Greek Creation Myths
Explanatory myths about the creation of the universe and the birth of the gods and mankind.
In the beginning...
In the beginning there was nothing but Chaos – an empty, formless void, encompassing the whole universe – surrounded by a river controlled by the god Oceanus. This domain was ruled over by the Goddess of All Things, Eurynome, (‘far-ruling’).
Eurynome determined to bring Order out of Chaos. She created the powerful snake Ophion out of the North Wind, and coupled with him to produce Eros (‘desire’) who is also known as Protagonus (‘first born’).
By dancing on the waves of Oceanus, Eurynome separated the sky from the sea, thereby producing Gaia (Mother Earth), Uranus (God of the Sky) and Tartarus (God of the underworld). Eros was responsible for the union of Uranus and Gaia, and the conjunction of Sky and Earth resulted in the birth of everything in those spheres.
The Age of the Titans
Uranus and Gaia were the first rulers of the Universe. They gave birth to the Titans, a race of twelve giants who personified the forces of nature.
Uranus was fearful of his offspring’s power, and hid them away in the darkest regions of the underworld, Tartarus. Gaia, wanting to free her children, and also wanting to save herself from the pain of carrying and giving birth to any more giants, asked her offspring to help her to castrate Uranus. Her son, the giant Cronus, agreed to help and sought assistance in the battle that followed from Uranus’ other sons - the one-eyed Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires (Briareus, Cottus and Gyes: three fifty-headed, hundred-handed giants).
Gaia gave Cronus an adamantine sickle, with which he severed his father’s genitals with one mighty blow. Where Uranus’ blood fell to the earth, the Erinyes (Furies), the Giants and the Meliae (nymphs of the manna ash trees) were born. Cronus threw his father’s genitals into the sea, and Aphrodite was created out of the sea foam.
Cronus then became the ruler of the universe, with his wife (and sister) Rhea. A Golden Age of harmony and prosperity ensued. However, power made Cronus increasingly tyrannical, and he replicated his father’s mistakes. He re-imprisoned the Cyclopes and Hecatoncheires in Tarturus. Frightened by the prophecy that his son would overthrow him, he swallowed all his children as soon as they were born.
Rhea tricked her husband into swallowing a swaddled stone in place of his son Zeus, who was secretly raised in Crete and returned to overthrow his father. Cronus was tricked into swallowing an emetic so that he vomited out his five previous children: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades and Poseidon. Together the six children, led by Zeus, overthrew Cronus and he was consigned to Tarturus in the underworld.
Zeus and the Olympian Gods
When Zeus had triumphed over his father and the race of Titans, he made himself Supreme Ruler of the Universe, and divided the universe between his brothers and sisters. He made Hades god of the underworld and Poseidon god of the sea. He made Hestia a goddess of the Hearth; Demeter a goddess of Fertility and Hera goddess of Marriage and Childbirth. Zeus created Mount Olympus as a beautiful home for his brothers, sisters and children. These twelve principal gods in the Greek pantheon are known as the Olympian gods.