Very early, attempts began to group the myths about the numerous gods of Ancient Greece through genealogies, to bring ideas about them into a system corresponding to the course of phenomena in the real world. In these theosophical constructions of religious concepts, physical revolutions, traces of which were still visible or preserved by echoes of ancient myths, were presented in the form of wars that different tribes or generations of gods waged among themselves, and from which Zeus and other Olympian gods emerged victorious, taking possession of the universe and who gave it its current order. So, the myths about the origin of the gods of Ancient Greece represented the cosmos in the current perfection of its improvement as the result of a long development from rough elemental principles into a harmonious organism; The course of the history of the universe, according to the Greeks, was an ascension, not a descent, an improvement, perfection, and not corruption. The light region of the ether (sky) was the most important department of the universe in all the myths about the gods of Ancient Greece; whoever possesses the shining throne of the kingdom of heaven is the ruler of the rest of the universe; everything in the entire universe receives a form consistent with the qualities of the one who rules in the realm of the ether. The most ancient myths about the origin of the gods and the universe were collected by Hesiod. He was from the Boeotian city of Ascra. His systematic collection of myths is called "Theogony". This is a poem. Summary The theogony is:
The beginning of the origin of the gods
Initially, before the emergence of the gods, there was Chaos, a formless primeval space in which Tartarus (matter, the dark void) and Eros (Eros, Eros, the generative force) were located. The movements of Tartarus under the influence of Eros gave birth to Erebus (primordial fog) and Night. Eros began to act in them, and they gave birth to Ether and day (Hemera). Matter, which was in Chaos, formed into the first goddess - the “broad-breasted” Gaia (earth), the mother and nourisher of everything, producing all living things, and receiving everything produced again into her dark bosom. Gaia, having risen, gave birth to Uranus (the starry sky), and he spread his arch over her; having descended, she gave birth to the sea (Pontus), and it spread out under her; She also gave birth to mountains.
Origin of the Titans
Then the next stage in the origin of the ancient Greek gods began. Eros began to act in the universe again, attracting the male and female elements to unite, and she, combining with Uranus spread over her, gave birth to the gods; these gods were the Titans, Cyclops and Hecatoncheires - volcanic and neptunian forces of nature, whose activity still continued on the continent of Greece, and especially on the islands, but seemed weakened compared to what it had been before. There were twelve Titans: six male and six female. Some of them chose the sky as their home, others the earth, and others the sea. The titan and titan who settled in the sea were Oceanus and Tethys (water), from which, according to other theogonic systems, everything came. According to the myths about the origin of the gods of Ancient Greece, the Ocean is a river flowing around the earth and the sea covered by the earth; it is a deep and ring-shaped belt of flowing water; its flow is circular; he is the boundary of the world, and he himself is limitless. When the concept of the Ocean River is personified in the image of Titan, this god, who retains the name Ocean, is a kind, gentle old man. This titan and his wife, the progenitor of rivers and streams, live in the far west, which was generally a wonderland in ancient Greek myths. All rivers rushing through gorges, like mighty bulls or victorious heroes making their way through the barriers of mountains, all quiet rivers of the plains, all streams and springs were considered in the myths of Ancient Greece to be the sons and daughters of the gods Ocean and Tethys. Their first-born children were Styx and Aheloy. The Styx (in Greek, a feminine name) was the Black River; her personification, the ancient Greek goddess Styx, lived in the distant west, where the sun hides, where the land of night is; her home was a magnificent house standing between the rocks with silver columns that rose to the very sky. In the myths of Ancient Greece, she was the guardian of the sacred river flowing in a dark gorge, the waters of which the gods swore when they made an unbreakable promise. – Achelous, the “silver river,” was in mythology a representative of rivers that feed vegetation. The source of this sacred great river ancient Greek myths were located near Dodona, and the Dodona region, irrigated by Achelous, the homeland of the Pelasgians, was “full of grass and bread, goats, sheep and herds of heavy-paced cattle.” At the Ocean, where the garden of the Hesperides and where the sources of ambrosia are, Zeus combined with Hera, the goddess of the clouds, the queen of the sky, who was raised by Ocean and Tethys.
In the shining sky, according to ancient Greek mythology, lived the titan Hyperion “high-walking” and the titan Theia (brilliance); from them were born the gods Helios (Sun), Selene (Moon) and Eos (Dawn; Eos is a feminine word in Greek); Also in the sky lived another couple, Kay and Phoebe (the bright one), the parents of Leto (the silence of the night) and Asteria (the Starlight). The children of the Titan Eos were the Wind gods; there were four of them: Zephyr, Boreas, Noth and Eurus.
According to the myths about the origin of the gods of Ancient Greece, of the titans and titans who lived on earth, some were personifications of human qualities and phases of human development; This was the significance of Iapetus and his sons, who are also called titans: Atlas (or Atlas), supporting the sky; arrogant Menoetius; the cunning Prometheus; the feeble-minded Epimetheus; ideas about them provided rich material for thoughtful myths and great works of ancient Greek poetry. The Titans who lived on earth were personifications of beneficial forces that gave human life prosperity or noble pleasures; These were Themis, the goddess of justice and legal order; her daughters and Zeus were in the myths about the gods of Ancient Greece Ora (Horai, hours of the day, seasons), the goddess of the correct course of annual changes in nature and the correct structure of human life; Eurynome, mother of Charit (Grace), goddesses of everything sweet, attractive in nature and in human life: fun, beauty, grace; Mnemosyne, whose daughters from her union with Zeus were the goddesses of singing, the muses; the formidable Hecate, the goddess of fate, who was very highly respected; She was the first of all deities to be prayed to by those offering sacrifices of atonement; good and evil came from her to people. Subsequently, Hecate became the goddess of roads and crossroads in the myths of Ancient Greece; crossroads were burial places, and on them, near the tombs, in the mysterious light of the moon, ghosts appeared; therefore Hecate became the terrible goddess of witchcraft and ghosts, accompanied by the howling of dogs.
Cyclops and Hecatonchires
In the myths about the origin of the gods of Ancient Greece, Gaia, in addition to the Titans, gave birth to the Cyclops and Hecatoncheires from her marriage with Uranus. Cyclops, giants with a large, round, fiery eye in the middle of their forehead, were personifications of clouds sparkling with lightning. There were three of them. There were also three Hecatoncheires, the “Hundred-Handed” giants, who personified earthquakes and stormy waves of the sea that flooded the earth. These huge monsters were so strong that, according to myths about the origin of the gods, Uranus himself began to fear them; therefore he bound them and cast them into the depths of the earth; They are now raging in its depths, producing eruptions of fire-breathing mountains and earthquakes.
Cyclops Polyphemus. Painting by Tischbein, 1802
Castration of Uranus by Cronus
Gaia, suffering from this, decided to take revenge on Uranus. She made a large sickle out of iron and gave it to Krona, the youngest of the titans, who alone of all of them agreed to fulfill his mother’s plan. When Uranus descended at night on the bed of Gaia, Cronus, hiding near that place, cut off his father’s penis with a sickle and threw it away. Gaia took the drops of blood that fell at the same time, and from them gave birth to three Erinyes, giants and Melian nymphs. In the myths of Ancient Greece, Erinyes, who had snakes instead of hair on their heads, walk with torches throughout the earth, pursuing and punishing evildoers; there are three of them: Tisiphone (the killing avenger), Alecto (the tireless pursuer) and Megaera (the terrible). Giants and Melian nymphs were personifications of vengeance, violence, and bloodshed in the myths of Ancient Greece. The penis cut off from Uranus fell into the sea and was carried along the waves; from the white foam of these waves, Aphrodite (Anadyomene, “rising from the water”) was born, who formerly formed part of the being of Uranus (formerly Urania), now becoming a special being. Uranus cursed the Titans. – According to the scientist Preller, Cronus was initially the god of the ripening of bread in Ancient Greece and became the personification of time, moving imperceptibly towards the time of ripening, and quickly cutting off what was ripe, “the god of the withering heat, which stops the rains of his father, the sky.”
Uranus and Gaia. Ancient Roman mosaic 200-250 AD.
Origin of Nereus and the Sea Deities
According to the myths about the origin of the gods, Gaia also had children from cohabitation with Pontus, the sea. The first of these children of hers was Nereus, a kind, favorable sea god, the father of numerous daughters, the Nereids, beautiful sea nymphs who were personifications of the calm sea, quiet bays, and bright life near safe bays. The next children of Gaia from cohabitation with Pontus, the sons Thaumas and Phorcys and the daughter Keto, were personifications of the majestic and terrible phenomena of the sea. The daughter of Phorcys and the oceanid Electra (“brilliant”) was Iris, the rainbow; their other daughters were in ancient Greek myths the Harpies, the goddess of destructive storms, whirlwinds, and deaths.
Hercules and Nereus. Boeotian vessel ca. 590-580 BC.
Graia, Scylla and Gorgons
From the cohabitation of Phorkidas and Keto, the ugly Graias, the terrible monsters Scylla and Gorgons were born; they lived on the edge of the universe, where the sun sets, in the land of Night and its children. - The Grays, three sisters, were already gray-haired old women at birth; all three, they had only one eye and one tooth, which they used alternately. The Gorgons, of which the most terrible was Medusa, were winged monsters with human heads, on which there were snakes instead of hair, and with such a terrible expression on their faces that from their gaze all living things turned to stone.
Scylla. Boeotian red-figure crater of the second half of the 5th century. BC
Hesperides and Atlas
Not far from the Gorgons, at the border of eternal darkness, lived the Hesperides, daughters of Night; their singing was beautiful; they lived on a charming island, which was not reached by sailors, and where the fertile land produces its most excellent gifts to the gods”; The Hesperides guarded the golden apples that grew on this island. Next to the Hesperides gardens stood the titan Atlas (Atlas), the personification of the Atlas Range; he held on his head, supporting him with his hands, “the wide vault of heaven.” – Mother of the Hesperides, Night, was a good goddess who gave birth to light; at the end of each day, she covers the earth with her moist wings and gives sleep to all nature.
Moira
Moira, goddesses of the birth and death of people, were either also daughters of Night, or daughters of Zeus and Themis. In the myths of Ancient Greece there were three of them: Clotho spun the beginning of the thread of human life, Lachesis continued spinning the thread begun by her sister, Atropos (inevitable) cut the thread. Goddesses of human destiny, they were the guardians of the laws of necessity, on the action of which order and improvement in nature and in human society are based.
Thanat and Kera
The children of the night were also the inexorable god of death, Thanat, and the terrible Kera, goddesses of fate, mainly the fate that gives people death in battles; on the battlefields they were “terrible in appearance, in bloody clothes,” dragging and tormenting the wounded and killed.
God Kron
Uranus, the sky that gives the rain that fertilizes the earth, was, according to the myths about the origin of the gods of Ancient Greece, deprived of dominion by Cronus, the personification of that power of the sky that gives ripening to the fruits of the earth. Cronus became ruler; his reign was a golden age; then “the fruit was ripe forever, and the harvest was forever.” But his father’s curse took away from him the power to be renewed with youth, so in the myths about the origin of the gods he is a symbol of old age, a pale, withered old man, with gray hair and a long beard, bent over, gloomy. It was predicted to him that his children would overthrow him, just as he overthrew his father; therefore, he absorbed all the children that his wife, Rhea, bore to him, the personification of the productive power of mountains and forests, “mother mountain,” later identified with the Phrygian goddess of nature, Cybele, the founder of cities, who wore a crown made in the form of a city wall.
Zeus and the fight of the gods with the titans
According to ancient Greek myths, Cronus absorbed all his children; but when the last son, Zeus, was born, the mother gave Cronus a stone wrapped in swaddling clothes to swallow and hid the beautiful baby in a cave. The nymphs fed him there with milk and honey, and the Curetes and Corybantes - the personification of thunderclouds - danced around, striking their spears on their shields so that the baby’s cry could not be heard by the parent. Zeus quickly grew up and, with the help of Rhea’s cunning, forced his father to disgorge the devoured children. The stone he had swallowed was also thrown out; Zeus placed it "for eternal remembrance at Delphi" on the winding slope of Parnassus. Zeus freed the Cyclopes; they gave him thunder and lightning, and he, according to ancient Greek myths about the origin of the gods, began a fight with Cronus for dominion over the universe.
"Zeus from Otricoli". Bust of the 4th century BC
All the gods of Ancient Greece took part in the struggle; some took the side of Cronus, others took the side of Zeus. The war of the gods lasted ten years. The titans' camp was on Othrid, the younger generation's deities' camp was on Olympus. The ancient Greek myth about this “war with the Titans” (Titanomachy) is based, perhaps, on memories of earthquakes during which a breach of the seaside ridge, the Tempeian Gorge, was formed, and the waters of the Thessalian plain flowed into the sea. Under the feet of the fighting gods the earth shook to the depths of Tartarus. God Zeus finally showed all his power, continuously throwing lightning, so that all the forests were on fire, the whole earth was on fire, the sea was boiling; the eyes of the titans were blinded by the brilliance of lightning, and the ancient Chaos itself stirred in its depths, thinking that the hour of its dominion had come, that both heaven and earth would be cast into it. But the titans still held out irresistibly. Zeus summoned the hundred-armed, fifty-headed Hecatoncheires to his aid; They began to throw huge rocks at the titans, three hundred rocks at a time, and overthrew the titans into Tartarus, which is as deep below the earth as the sky is high from it. According to ancient Greek myths, the overthrown titans were bound there in chains. But not all the Titans were against Zeus; Themis, Oceanus and Hyperion fought for him and were accepted among the celestials.
Division of the universe between Zeus, Poseidon and Hades
The victory was celebrated with a brilliant holiday, with military dances and games. After that, the myths about the origin of the gods of Ancient Greece continue, the sons of Cronus divided among themselves, either by lot or by choice, dominion over the universe. Zeus received supreme power in heaven and on earth, Poseidon dominion over the sea and all waters; Hades (Pluto) became the ruler in the depths of the earth, where the dark dwellings of the dead are. Earth and Olympus remained the common possession of all gods and goddesses. But some of them took under their special protection those countries and cities that they especially loved and in which they were especially honored. The titans thrown into Tartarus remained there, bound in chains. Poseidon fenced Tartarus with a strong wall with copper gates. Hecatoncheires, the terrible forces of earthquakes, in ancient Greek myths guard the titans so that they do not break out of Tartarus and destroy the bright world of the Olympian gods. And the titans, the children of the angry earth, the disorderly, evil elements of nature, who opposed the rule of the gods and the moral improvement of life, remained forever in Tartarus. This is how the most ancient myths told about the origin of the gods. But when the morals of the ancient Greeks softened, poetry freed the titans from darkness and bondage, transferred them to the Islands of the Blessed, and installed there the “ancient” god Kronus as king over the chosen dead of the ancient blessed times.
Poseidon (Neptune). Antique statue of the 2nd century. according to R.H.
Typhon
Zeus had to defend his dominion against new enemies. Gaia combined with Tartarus and gave birth to her last child, the most terrible of all, Typhon (or Typheus), the personification of gases bursting from the bowels of the earth and causing volcanic upheavals. In ancient Greek myths, it was a colossal monster that had a hundred dragon heads with black tongues, flaming eyes and the hissing of its heads was terrible. Typhon was the most terrible of all the enemies who fought with the Olympians. He almost took over the universe. Zeus struck him with lightning. The struggle was such that it shook the heights of Olympus and the bowels of the earth to its deepest foundations. Zeus finally beat off all the heads of the monster with lightning, and it fell; his body burned with such fire that the earth became hot, like molten iron, and melted and flowed. Zeus overthrew the headless, but living monster to Tartarus. But even from there Typhon sends destruction to land and sea, emitting scorching winds and other harmful effects of heat.
The fight of gods with giants. Pergamon Altar
Much in modern world world is built on models given by philosophers, scientists and poets of ancient Greece. The culture of the Hellenes excited the minds of artists and writers for many years after the gods who turned into people stopped roaming the roads of Greece. Despite the popularity of Greek mythology, not all of its characters are equally well known. The Titans, for example, did not receive as much fame as the Olympian gods.
Who are the Titans?
In ancient Greek mythology, it is customary to distinguish three generations of gods.
- Gods of the first generation - ancestors, which do not have personification, the embodiment of such comprehensive concepts as earth, night, love.
- The gods of the second generation are called titans. To understand who is which titan in the minds of the ancient Greeks, you need to understand that they are an intermediate link between completely personified Olympians and the embodiment of truly global concepts. The closest assessment would be “the personification of elemental forces.”
- The gods of the third generation are Olympians. The closest and most understandable to people, interacting with them directly.
Who are the Titans in Greek mythology?
The second generation of the gods of ancient Hellas is an intermediate one, taking away power from their parents, but ceding it to their children. In both cases, the initiator of the revolution was the companion of the supreme god of the generation. Gaia, the wife of Uranus, was angry with her husband because he imprisoned her children, the hundred-armed giants Hecatoncheires. Only Cronus (Kronos), the youngest and most cruel of the titans, responded to his mother’s entreaties to overthrow his father; in order to gain supreme dominion he had to castrate Uranus’s sickle. Interestingly, after seizing power, Cronus again imprisoned the Hecatoncheires.
Fearing a repetition of the situation, the titan tried to hedge his bets by swallowing the children born to his wife, Rhea. At some point, the Titanide got tired of her husband's cruelty, and she saved youngest son, Zeus. Sheltered from her cruel father, the young god survived, managed to save his brothers and sisters, win the war and become the ruler of Olympus. Although the reign of Kronos is called the golden age in myths, titanium in mythology is the personification of the chaotic, ruthless forces, and the transition to the wise and humane Olympian gods is a completely logical consequence of the development and humanization of the culture of the ancient Greeks.
Titans - mythology
Not all the titans of ancient Greece were overthrown during the war, some of them took the side of the Olympians, so in some cases, the titan is the god of Olympus. Here are some of them:
- Metis raised young Zeus in Crete;
- Themis, who became the goddess of correct behavior (later justice) on Olympus;
- Prometheus and Epimetheus, brothers who played an important role in the war of the gods and the Titans.
The fight of the Olympian gods with the titans
After Zeus grew up and freed his brothers and sisters from the womb of Kronos with the help of poisoned nectar, he found it possible to challenge his cruel parent. This battle lasted for ten years, where neither side had an advantage. Finally, the hecatoncheires, freed by Zeus, intervened in the duel between the titans and the gods; their help turned out to be decisive, the Olympians won and overthrew into Tartarus all the titans who did not agree with the power of the new gods.
These events aroused the interest of many ancient Greek poets, but the only work that has been completely preserved to this day is Hesiod’s Theogony. Modern scientists suggest that the war of the gods and the titans reflected the struggle between the religions of the indigenous population of the Balkan Peninsula and the Hellenes who invaded their territory.
Titans and Titanides
Researchers identify twelve elder titans, six male and six female. Titans:
- Cronus, who later personified time;
- Ocean;
- Krios;
- Kay, symbolizing the celestial axis;
- Iapetus, according to some assumptions, the ancestor of the Aryans;
- Hyperion is the sun god.
Titanides:
- Themis;
- Tethys, the female embodiment of the sea;
- Theia, goddess of the Moon;
- Mnemosyne, memory;
- Phoebe.
Now it is difficult to say exactly what titanium or titanide looks like according to the ideas of the ancient Greeks. In the images that have reached us, they are presented either anthropomorphically, like the Olympians, or in the form of monsters, only vaguely similar to people. In any case, their characters were also humanized, like the characters of the third generation of gods. According to the ideas of the ancient Greeks, the Titans and Titanides more than once entered into marriages with each other and with other representatives of Greek mythology. Children from such marriages, born before the Titanomachy, are considered junior titans.
Titans and Atlanteans
In ancient Greek myths, all losers are punished, no matter who they are - titans, first-generation gods or mere mortals. Zeus punished one of the titans, Atlas, by forcing him to support the vault of heaven. Later, he helped Hercules get the apples of the Hesperides, thereby completing the 12th labor. Atlas was considered the inventor of astronomy and natural philosophy. Perhaps that is why the mysterious, enlightened, never found Atlantis was named after him.
in ancient Greek mythology: a giant who entered into a fight with the gods
Alternative descriptionsIn ancient Greek mythology: one of the gods of the older generation of sons of Uranus and Gaia, who entered into a fight with the gods of the younger generation (Olympians) and were defeated by them
2nd novel of “Trilogy of Desire” by T. Dreiser
Ti, chemical element, silver-white metal, light, refractory, strong, ductile
Atlas in ancient Greek mythology
Large water heater
Large water boiler
A large teapot, even larger than a samovar
An outstanding figure, a man of exceptional caliber
Giant, colossus
Italian automatic pistol
A boiler with an internal firebox and overflow of boiling water into a separate container, used in railway cars
Metal of the century
Roman sun god
The largest of the satellites of the planet Saturn
Satellite of Saturn, discovered by H. Huygens
Chemical element, metal, named after the hero of the ancient Greek epic
Saturn satellite
Samovar in the carriage
Each of the prisoners of Tartarus
The largest of the satellites of the planets in the solar system
A boiler with a mythological name
Chemical element, Ti
Outstanding man
Water heating device
God in ancient Greek mythology
Chemical element, metal
US spacecraft
Giant of thought
Heater
Cast into Tartarus
Greek myth character
Metal number 22
Large boiler
Lightweight, durable metal
Atlas, Kronos
Water heating tank
Metal, Ti
. "outstanding" heater
Carriage "teapot"
Sent by Zeus to Tartarus
Precursor of vanadium in the table
Giant of Thought (trans.)
Mendeleev appointed him 22nd in a row
Metal for car wheel rims
In the table it is after scandium
Water heater
Mendeleev appointed him twenty-second in a row
Twenty-second according to Mendeleev
Following scandium in the table
Boiler in the carriage
Boiler or metal
Metal number twenty two
Following scandium in the table
. "god" on the train
Heating tank in the carriage
Twenty-second in the line of chemical elements
. “samovar” for the entire carriage
Each of the sons of Uranus
. "samovar" in a train carriage
Between scandium and vanadium
Krei, Krios, Hyperion
Water heating device
Metal for rocket
Large heater
Twenty-second metal in the table
What is the chemical element Ti?
Scandium's successor in the table
. "eternal" metal
Metal, satellite or god
Twenty-second element
Chemical element with the call sign Ti
Element 22 of the periodic table
A man of great potential
Son of Uranus and Gaia
God "boiler"
Before vanadium in the table
After scandium in the table
Twenty-second inhabitant of the periodic table
. "rich" boiler
Up to vanadium in the table
In the chemical table it is twenty-second
Saturn's moon, the largest in the solar system
The largest satellite of Saturn
Novel by T. Dreiser
In ancient Greek mythology, a giant who entered into a fight with the gods
Powerful water heater
Chemical element, silvery white light and hard metal
In Greek mythology, god, son of Uranus and Gaia
Novel by T. Dreiser (1914)
Name of chemical element
Titans · gods of the first generation, born from the marriage of the earth Gaia and the sky Uranus; their
six brothers (Hyperion, Iapetus, Coy, Crius, Cronus, Oceanus) and six Titanide sisters (Mnemosyne, Rhea, Theia, Tethys, Phoebe, Themis), who married each other and gave birth to a new generation of titans: Prometheus, Helios, muses , Summer and others. The name "titans", perhaps associated with solar heat or dominion, is of pre-Greek origin.
The youngest of the Titans, Cronus, at the instigation of his mother Gaia, castrated Uranus with a sickle to stop his endless fertility and took the place of the supreme god among the Titans. Born from Cronus and Rhea, Zeus, in turn, was destined to deprive his father of power and become the head of a new generation of gods - the Olympians. The process of the Titanomachy reflected the struggle of the pre-Greek gods of the Balkan substrate with the new gods of the Greek tribes invading from the north.
First Generation Titans:
Hyperion · husband of his sister Theia, father of Helios, Selene, Eos. Hyperion - "shining" god, lit. “walking above,” that is, across the sky and therefore is identified with Helios - often in Homer, in Hellenistic-Roman mythology - constantly; the sons of Helios are called hyperionids.
Iapetus · husband of the oceanid Clymene, who bore him Atlas, Menoetius, Prometheus and Epimetheus. According to other sources, they are the sons of Iapetus and the Oceanids of Asia. Iapetus - participant in the Titanomachy; was cast down by Zeus into Tartarus, sharing the fate of the titan brothers.
Coy · brother and husband of the Titanide Phoebe, who gave birth to Leto and Asteria; grandfather of Apollo, Artemis and Hecate. He took part in the Titanomachy and was thrown into Tartarus with his brothers.
Crius · father of the Titanides Pallantus, Astraeus and Persian, grandfather of Nike, Strength, Power and Envy.
Mnemosyne, Mnemosyne · goddess of memory. The muses gave birth to nine daughters from Zeus. According to Pausanias, in Leibadea (Boeotia), near the cave of Trophonius, there were two springs: Lethe - oblivion and Mnenosyne - memory. According to tradition, those who come to question the famous oracle first drink water from both sources in order to forget about worries and worries and remember what they heard and saw in the cave.
Theia, Feiya · wife of Hyperion, mother of Helios, Selene and Eos.
Phoebe · sister and wife of Coy, sometimes associated, along with Selene and Bendida, with the moon. She is the mother of Leto and Asteria, and the grandmother of Apollo and Artemis. Phoebe was considered the founder of the temple and oracle at Delphi, which she then gave to her grandson.
Deucalion (D e u k a l i w n) · progenitor of people, son of Prometheus, husband of the daughter of Epimetheus and Pandora Pyrrha.
When Zeus, angry at the people of the “Copper Age” (option: at the human race because of Lycaon, who insulted him, Ovid. Met.), decided to destroy all people and send a flood to the earth, Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha, who ruled the city of Phthia in Thessaly, were the only righteous , whom the king of the gods allowed to escape. On the advice of Prometheus, Deucalion built a large box ("ark"), on which he and Pyrrha escaped during the nine-day flood that destroyed all of humanity. On the tenth day, Deucalion saw Mount Parnassus and landed on it (option: Deucalion landed on Mount Etna.
Having made sacrifices to Zeus-Phyxius ("Giver of Shelter"), Deucalion received from him advice on how to revive the human race (another option: this advice was given to him by the oracle of Themis at the foot of Parnassus, Ovid... Having wrapped their heads and loosened their belts, Deucalion and Pyrrha should were to throw the "bones of the foremother" over the head. Guessing that the deity calls stones the "bones of the foremother" - the bones of the universal mother of the people of the Earth, Deucalion carried out the order. From the stones thrown by Deucalion, men emerged, and Pyrrha - women
Deucalion and Pyrrha also had children: Amphictyon, Protogenea and Hellenes, who became the ancestor of the Greek tribes. Subsequently, Deucalion descended from the mountains, founded the sanctuaries of Zeus in Locris and Athens, where he was buried
Despite the differences in local variants, the myth of Deucalion is basically the same and is very close to the myths about terrible floods widespread throughout the Mediterranean (the biblical myth of Noah, etc.). 
Pandora (P a n d w r a, “gifted by all”) · the first woman created by Athena and Hephaestus. Zeus, angry that Prometheus stole fire from the gods for people, decided to take revenge on people and ordered the creation of a woman. According to Zeus, Pandora was supposed to bring temptations and misfortunes to people.
Hephaestus blinded her by mixing earth with water, Athena dressed her in a silver dress and crowned her with a golden crown. According to another version of Hesiod, she is gifted with charites, among which are Peito (“persuasion”), ors; Hermes puts a deceitful and cunning soul into her chest. The woman was named Pandora, since all the gods endowed her with gifts. Pandora seduced the narrow-minded Epimetheus, the brother of Prometheus, although he persuaded him not to accept anything as a gift from Zeus.
When Pandora opened the vessel given to her by the gods, in which vices and misfortunes were contained, diseases and disasters spread across the earth. Only hope remained at the bottom of the vessel, as the woman slammed the lid; so people were deprived of even hope for a better life.
The daughter of Pandora and Epimetheus, Pyrrha, and the son of Prometheus, Deucalion, became spouses and, by the will of the gods, survived the flood.
In the myth of Pandora there is an obvious discreditation of the feminine principle as destructive and deceitful in the era of the establishment of patriarchy.
Second Generation Titans:
Asteria · Titanide, star goddess, daughter of the titans Coia and Phoebe, sister of Leto (mother of Apollo and Artemis). The wife of the Titanide Persian, together with whom they gave birth to the goddess of darkness, night visions and sorcery, Hecate.
Astraeus · son of the titan Cria and Eurybia, brother of Pallant and Persian, husband of the goddess of dawn Eos, father of the winds Boreas, Notus, Zephyr and the stars.
Menoetius, Menoitius · son of the Titan Iapetus and the Oceanid Clymene (or Asia), brother of Prometheus, Epimetheus and Atlas. During the Titanomachy, Menoetius was struck by Zeus's Perun and thrown into Tartarus.
Pallant · son of the titan Crius and Eurybia, brother of Astraeus and Persian. From the marriage of Pallant with the oceanid Styx, Nike (victory), Strength, Power and Envy were born.
Persian · son of the titan Crius and Eurybia, brother of Astraeus and Pallantus; husband of the Titanide Asteria, father of the goddess of magic and sorcery Hecate.
Epimetheus · son of the Titan Iapetus and the Oceanid Clymene (or the Oceanid Asia), brother of Prometheus, Atlas and Menoetius. Epimetheus was distinguished by his narrow mind (literally, “strong in hindsight”) and took Pandora sent to him by Zeus as his wife, forgetting about Prometheus’s instructions not to accept anything from the Olympian Thunderer. The daughter of Epimetheus and Pandora Pyrrha became the wife of Prometheus' son Deucalion, and by the will of the gods they were the only people to survive the flood.
Atlas (A t l a z) · titan of the second generation, son of Iapetus and the oceanid Clymene (according to another version - Asia), brother of Prometheus. An ancient pre-Olympic deity, distinguished by powerful strength. After the defeat of the Titans in the Titanomachy, as punishment, the gods forced Atlas to maintain the vault of heaven in the far west near the Garden of the Hesperides; The ocean washing this place was called the Atlantic.
As one myth tells, it was Atlas who helped Hercules get the apples of the Hesperides, shifting his burden onto him: it was hard to hold the vault of heaven, Atlas was tired, and then Hercules appeared, who needed to get into the garden of the Hesperides, the daughters of Atlas, and pick the apples that give youth to those who eat them. It was almost impossible to get close to these apples, since they were guarded by a multi-headed snake. The Titan wanted to help Hercules, but even more he wanted to be free from his burden at least for some time. “Hold the firmament for me, and I’ll go get some apples from my daughters,” Atlas offers to Hercules. The hero agreed, and when Atlas, who returned with the apples, did not want to lift up the vault of heaven again, Hercules deceived him, giving Atlas, on the advice of Prometheus, to hold the burden for a while until he himself made a pillow and placed it under the weight of the sky. So Atlas continued to hold the unbearably heavy vault of heaven on his mighty shoulders until the gods and titans were finally reconciled.
Another myth says that Perseus turned Atlas into a rock by showing him the head of the gorgon Medusa; hence the idea of the Atlas - a mountain in northwest Africa.
The Pleiades and Hyades are considered the daughters of Titan and his wife, the oceanids Pleione: Atlas is identified with the Arcadian king, the father of Maya and the grandfather of Hermes. The daughter of the wise "schemer" Atlas, who lives on the island of Ogygia, is the nymph Calypso, who held Odysseus in her power for seven years. 
Dione (D i w n h) · titanide, daughter of Gaia and Uranus or one of the oceanids. In Homer, Dion is the wife of Zeus and the mother of Aphrodite; one of Aphrodite's names is Dione. Later she was associated with Hera. 
Leto (L h t w) · daughter of the titans Coy and Phoebe, who gave birth to Apollo and Artemis from Zeus. The name Leto was related to the root led, leth, indicating “night” and “oblivion,” especially since her mother Phoebe is the moon, and her sister Asteria is a star. However, most likely, this is a deity of pre-Greek origin, and the myths about Leto go back to pre-Greek Asia Minor roots, and her name is associated with the Lycian lada, “wife,” “mother.” According to Strabo, on the Xanth River in Lycia (Asia Minor) there was a temple to Leto, on the island of Rhodes a grove was dedicated to her, on Crete a city with a pre-Greek population was named after Leto. Perhaps this non-Greek origin of the goddess explains her illicit relationship with Zeus, the persecution of her Hera, and especially the difficulties during the birth of twins, when not a single piece of land dared to accept the persecuted Hera Leto.
In myths, the image of Leto is created as a suffering mother, “eternally sweet,” “the meekest,” who, thanks to her children, took an honorable place on Olympus. Leto is portrayed and glorified as a mother and wife. The Homeric hymn describes the long wanderings of the goddess across the mainland and islands of the Greek world, her request to Delos to become her refuge and the promise to glorify the island with a magnificent temple. Leto suffers for nine days in difficult battles, around her are “the best among the goddesses” - Themis, Rhea, Amphitrite, Dione and others. The evil, jealous Hera detained her daughter, the goddess of childbirth, Ilithyia, under the clouds on Olympus. Through Iris, the goddesses give Ilithyia a necklace, and then with her help, following his sister Artemis, Apollo is born. Fearing Hera, everyone rejects Leto, and only the island of Asteria (the original name of Delos) sheltered the goddess, becoming the holiest of the islands; There, under the palm trees, Leto gave birth to her children. According to Athenaeus, the oldest image of Leto was located on Delos - a crude fetish in the form of an unfinished log. Leto is especially loved by her children, who protect her and kill those who try to insult their mother - Tityus, Python, Niobe's children.
Leto, Apollo and Artemis are always unanimous, often opposing the older generation of gods. Together they help the Trojans in the Trojan War, which is due to their Asia Minor origin. Apollo saves Aeneas and places him in his temple “on the top of Saint Pergamon,” and Leto and Artemis restore the hero’s power and beauty. Hermes does not even try to fight Leto, admitting himself defeated in advance. The goddess herself, having picked up the arrows and bow of Artemis, beaten by Hera, went to Olympus to console her daughter with Zeus. Summer experiences the great pride of motherhood when Apollo appears on Olympus in the house of Zeus. She helps her son remove the weapon and sits him in a chair. And while all the gods tremble with fear, rising from their places, and Zeus brings a drink to his son in a golden cup, Leto is having fun, rejoicing in her heart that she gave birth to such a powerful son.
The image of Leto is the image of the mother goddess, glorified in children, the embodiment of maternal love, devotion to her children, selflessness in their protection; an example of titanic perseverance in the performance of maternal duty. She protects them from the wrath of the gods: when Zeus wanted to plunge Apollo into Tartarus for killing the Cyclops, Leto so persistently asked and begged the Thunderer that the punishment was mitigated: Zeus ordered Apollo to enter the service of the mortal, King Admetus, and perform for a whole year the work that will be assigned to him. 
Prometheus (P r o m h q e u z) · son of the Titan Iapetus, cousin of Zeus. Prometheus's mother is the oceanid Clymene (according to other options: the goddess of justice Themis or the oceanid Assia). Titan's brothers - Menoetius (thrown into Tartarus by Zeus after the Titanomachy), Atlas (supports the firmament as punishment), Epimetheus (husband of Pandora). Among his children are Deucalion (son of Prometheus and Pandora), husband of Pyrrha (daughter of Epimetheus and Pandora).
The name Prometheus means “thinking before”, “foreseeing” (as opposed to Epimetheus, “thinking after”, “strong in hindsight”) and is associated with a derivative from the Indo-European root me-dh-, men-dh-, “to reflect”, “to know” ".
In the image of Prometheus, there are undoubted features of an ancient pre-Olympic deity, rooted in the Balkan substrate, the patron saint of the local autochthonous population. Prometheus of the Olympian period of Greek mythology combines the features of the archaic divine patron of the tribe (according to Hellenes - the son of Deucalion and Pyrrha) with the images of the gods that overlapped the ancient substrate. He retains his original beneficent functions and is included in the system of kinship relations of the new gods. Prometheus does not participate in the Titanomachy, opposes the violent actions of the Titans against the Olympians and even voluntarily enters into an alliance with the Olympians (Aeschylus “Prometheus Bound”), thereby opposing himself to his former relatives. From his past, Prometheus retains an independent position in relation to the new rulers, the consciousness of his chthonic origin (in his own words, he is the son of Gaia-Earth, identified with Themis, Aeschylus “Chained Prometheus”). The wisdom he received from his ancestors (it is known that he takes advantage of Gaia’s advice to enter into an alliance with Zeus and overpower him with cunning), he uses the audacity bordering on clever deception, patronizing the pitiful race of people, the creator of which he is, according to a number of testimonies.
Prometheus acts at the dawn of the Olympian period of Greek mythology in the process of its difficult formation and struggle with the “monsters of former times” (Aeschylus “Prometheus Chained”). It is not for nothing that, despite his unprecedented superiority over his chthonic relatives, he regrets both Atlas and Typhon’s gesture. The ancient cunning of Prometheus in the Olympic system acquires the features of wisdom that Zeus himself needs.
On the other hand, classical Olympic mythology cannot tolerate the two creators of humanity and bearers of justice - Prometheus and Zeus. Therefore, Prometheus must necessarily oppose himself to Zeus, but not rudely and purely physically, as was the case with the titans, but take a position in which he would be superior to Zeus himself, i.e. take the position of a martyr who sacrificed himself for the sake of people. Zeus acts against his opponent, using crude methods of violence, remembering his victories over the Titans, when he gained the upper hand thanks to his physical superiority, the power of his Peruns and the indomitability of his allies - the hundred-handed.
Myths about Prometheus are associated with the approaches to the heroic age. This is the time of the battle of Zeus with the Titans, the establishment of the new power of Zeus (Aeschylus “Prometheus Chained”), the creation of the human race. According to a number of sources, Prometheus, as the most ancient deity, himself sculpted the first people from the earth and waters, and even created them looking into the sky, in the likeness of the gods , but Prometheus did this by the will of Zeus. Moreover, there are indications that people and animals were created by the gods in the depths of the earth from a mixture of fire and earth, and the gods instructed Prometheus and Epimetheus to distribute the abilities between them. It is Epimetheus who is to blame for the defenselessness of people , since he spent all his abilities for life on earth on animals, so Prometheus had to take care of people. Seeing that all the animals were carefully provided with everything, and man was “naked and barefoot, without a bed and without weapons,” Prometheus steals “the most wise skill Hephaestus and Athena along with fire, because without fire no one could own or use it" (so in the form of fire, stolen by him from the workshop of Hephaestus and Athena, Prometheus gives technological progress to humanity;). According to Aeschylus (Aeschylus “Prometheus Bound”), “all the arts of people come from Prometheus,” and it turns out that he endowed blind, pitiful people who lived like ants in caves with intelligence, taught them to build houses, ships, engage in crafts, wear clothes, counting, writing and reading, distinguishing the seasons, making sacrifices to the gods and telling fortunes.
Titan Atlas is the son of Clymene and Iapetus. His brothers were Epimetheus, Menoetius and Prometheus. According to the myth of ancient Greece, the Titan Atlas or Atlas supported the pillars that supported the sky. This punishment was invented for him by the supreme god of Olympus, Zeus, for participating in the battle of the titans against the Olympian gods. Titan was the husband of the oceanid Pleione and the father of the seven Pleiades, turned into constellations by Zeus. His children were also the Hesperides, who guarded the garden with golden apples. These apples helped prolong life and restore youth. King Eurystheus sent Hercules for them. The garden was guarded by a serpent with several heads, and Hercules had to fight with him. But it was impossible to defeat the serpent, so instead of fighting, Hercules came up with a trick. He decided to negotiate with the Titan Atlas, the father of the Hesperides, who could freely enter the garden of his daughters.
Hercules asked Atlas to pick golden apples from the garden of the Hesperides in exchange for temporarily holding the sky on his shoulders. Atlas dreamed of getting rid of his unbearable burden and agreed. Hercules shouldered the vault of heaven on his shoulders, and Atlas picked golden apples from the garden of the Hesperides and brought them. But he didn’t want to give the apples to Hercules and carry his burden again. Atlas said that he himself would take the apples to the king. Then Hercules deceived Atlas. He asked the titan to put the apples on the ground and hold the sky for a while while he placed the lion's skin on his shoulders. Atlas took the firmament on his shoulders again. Hercules took the apples, bowed and left. The Titan Atlas had to hold the firmament until the gods and titans made peace.
Photo: Titan Atlas supports the sky.
The picture above shows Atlas in action.
In the following photos, Atlas helps Hercules get apples in the Hesperides garden.
Another version of the myth says that Atlas refused hospitality to Perseus. For this, Perseus turned him into Mount Atlas, which still bears his name. This is the Atlas range, located in northern Africa. The name of the titan Atlas has become a household name (the Atlantic Ocean, the Atlas Mountains, and the book “Atlas Shrugged” are named after him). Atlas was distinguished by enormous strength and endurance. Myths about this titan are also of interest to modern people. Tales of gods and titans have survived to this day; we see in them the essence of human nature. In the myths of the ancient Greeks you can still learn a lot of wise and instructive things.
