Erebus And Night: The Rise Of Greek Mythology

Greek Mythology gave a reason behind everything that the Greeks could see, feel, and what they had to do to survive. The Gods and Goddesses gave them a feeling of protection from the things they didn’t understand. They gave the mortals someone to believe no matter what the situation was. Myths gave a reason and story behind the things around them, and why the things were the way were. The ancient Greeks believed that in the beginning there was only Chaos, but out of the empty void, Erebus, the unknowable place where death dwells, and Night suddenly appeared. Love was then born bringing the beginning of order. After Love, Light appeared with Gaea, the Earth, following. Erebus and Night had two children, Ether, heavenly light, and Day, …show more content…
They, together, created three Cyclopes, three Hecatoncheires, and twelve Titans. Uranus, being a cruel father and husband, pushed his least favorite children, the Hecatoncheires, into the womb of Gaea for imprisonment. Gaea was infuriated, and started to plan a tactic of revenge against her husband. She made a flint sickle and asked her children to use it against their father, Uranus. The only child that wasn’t too afraid of his father to complete the task was Cronus. Gaea and Cronus then set up an attack on Uranus. It was to be at night as Uranus slept next Gaea that night. Cronus grabbed his father, castrated him, and threw the severed parts of his body into the ocean. Nobody knows if Uranus died, withdrew himself from Earth, or hid himself in Italy. As he left though, he promised that Titans would be punished. From Uranus’s blood that splattered on the Earth, the Giants, the Ash Tree Nymphs and the Erinnyes were created. From the sea foam that was produced, when his flesh hit the ocean, came Aphrodite. Cronus then became he ruler, and with that position he imprisoned the Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires in Tartarus. Cronus then married his sister, Rhea, who he had …show more content…
When Zeus grew up, he consulted Metis on how to defeat Cronus. Metis prepared a drink for Cronus to make him vomit all of his other children up. These children were the gods and goddesses; Hades, Poseidon, Hestia, Demeter, and Hera. With the help of Rhea, Zeus was allowed to return to Mount Olympus as Cronus’s cupbearer. This gave Zeus the opportunity to give Cronus the potion from Mentis. The plan worked and the other five children emerged from Cronus. Since the children were Gods, they were unharmed. They were grateful for their youngest brother and made him their leader. Cronus was still undefeated though. He and all of the Titans, except for Prometheus, Epimetheus, and Oceanus, fought the Olympians in a war named Titanomachy. Atlas was the leader of the Titans in battle, and for a while it looked like the Titans would win against the young gods. Zeus was smart though, he went down to Tartarus to free the Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires; Prometheus joined Zeus as well. Zeus returned to battle with new allies and lightning bolts for weapons. He won and exiled the Titans to Tartarus,