|
July 14, 2023 from ClassicalWisdom Website
The Battle Between the Gods and the Titans by Joachim Wtewael (1600)
For the ancient Greeks this was their answer to
the most fundamental question of existence. And as with all Greek
mythology, the story of the creation of the world is shrouded in
fantasy and wonder.
Gaia by Anselm Feuerbach (1875)
She was the primordial being of the Earth and she would give birth to the heavens, who was known as Uranus.
The earth, Gaia, gave birth first to the mighty Titans.
As Hesiod describes it:
Gaia then gave birth to the Cyclopes, who were monstrous creatures with one bulging eye in the center of their foreheads.
Then Gaia birthed the hideous Hecatonchires, who were creatures with broad shoulders, fifty heads, and one hundred arms.
Uranus saw the Cyclopes and the Hecatonchires
as vile creatures. With the birth of each, he would imprison them
away beneath the earth. The imprisonment of her children saddened
Gaia and she devised a plan to seek vengeance.
In Hesiod's own words, Gaia declares:
However the Titans were very afraid of their father; at first, none would volunteer to overthrow the ruler of the heavens.
Then it was Cronus, the youngest
of the Titans who hated his father Uranus, who stepped forward to do
the deed. Gaia gave to the youngest titan a sickle and told him to
lie in wait for his unsuspecting father.
The young titan
approached from behind and used the sickle to cut off the genitals
of his father. He then flung them across the earth before they
landed in the sea.
She was Aphrodite, one of the original Olympians.
by Sandro Botticelli
(c.
1484–1486)
The blood spilled from the now deposed ruler of
heaven and mixed with the earth, Gaia. Instantly several creatures
were born from Gaia as her husband lay dying.
These creatures sprang
from the blood of Uranus and then began to wander the earth.
The prophecy
would hang heavy on the head of the Titan.
However, the prophecy
of Uranus deeply troubled Cronus. It had been predicted that a son
of his would one day depose him and take his place as king.
Hesiod writes:
Rhea bore several children,
...but Cronus feared that one of these children would be his downfall.
And so,
with each birth, Cronus captured the young infant and devoured the
child to ensure that his reign as king was never opposed.
With the help of Gaia, the earth, she delivered her youngest child in a cave on the island of Crete, far from the eyes of her murderous partner.
by Francisco Goya. (c. 1819–1823)
Cronus was also identified in classical antiquity
with
the Roman deity Saturn.
His mother wrapped a stone in a blanket and presented it to Cronus. The titan devoured the substitute, believing it to be his son.
Assured that the baby Zeus was no longer a threat, Cronus continued his rule, though unbeknownst to him, his youngest son was being raised in secret under the Aegean mountains.
Some versions of the myth describe that the infant Zeus was raised on the island of Crete surrounded by armored dancers.
These armored guardians would clap and sing
whenever the baby would cry so that Cronus would not hear the
screams and come to slay the infant god.
Cronus bent over in agony and threw up all the children he had devoured.
In some versions it is told that Zeus cuts open his fathers stomach with a dagger and his siblings come pouring out.
by Cornelis Corneliszoon van Haarlem
(1596–1598)
On one side was the Olympians who were aided by the Cyclops, the Titans Prometheus and Epimetheus as well as the hundred armed Hecatonchires.
The violent war was fought for ten years with no clear victor.
Zeus and his allies took up a stronghold on mount Olympus where Zeus cast his thunderbolts upon his enemies.
The prophecy of Uranus had been fulfilled, the age of the Olympians had arrived...
Video
|
