The Titans

The mighty Titans were a powerful race that ruled the world before the Olympians, in time of the Golden Age of men. They were immortal giants of incredible strength and knowledge of old religion rituals and magic. They are also known as the Elder Gods and their dwelling place was Mount Othrys. In Greek culture, they were interpreted as personifications of the earth (Gaea) and the sky or heavens (Uranus).

The first generation of Titans were descendants of Gaea and Uranus who originally gave birth to Twelve Titans, six males and six females. Males were Coeus, Cronus, Crius, Hyperion, Iapetus and Oceanus, while females were Mnemosyne, Phoebe, Rhea, Theia, Themis, Tethys. Some brothers and sisters consorted with each other, while others consorted with sons and daughters of their relatives and gave birth to the second generation of titans. Hyperion and Theia gave birth to Eos, Helios and Selene, while Coeus and Phoebe gave birth to Letoand Asteria. Oceanus and Tethys gave birth to Oceanids and Potamoi who are in general not referred as titans. However, oceanid Clymene, the daughter of Oceanus and Tethys, helped Iapetus to continue the next generation of titans and bore him Atlas, Prometheus, Epimetheus and Menoetius. Crius and his half-sisterEurybia, the daughter of Gaea and Pontus, gave birth to Astraeus, Pallas and Perses. And finally, in later ages Cronus and Rhea gave birth to younger gods, Zeus, Hades, Poseidon, Hera, Hestia and Demeter who rebelled against Cronus and his followers. They called themselves the Olympian Gods, after they place Mount Olympus.

 

First generation

Coeus

Crius

Cronus

Hyperion

Iapetus

Mnemosyne

Oceanus

Phoebe

Rhea

Theia

Themis

Tethys

 

Second generation

Atlas

Eos

Epimetheus

Helios

Leto

Prometheus

 

THE TITANES were six elder gods named Kronos,Koios, Krios, Iapetos, Hyperion and Okeanos, ons of Ouranos (Sky) and Gaia (Earth), who ruled the cosmos before the Olympians came to power. When their father was king he imprisoned six giant brothers of the Titanes--the Kyklopes and Hekatonkheires--in the belly of Earth. Gaia was incensed and incited her Titan sons to rebel. Led by Kronos, five of the six brothers, laid an ambush for their father, seizing hold of him as he descended to lie upon Earth. Four of them--Hyperion, Krios, Koios and Iapetos--were posted at the four corners of the earth to hold Sky fast, while Kronos in the centre castrated him with an adamantine sickle. After they had seized control of the cosmos, the Titanes released their storm giant brothers from Gaia's belly, only to lock them away shortly afterwards in the pit of Tartaros.

Ouranos and Gaia prophesied that a son of Kronos would eventually depose the Titanes, and so the Titan-king, in fear for his throne, took to devouring each one of his offspring as soon as they were born. Only Zeusescaped this fate through the intervention of his mother Rhea, who deposited him in a cave on the island of Krete and fed Kronos a substitute rock. Upon reaching adulthood, Zeus forced Kronos to disgorge his siblings, and with an army of divine-allies, made war on the Titanes and drove them into the pit of Tartaros, where they were bound. According to some (e.g. Pindar and Aeschylus) Kronos and the Titanes were afterwards released from this prison, and the old Titan became king of Elysium.

The sisters of the six Titanes--Rhea, Theia, Mnemosyne, Themis and Tethys--were titled Titanides (or female Titanes). Many of their sons and daughters also received the appelation of Titan including Atlas, Prometheusand Helios.