Uranus is the sky god and first ruler. He is the son of Gaea,
who created him without help. He then became the husband of Gaea and together
they had many offspring, including twelve of the Titans. His rule ended when
when Cronus, encouraged by Gaea, castrated him. He either died from the wound
or withdrew from earth.
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Cronus was the ruling Titan who came to power by castrating
his Father Uranus. His wife was Rhea. Their offspring were the first of the
Olympians. To insure his safety Cronus ate each of the children as they were
born. This worked until Rhea, unhappy at the loss of her children, tricked
Cronus into swallowing a rock, instead of Zeus. When he grew up Zeus would
revolt against Cronus and the other Titans, defeat them, and banish them to
Tartarus in the underworld. Cronus managed to escape to Italy, where he ruled as Saturn.
The period of his rule was said to be a golden age on earth, honoured by the
Saturnalia feast.
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Crius A Titan, married Eurbia. They had 3 children: Astraios,
Perses and Pallas. Was grandfather of (Astraios married Eos): Zephyros/Zephyrus
(West Wind), Boreas (North Wind), Notos/Notus (South Wind Eosphoros/Eurus (East
Wind), and all the "stars". Was also grandfather of (Pallas married
Styx): Zelos, Nike, Kratos, Bia.
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Prometheus was the wisest Titan. His name means
"forethought" and he was able to foretell the future. He was the son
of Iapetus. When Zeus revolted against Cronus Prometheus deserted the other Titans
and fought on Zeus side. By some accounts he and his brother Epimetheus were
delegated by Zeus to create man. In all accounts, Prometheus is known as the
protector and benefactor of man. He gave mankind a number of gifts including
fire. He also tricked Zeus into allowing man to keep the best part of the
animals sacrificed to the gods and to give the gods the worst parts. For this
Zeus punished Prometheus by having him chained to a rock with an eagle tearing
at his liver. He was to be left there for all eternity or until he agreed to
disclose to Zeus which of Zeus children would try to replace him. He was
eventually rescued by Hercules without giving in to Zeus
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Epimetheus was a stupid Titan, whose name means
"afterthought". He was the son of Iapetus. In some accounts he is
delegated, along with his brother Prometheus by Zeus to create mankind. He also
accepted the gift of Pandora from Zeus, which lead to the introduction of evil
into the world.
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Atlas
was the son of Iapetus. Unlike his brothers Prometheus and Epimetheus, Atlas
fought with the other Titans supporting Cronus against Zeus. Due to Cronus's
advance age Atlas lead the Titan's in battle. As a result he was singled out by
Zeus for a special punishment and made to hold up the world on his back.
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Metis was the Titaness of the forth day and the planet
Mercury. She presided over all wisdom and knowledge. She was seduced by Zeus
and became pregnant with Athena. Zeus became concerned over prophecies that her
second child would replace Zeus. To avoid this Zeus ate her. It is said that
she is the source for Zeus wisdom and that she still advises Zeus from his
belly. It may seem odd for Metis to have been pregnant with Athena but, never
mentioned as her mother. This is because the classic greeks believed that
children were generated soley from the fathers sperm. The women was thought to
be nothing more then a vessal for the fetus to grow in. Since Metis was killed
well before Athena's birth her role doesn't count.
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