The+Titans

= The Titans = By Cheryl

In many ways, a group of ancient Greek Gods, called the Titans, were the basic roots of Greek civilization and mythology. In some legends, humans were born from the Titan’s ashes. Many Titans even represented aspects that make up our world. Also, the Titans were parents of the majority of other gods. The Titans were rulers of Earth, infinitely powerful deities, and legendary to all Olympians; but how did this ultimately dynamic group of gods become trapped in Tartarus by one of their own kin?

Even from their creation, the Titan's lives were filled with battles and adventures. The parents of the twelve main Titans were Gaia and her brother/husband Uranus. As the legend goes, Uranus imprisoned two groups of his children, the Hecatonchires (hundred-handed giants) and the Cyclops (one-eyed giants), in Tartarus. Gaia was not pleased with this, so she asked her other children, the Titans, to fight for her youngest offspring and castrate Uranus. The only Titan who stepped up to this challenge was Cronus, the youngest. Cronus attacked, and defeated his father; castrating him, and sending the cut off limbs into the ocean below. From Uranus’s castrated parts, other ancient divinities were born. With this accomplishment, Cronus became the new leader of the universe. The time period of his reign is often called the 'Golden Age'. During these years, life was pretty "golden" and premium. But overcoming Uranus was just the first of many challenges the Titans would face. [Crystal] [Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia] In legends, the amount of Titans tends to vary, but there is always said to be twelve main Titans. The twelve Titans were Cronus, Oceanus, Iapetus, Hyperion, Crius, Coeus, Rhea, Tethys, Theia, Phoebe, Themis, Mnemosyne, and Dione. The most widely known Titan is probably Cronus. Cronus is usually referred to as the God of Eternal Time. He led the Titans to victory in defeating his father, and also to destruction by being defeated by his own son. Cronus knew from a prophet that one of his own children would be the one to overcome him, so he would swallow any of his babies when they were born. But his wife/sister, Rhea, disproved of this and tricked Cronus. Instead of giving him the newly born son, Zeus, she replaced the baby with a stone. Cronus engulfed this decoy, clueless. This made it able for Zeus to attack Cronus and release his siblings. He then gained alliance with some enemies of the Titans to battle against them. The majority of the Titans ended up being banished to Tartarus, where they were left to stay. The rise and the fall of the Titans was due to their faithful leader, Cronus. [Crystal] [Hunt]

The Titans were important contributors to origins of Greek mythology and culture. They were also known to have certain connections with the planets. Their disastrous journey was filled with amazing accomplishments and tragic downfalls. At one point in time known as the Golden Age, the Titans ruled over everything. During the Golden Age, the earth was known as being lawless and order was in place. The Titan's rule over Earth was some of the most successful times in ancient Greece. But the Titan's hegemony was short lived. When it was foreseen that Cronus was cursed to the same fate as his father, he became determined to prevent his destruction. His failed actions resulted in a massive amount of chaos. With this trickery began the Titanomachy, or War of the Titans. This resulted in an immense battle ending with the Titans being jailed in Tartarus. Some other legends record Zeus attacking the Titans with lightning bolts, and humans were born from the leftover ashes. The one fact that never differs between Greek myths about the Titans is that their lifestyle and 'story' is always legendary. [Crystal] [Hunt] [University Press Inc.]

Titans were often associated with out-of-this-world creations, like planets or the stars or the wind. Many legends include the Titans being in charge of holding down the sky, or representing the stars or earth. The Titans’ own parents were known as Heaven and Earth. Some Titans, such as Oceanus, actually were interpreted as some geographic feature. He is now said to be a symbol for some bodies of water in the Atlantic Ocean. Oceanus was also accompanied by another sea goddess, Tethys. Other Titans were associated with the same topics. Such as Cronus, the God of Eternal Time, Rhea, earth goddess, another Titan, Theia, was linked with sorcery, and Phoebe, connected to the moon. Hyperion was also closely associated with a heavenly embodiment, he was known as the god of light. His offspring were the Light and Dawn, the Sun, and the Moon. This entire family, as well as the majority of Titans, were closely entangled in the celestial emporium. [Hunt] [Crystal] [University Press Inc.] [Atsma]

The Titan's supremacy was ended by a destructive event called the Titanomachy. The Titanomachy, the War of the Titans, can be explained as when "one group of gods by and large opposes the dominant one" [Crystal]. One group in the Titanomachy was the Titans. The opposing group consisted of Zeus, the Olympians, Hecatonchires, and the Cyclops. Unfortunately, Zeus's side had the aid of lightning and thunderbolts made by the Cyclops. And they soon overpowered the twelve main Titans. As punishment, Zeus detained the majority of the Titans within Tartarus. A few were sentenced to other obscure fates. Tartarus is in many ways a jail for deities. It is dark, dull, and once a god is trapped inside, they are chained there until someone else releases them. The end of the Titanomachy concluded the Titan's reign. This job was now in the hands of the son of the Titans, Zeus. [Crystal] [Hunt] [Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia] The Titans were the fundamentals of many Greek myths. They led the earth during one of the flourishing time periods and they were involved in many of the greatest mythological wars. Without the Titans, much of Greek mythology would not have had anything to erupt from.

Works Cited Atsma, Aaron. “Titans”. Theoi Project Copyright. 8 December 2009. <[]> Crystal, Ellie. “The Titans”. Crystalinks. 6 December 2009. <[]> Hunt, John M.. “The Titans”. SDSU Ed Tech. 6 December 2009. <[]> “Titan, in Greek religion and mythology.” __Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th edition.__ Columbia University Press, 2009. [|] “Titans of Ancient Greece”. University Press. 6 December 2009. <[]>

