hera had a son all by herself. His name was Hephaestus , and he was the greatest craftsmen of the gods. He was also lame. Poseidon took Amphitrite as his wife, and they had a son called Triton. Poseidon and his family lived in a golden palace under the sea. Harmony married Cadmus, the first Greek hero, and they had a daughter named Semele. Zeus was not a faithful husband by any stretch of the imagination.
He had many lovers and had many children by those lovers. Maia, the daughter of the Titan Atlas , became the mother of Hermes , the herald of the gods. Zeus also took Semele as a lover, and they had a son named Dionysius ; both became gods in their own right.
Zeus and Alcmena were the parents of the mighty Heracles. Hephaestus married one of the Graces, Algaea. Dionysius married Ariadne, the mortal daughter of Minos; Zeus made her immortal. Heracles eventually married Hebe. The sun-god Helios married Persis, a daughter of Oceanus, and they had two children, Circe and Aeetes.
The latter was a king, and he married another daughter of Oceanus called Idyia, and they had a daughter named Medea. The last few verse describe the descendants of various goddesses, starting with Demeter who had a son, Plutus, by the mortal hero Iasion. If a researcher were to study Greek or Roman myths dating from different times, they would notice changes in both the myths and the different characters.
Other, later poets claimed she was the daughter of Uranus and Hemera or Cronus and Euonyme. The Fates, for example, are first said to be daughters of Nyx and are then later said to be daughters of Zeus. Such contradictions are less common than they might appear at first glance.
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