In the Beginning, There Was Chaos

Welcome back, Greeks and geeks! Today, I will be telling you about the creation myth. Our story starts as most do, with a whole lot of nothing.

That nothing… was Chaos. The Ancient Greeks personified that whole lot of nothing as Chaos, a female deity, a primal goddess. From her came Tartarus, the Underworld, Gaea, the Earth, and Eros, Love. Together, Tartarus and Gaea gave birth to a variety of different gods and goddesses, including Uranus, the Sky, and the twelve Titans.

The Titans were Oceanus, Tethys, Hyperion, Theia, Coeus, Phoebe, Cronus, Rhea, Mnemosyne, Themis, Crius, and Iapetus. Cronus, also spelled Kronos, became the King of the Titans after they overthrew their father, Uranus.

Uranus was both an awful father and an awful husband, leading to Gaea to team up with her children to kill him. Cronus castrated Uranus and forced him into the sky, where he would never touch the Earth again. From his blood came the Giants and the Furies, and from his genitals, which was thrown into the sea, came Aphrodite, who would become the Goddess of Love and Beauty.

Cronus, free now to rule over the world, married Rhea and had five children, all of whom were eaten upon birth. Cronus, despite having an awful father, became one himself. (In his defense, he did receive a prophecy that his children would overthrow him. Uranus was just an ass.)

The sixth child Rhea had, Zeus, was kept hidden from Cronus, and he grew up to be very powerful. He reached maturity, and set out to kill his father and free his siblings (they grew up inside Cronus’ stomach. Blegh.) by making Cronus vomit. Together, Zeus, Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades and Poseidon cut Cronus up into a number of pieces and scattered him throughout Tartarus.

Following the Titan War, in which Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades receieved three gifts from the Cyclops’ that would become their staple items, the rest of the Titans were thrown into Tartarus – all except for Atlas and Typhon. Atlas was forced to hold up the sky and Typhon was trapped under Mount Etna.

From then on, the Gods were able to live freely and without restraint. And boy, oh boy… did they live without restraint.

As always, thank you for reading, and I hope to see you again soon. Αντίο, Σοφία.