There are 12 gods who, according to mythology, were born at the beginning of time. They were the ancestors of future Olympian gods (like Zeus, Aphrodite, Apollo…) and also of mortals themselves. The titans were born from the union between Uranus, who represented Heaven, and Gaia, who would be Earth. “The titans were hybrid beings, none was completely human and all had the power to transform themselves into animals”, says historian Renata Cardoso Beleboni, from the State University of Campinas (Unicamp), a specialist in mythology. The Greek poet Hesiod, who lived in the 7th century BC, was one of the main authors of antiquity to narrate the emergence of the titans, in a classic work called Theogony. This and other epic texts tell that such mythological beings helped shape the world.
It’s just that, at the beginning of time, Uranus had children in Gaia, but, as he didn’t move away from her, his descendants, among them the titans, remained trapped in their mother’s womb. Dissatisfied with the situation, Gaia encouraged one of her sons, the titan named Cronos, to cut off Uranus’ genitals, causing him to move away from her. This mythological metaphor is an original way of explaining the separation between Heaven and Earth, which would have allowed the beginning of life. But it wasn’t just heroic initiatives that marked the titans. After mutilating and defeating Uranus, Cronos reigned and became a terrible father to his children (read in the box on the side). His power and that of other titans over the world only ended after they were defeated by Zeus, the future head of the Olympian gods, in a bloody war called Titanomachy.
the terrible Kronos
The most famous of the 12 titans swallowed his own children
The most important titan, and also the youngest, used to be represented with a scythe in his hand, with which he would have maimed his father, Uranus. Kronos married one of his sisters, Rhea, with whom he had several children. Since he was afraid that descendants would challenge his power over the world, he swallowed all his children. But one of them, Zeus, had his mother’s help to escape this tragic fate. After growing up and becoming strong, Zeus decided to rescue his brothers, giving a potion to the father that made him vomit all the swallowed children. With the help of his brothers, Zeus defeated Kronos and other titans in a great battle and became the great chief of all the Greek gods. Kronos and his allies were forever trapped in Tartarus, the underworld where the dead went.
the rest of the gang
From the union between Heaven and Earth, the other 11 gods were born.
OCEAN
It was the oldest titan, represented by a large river that ran around the entire Earth (then considered flat), demarcating its borders. Ocean would have spawned all existing rivers, streams and springs
CEOs
An obscure titan, who is only important in the construction of the genealogical tree of the Greek gods, mainly because he was the grandfather of Apollo (god of prophecies, medicine and music) and Artemis (goddess of hunting and wildlife)
CREATE
Another secondary titan, without much prominence in Greek mythology. Legendary texts only reveal that Crio married Eurybia, his half-sister – daughter of Gaia with Ponto, another deity who represented the sea.
HYPERION
It was probably a deity of pre-Hellenic origin, which ended up absorbed by Greek mythology, appearing as one of the 12 titans. Hyperion was identified with the solar forces
IAPETUS
It is important in mythology because of some of its children. One of them was Atlas, who faced Zeus in the titanomachy and, when he was defeated, received the mission of carrying the world on his back as punishment. Another was Prometheus, creator of mortals
Tethys
In some epic texts, this titan appears as the goddess of fertility, symbolizing the generative and fertilizing capacity of the waters. Also, it is no wonder: from his union with his brother Oceano, thousands of children were born.
PHOEBE
Known as «the luminous», she joined her brother Ceos and had a daughter called Letó, who would be one of the loves of Zeus and would give birth to two important Greek gods: Apollo and Artemis
THEMIS
Goddess of justice and wisdom, she was the second wife of Zeus. According to some mythological texts, Themis invented oracles and religious rituals. Before the appearance of Apollo, she was also called the goddess of prophecies.
WEB
Because he joined his brother Hyperion, he is also usually identified as a solar deity. Téia had three children: Hélio (who would be the Sun), Selene (the Moon) and Eos (the dawn).
MNEMOSYNE
The goddess of memory was the fifth wife of Zeus and another of the titan aunts he chose to procreate with. From this union were born the nine Muses, goddesses of literature and arts – such as poetry, music and dance.
REIA
This titan was the sister and wife of Cronos, whom he managed to deceive, preventing his son Zeus from being swallowed by him. When Zeus was born, Rhea gave Cronos a stone to swallow in place of the newborn. She was also the mother of other gods, such as Poseidon (god of the sea) and Hades (king of the underworld).
BIG EYE BROTHERS…
In addition to the 12 titans, Uranus and Gaia had three children called Cyclops. They were giants, with only one eye on their face, who fought alongside Zeus in the war against Kronos. The lightning bolts used by Zeus in battle were forged by them.
…AND MANY HEADS
Another monstrous trio was generated by Uranus and Gaia: the hecatonchires, beings with 100 arms and 50 heads. Epic texts differ. In some, they are Kronos’s allies; in others, from Zeus
Read too:
– What was the Acropolis of Athens?
– What are the main Greek gods?
– What was the Trojan War?