"The World Book Encyclopedia" copyright 1980 "World Book Childcraft International, Inc." states @p. 236:
"Titans were the first gods in Greek mythology. Most of them represented--in human form--such natural phenomena as the earth, the sky, and the sun. Previously, the universe had existed in a state of emptiness called Chaos.
The first Titan was Gaea, the earth. She emerged from Chaos and gave birth to Uranus, the sky. She then married him. Gaea and Uranus had many offspring. The youngest and most important was Cronus, who married Rhea, his sister. Cronus deposed Uranus and became king of the gods.
Rhea bore Cronus many children, but he swallowed them as soon as they were born to prevent one of them from overthrowing him. Rhea was determined to save Zeus, her youngest son. She tricked Cronus into swallowing a stone wrapped in baby clothes instead. Then she hid Zeus on the Island of Crete.
After Zeus grew up, he tricked his father into vomiting up all the offspring. Zeus then led his brothers and sisters in a war against Cronus and the Titans who had supported him to Tartarus, an underground region. The defeat of Cronus established Zeus as the supreme ruler of the universe and thus played an important role in the religion of the ancient Greeks.
See also MYTHOLOGY (Greek Mythology), ATLAS; PROMETHUS; TARTARUS; URANUS; ZEUS."
TARTARUS, was a dark place below the earth in early Greek mythology. It was as far below Hades as earth is from heaven, and a falling stone would take nine days to reach it. A river of fire called Phlegethon circled Tartarus. Zeus put the rebelling Titans in Tartarus, and any god who swore a false oath was kept there for nine years. According to later belief, Tartarus was a place of punishment for the most wicked sinners, and was part of Hades. It corresponds in some ways to the Christian idea of hell.
URANUS was the earliest god of the sky in Greek and Roman mythology. He was the son and husband of Gaea, the earth. Uranus and Gaea were the parents of Titans, the first race of mythological beings.
Uranus feared his children and confined them deep within their mother, the earth, immediately after their birth. Gaea plotted revenge for their imprisonment. With her help, Cronus, the youngest Titan, attacked Uranus while he slept. Cronus wounded Uranus with a sickle and made him unable to father any more children. Because of his wound, Uranus became separated forever from Gaea. The Greeks and Romans used this myth to explain the separation of the earth from the sky.
After being separated from Gaea, Uranus played little part in mythology. His functions as god of the sky were taken over by his grandson, called Zeus by the greeks and Jupiter by the Romans.
ZEUS was the king of the gods and the supreme ruler of people in Greek mythology. He originally was a god of the sky. In time, the Greeks regarded him as the only god who concerned himself with the entire universe. They also associated Zeus with justice and believed that he punished the wicked and rewarded the good. He had the same powers as the Roman god Jupiter.
Zeus was the son of Cronus and Rhea, who belonged to a mythological race called the Titans.
Zeus and the other children of Cronus overthrew their father during a war against the Titans. Zeus then took Cronus' place and ruled from Mount Olympus. He headed a family of 12 major gods and goddesses called the Olympians. Zeus' brothers were the gods Hades and Poseidon. Hades ruled the underworld, and Poseidon controlled the seas. The goddesses Demeter, Hera, and Hestia were Zeus' sisters. Zeus married Hera, who became queen of the gods. They had two children, the gods Ares and Hephaestus.
Zeus had many love affairs with goddesses and mortal women. His children by them included the gods Apollo, Dionysus, and Hermes; the goddess Artemis; and the heroes Heracles and Perseus. In addition, Zeus gave birth to the goddess Athena, who sprang full-grown from his head. Zeus and the goddess Mnemosyne were the parents of the Muses, the nine goddesses of the arts and sciences. According to some myths, Zeus and the goddess Themis were the parents of the Fates, three goddesses who controlled human destiny.
Artists have shown Zeus as a bearded and majestic man. His symbols were the eagle, the oak tree, the royal scepter, and the thunderbolt.
Pallas Athene Fountain
