In the beginning…..

Greek Mythology’s Creation Myth

There was earth….

and sky.

Earth, Gaea, fell in love with sky, Uranus.

Genesis of the Titans

6 T itan s(C h ild ren o f

P rou d P aren ts )

3 C yc lop es(U ran u s w as n o tP rou d o f th ese

on e-eyed c rea tu res )

3 O th er S on s(U ran u s w as n o t

P rou d o f th ese 5 0h ead ed c rea tu res )

M oth er E arthU ran u s S ky

I can’t stand seeing thesesix ugly creatures walking about on lovely Earth, so

I will throw them intoTartarus, the deepest pit on Earth.

Uranus

Mother Earth loved her children and couldn’t

forgive Uranus.• She fashioned a sickle

and spoke to her sons, the Titans, to use the weapon to end their father’s cruelty and set their brothers free.

• Only Cronus, the youngest Titan, dared take the sickle.

• Uranus could not withstand the weapon,fled, and gave up his powers.Mother Earth

He sat on the highest mountain and ruled heaven and earth with a strong hand. Cronus did not set his monstrous brothers free, and Mother Earth was angry at him.

Mother Earth knew that one of Cronus’s sons would be stronger than he, just as Cronus had been stronger than his father, Uranus Sky. Cronus knew this too, so every time his wife Rhea gave birth, he took the newborn god and swallowed it. With all of his offspring securely inside him, he had nothing to fear.

Rhea mourned the loss of her five children. When she was expecting the sixth child, she went to Mother Earth to help her save this child from Cronus.

Mother Earth, can youhelp me save my sixth

child?

Rhea followed Mother Earth’s advice. Cronus never heard the baby’s cries from the cave in Crete because Mother Earth set up noisy spirits outside the cave.

1. Hide the child when it is borne.2. Wrap a stone in baby’s clothesand give it to Cronus to swallow

instead of the baby.3. Take the baby to a secret cave

on the island of Crete.

Mother Earth

Nymphs tended Zeus. From the horns of the goat flowed ambrosia and nectar, the food and drink of the gods. Zeus grew rapidly and strode out of the cave as a new god stronger than Cronus.

Young Zeus married Metis, the goddess of prudence. She went to Cronus and tricked him into eating a magic herb which he thought would make him unconquerable.

I am not feeling well after Metis gave me the herb tomake me unconquerable.

The herb made Cronus so sick that he not only threw up the stone but his five children as well. They were the gods Hades and Poseidon and the goddesses Hestia, Demeter, and Hera. They joined forces with Zeus. When Cronus saw the six gods rising against him, he surrendered his powers and fled.

I hereby surrender my

power as lord ofthe universe.

Cronus

Zeus was now lord of the universe.

The Titans and their sons revolted against Zeus and his brothers. Except Prometheus and Epimetheus left the Titans and joined forces with Zeus because Prometheus could see in the future and he saw that Zeus would win. Zeus freed the monstrous sons of Mother Earth from Tartarus. The Cyclopes forged mighty weapons for Zeus and his brothers to use in the battle against the Titans.

The Cyclopes made a trident for Poseidon. It was so forceful that when he struck the ground with it, the earth shook, and when he struck the sea, frothing waves stood mountain high.

For Hades they made a cap of invisibility so he could strike his enemies unseen.

The Cyclopes forged lightning bolts for Zeus. Armed with them, he was the mightiest god of them all. Nothing could stand against him and his thunderbolts. The Titans fought a bitter battle, but at last they had to surrender, and Zeus locked them up in Tartarus.

Atlas, the strongest of the Titans was sent to the end of the world to carry forever the vault of the sky on his shoulders.

Mother Earth was angry with Zeus for putting her children, the Titans, in the dark pit of Tartarus, so she brought forth two terrible monsters, Typhon and Echidna to fight Zeus.

Typhon Echidna

Typhon’s hundred horrible heads touched the stars, venom dripped from his evil eyes, and lava and red-hot stones poured from his gaping mouths. Hissing like a hundred snakes and roaring like a hundred lions, he tore up whole mountains and threw them at the gods. Zeus took his stand and the other gods helped. A terrible battle raged. Typhon tore up huge Mt. Aetna to hurl at the gods. Zeus struck it with a hundred well-aimed thunderbolts and the mountain fell back, pinning Typhon underneath. There the monster lies to this very day, belching fire, lava, and smoke through the top of the mountain.

Echidna, Typhon’s mate, escaped destruction. She cowered in a cave, protecting Typhon’s offspring (Nemean Lion, Cerebrus, Ladon, Chimera, Sphinx, and Hydra). Zeus let them live as a challenge to future heroes.

Echidna

NemeanLion

Cerebrus Ladon Chimera SphinxHydra

Finally, Mother Earth gave up her struggle. The earth again was green, fruitful, and Zeus could begin to rule in peace.

The End