The Creation of The World, The First Gods and Goddesses

(Chaos)

The muses inspired Hesiod first about the gods, goddesses and the creation of the universe. The first god is Chaos. It means emptiness and abyss. Before creating the universe, there was only Chaos. Then Chaos created Gaea (Earth), the underworld Tartarus, and Eros (Love).

(Gaea)

(Tartarus)

(Eros)

(Uranus)

Chaos gave birth to night, night gave birth to day. Gaea (Earth) gave birth to Uranus (Sky) as a home to the gods. Then Gaea and Uranus gave birth to the Cyclopes. The Cyclopes were godlike in other features, except for the one eye on their foreheads. Their other children were the Titans, Oceanus, Lapetus, Rhea, Themis, and Mnemosyne. The most cunning and fearsome of these titans was Cronus, who hated his father.

(Cyclopes)

(Cronus)

(Titans)

(Cottus, Briareus, and Gyes)

Gaea (Earth) gave birth to Cottus, Briareus, and Gyes, each had one hundred hands and fifty heads. Their father, Uranus, hated his three sons and hid them in a secret place in Gaea. He never showed them the light.

Gaea got very upset about this situation and made a plan. She made the flint element and formed a sickle from it. She gathered her children and said, "We must punish your father for what he did." Except for Cronus, the other children trembled. Cronus said, "I'll do anything you want, mom." His mother was very happy and gave the sickle to her son.

(Aphrodite)

That night Uranus came near Gaea. Cronus emerged from his hiding place and castrated Uranus with a sickle. Gaea gave birth to Fury, race of giants and nymphs from the blood of Uranus. Cronus threw Uranus' genitalia into the sea. After a while, the sea foamed and Aphrodite, the goddess of beauty, was born out of it.

(Rhea)

The rest of the article is about Cronus and his wife Rhea. Just as Cronus overthrew his own father, he learned that one of his children will one day overthrow him. So when the 5 children were born, Cronus swallowed them. Their names were Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades and Poseidon. As the 6th child, Zeus, was about to be born, Rhea asked Uranus and Gaea for help. When Zeus was born, Gaea took him and hid him in a cave. Rhea gave Cronus a stone wrapped in a blanket, and Cronus swallowed it.

(Hestia)

(Hades)

(Hera)

(Zeus)

(Poseidon)

(Demeter)

Meanwhile, Zeus was getting stronger. He was fed by bees and the milk of a goat named “Amalthea”. This goat's horn was magical. When one broke, it could turn into a huge fruit bowl. The Latin name for the horn is "cornu copiae" meaning "horn of abundance".

When Zeus was fully grown, Rhea tricked Cronus and made him vomit. The first thing he vomited was a stone. Meanwhile, Zeus released the Hundredhanded Ones and the Cyclope, who could grant him lightning and thunder abilities. Together they fought Cronus and exiled him.

(Ovid)

Cronus was actually a very evil-looking god. But not according to the Roman poet Ovid. The time of Cronus was a Golden Age when there was no evil and no need for laws. The trees were not cut, there were no soldiers, there was no war, everyone was happy.

The Silver Age came when Zeus took the throne. 4 seasons were added, people had to build their own houses, nature was no longer enough, everything required labor, agriculture started and people were struggling.

Then came the Bronze Age. People became aggressive and started to take weapons in their hands. The continuation of this was in the Iron Age. Cheating, violence, greed and more. Nobody was safe. Although Cronus was a badass, he was a good ruler according to Ovid.

Thank you for reading. If you have any questions or suggestions, let's meet in the comments. Please don't forget to support me ^-^ See you next week at Cronus and Rhea's childs.