

One of the Titans, Cronus, stepped forward and he punished Uranus by castrating him with an adamant scythe that Gaia gave him. Thus Gaia asked her children to help to fight back against their father. He blocked her wombs (caves) and this both pained and angered Gaia. Uranus was jealous of his children and condemned them to stay inside Gaia. Roman mosaic of Aion-Uranus with Gaia and the four seasons. And from here the pantheon of the famous gods of Greek mythology begins. Uranus mated with Gaia and produced three Cyclopes and 12 Titans (a race of giants). Uranus and Gaia became the first gods to rule. Nyx also gave birth to other gods like Moros, Thanatos (death), Nemesis, Hypnos (sleep), Eris and Keres. Nyx and Erebus mated, and Hemere (day) and Aether (air) were born. Gaia gave birth to Ouranos (aka Uranus) (heavens) and Okeanos (ocean).įrom there, the Greek myth describes how the gods mated with each other to complete the whole of creation. Rebellion Among the Early Generations of Ancient Greek GodsĬhaos also gave birth to Erebus, who was the darkness of the underworld, and Nyx (night). This is similar to other ancient myths, such as the Sumerian creation myth, which describes how Earth was initially created as a dwelling for the gods. It is not specified if Gaia and Eros were born from Chaos or whether they were pre-existing however, Hesiod mentions that Gaia came into existence in order to become the home of the gods. It is worth noting here that the Greek word chaos does not have the same meaning as it holds today - it simply meant ‘empty space or a dark void.’Ĭhaos was followed by Gaia (which means earth) and Eros (which is love). In Greek Mythology, Everything Began with ChaosĪccording to Theogony, in the beginning only chaos and void existed throughout the entire universe. His work combines all ancient Greek myths and traditions up to his time. The most complete example is Theogony by the Greek poet Hesiod, who lived around the 8th century BC. Variations of the creation story of Greek mythology can be found within many ancient texts. The dramatic story of the origins of humanity in Greek mythology involves love, pain, and a hefty dose of violent fighting between divine family members. Every culture has an explanation about how we got here.
