Greek Mythology
The Mutiliation of Uranus by Saturn by Giorgio Vasari, many Titans.
Greek silver tetradrachm from Alexander the Great showing Hercules wearing lion skin at obverse and Zeus at reverse, dated 323-315 BC.
Greek mythology is a whole world in itself, with its own take on the creation of the universe and everything in it. It is a body of narratives that include gods, heroes, mortals, immortals, fabulous creatures, nymphs, and hideous monsters, that go to form the religion of Classic Greece that dates back to about 500 BC. Practical souls such as Plato came to terms with the fact that there was a major element of myth embedded in it, but for the average Greek it was a religion that was very credible.
Rhea, Cronus' wife, one of the Titans
The beginnings of this great body of mythology can be traced to Kaos, a formless primordial mass of nothingness that however contained everything in its seed form. Out of this emerged Gaia - Earth, Tartarus - Underworld, Nyx – Night, and Eros – primal love. Gaia went ahead and created Ouranas - the heavens, all by herself and proceeded to mate with it to produce the race of Titans. Cronus-Time and Rhea were from this group and they were the illustrious parents of the Olympians, the principal one among whom was Zeus. Let’s proceed to the Olympians, but after a well deserved coffee-break to settle the mind.
Fountain of Neptune (Poseidon) by Bartolomeo Ammannati, in the Piazza della Signoria, Florence, Italy
The Olympians get their name from their abode, Olympus. As to how they ceased to be Titans when they were in fact born to Titans is explained by a few skeletons in the Titan’s cupboard. Now Cronus had been warned that one of his offspring would overthrow him and seize power. So each time one was born, he solved the problem by swallowing the babe before it could complete its first wail. Apparently by the time Zeus was born, Rhea had a brainwave and gave Cronus a baby sized stone wrapped up in baby duds. He swallowed it as usual and went about his business. The baby grew up into a strong young god. First things first, he made his father bring out all his siblings—Poseidon, Hades, Hera, Demeter, and Hestia. Once that was done, they joined forces and Cronus’ worst nightmare came true.
Thus began the great war of the Titans, which saw the total rout of the Titans and their banishment to Tartarus. Possibly due to all the bad memories, the siblings shifted their abode to Mount Olympus which soon resulted in becoming their address as well as their name. Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades continued to exist amicably with each other and divided their domains of power by drawing lots. Zeus thus became the ruler of heaven and earth, Poseidon ruled over the seas, and Hades uncomplainingly took charge of the netherworld. As for the girls, Hestia made good choices and decided to remain a virgin goddess. Hera became the consort of Zeus; Demeter is supposed to have settled down with Poseidon who was married to Amphitrite, but had a daughter Persephone with Zeus, the same Persephone who was unceremoniously hauled away by Uncle Hades to be his wife in the Underworld. More coffee, anyone?!!!
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In Greek mythology, Hades was probably the most feared of all gods compared to his brothers Zeus and Poseidon, and with good reason too. He was the god who presided over the netherworld and was also the custodian of the dead. He had a stern unrelenting demeanour to go with the job, and this precluded [...]
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