Creation, and the First Gods

Creation and the First Gods

"Strange clouded fragments of an ancient glory,
Late lingerers of the company divine,
They breathe of that far world where from they come,
Lost halls of heaven and Olympian air."

In the beginning was Chaos: a vast, primordial, formless void, an immeasurable abyss (image 20k). Chaos gave birth to two children: a daughter called Nyx, or 'Night' (Roman 'Nox'), and Erebus, a region of unfathomable darkness where death dwelt. Then black-winged Nyx floated over Erebus and laid a wind-borne egg. From this egg sprang Eros, personification of Love, and with the birth of Eros came order and beauty.

Eros created Light ('Aether' in Greek) and her sister, Day ('Hemera' in Greek). With the coming of Love and Light, Chaos gave birth to Gaea, the goddess Earth (Roman 'Terra') (image 16k) . Erebus became the darkness of the underworld.

With no companion, Gaea bore from herself Pontus, the sea, and Uranus (Greek 'Ouranos'), the starry heavens that cover the Earth (image 16k). Gaea then united with Uranus to produce the first living creatures. Thus, Earth (Gaea) and Heaven (Uranus) became the first real parents of the universe. Several types of offspring came from their union:

Hecatoncheires (Roman 'Centimani')
These three giant monsters each had one hundred arms and fifty heads. Their names were Briareus, Cottus, and Gyges. They used their many hands to transmit tremendous energy and cause earthquakes.
Cyclopes (image 12k)
Three giant monsters, each had only one eye in the center of its forehead. They had devastating, destructive powers. Their names were Arges, Brontes, and Steropes (or Pyracmon). The Cyclopes were able to fire up their forges and prepare their anvils to create massive destructive weapons.
The Titans
The Titans were similar in size and strength but were not as destructive as the Hecatoncheires or the Cyclopes. The Greeks envisioned them with human characteristics, but they were not human (there would be no humans yet for eons to come). Tremendous in size and strength, they were considered to be more like forces than beings. (Some authors say the Titans were born to Uranus and Gaea before the Cyclopes.)

Gaea came to have reason to complain bitterly about Uranus' treatment of the Hecatoncheires and the Cyclopes: Uranus detested them because of their ugliness and their great destructive strength. Although they were his sons, he chained and imprisoned them within the deepest region of the earth, which later was to be known as Tartarus. (Some authors say that Uranus imprisoned only the Hecatoncheires and not the Cyclopes.)

When Gaea asked the Titans for help in rescuing her sons only the Titan Cronus agreed to help. Gaea armed him with a sickle and, as Uranus and Gaea slept late one night, Cronus attacked Uranus with the sickle. Cronus flung the removed pieces of Uranus into the sea, causing blood (or life energy) to be spilled onto the land and into the sea. The drops of blood that fell onto the land gave rise to the giants, the nymphs of the trees, and the Furies. The drops of blood that fell into the sea began to foam, and this became the birthplace of Aphrodite (image 21k).

After Cronus defeated Uranus, he released the Hecatoncheires and the Cyclopes and reigned as king of the Titans for thousands of years.

Non-graded Creation Activity

On to The Titans

Key Words: Chaos, Cronus, Cyclopes, Erebus, Eros, Gaea, Giants/Furies, Hecatoncheires, Nyx, and Uranus.

Notes: If Uranus was ever worshiped, research has found no trace of a worship cult associated with him.

Contributors: James Isaacs, Jane Smith; Illustrations by Mike Ginter

Last updated: June 27, 2001

Webmaster