| Ouranos and Kronos |
| The War of the Titans |
| A Failed Prophecy |
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Ouranos is the Heavens ... he was the fifth Immortal to come into existence.
Khaos was the first Immortal ... he was soon followed by Ge, Tartaros, and Eros. Ge is the Earth, Tartaros is the Pit, and Eros is Love. Ge became the foundation of all subsequent immortal and mortal generations.
Ge's first creation was Ouranos ... she created him to cover herself on all sides and to be an ever-sure abiding-place for the blessed gods.
Ouranos was not only Ge's son, he was her first consort ... three monstrous boys were conceived as a result of their first union ... they were named Briareos (Obriareos), Kottos, and Gyes ... as a mortal, you might know Briareos by the name Aigaion or the title Aigaios's son.
When the three gigantic boys were ready to emerge from Ge's womb, Ouranos pushed them back inside ... he feared the boys because of their power and beauty ... they had fifty heads and fifty arms sprouting from their massive shoulders ... they were Ge's first attempt at producing an Immortal that had "human" characteristics ... they were indeed beautiful!
Despite Ouranos's indulgent behavior, Ge again mated with him and twelve children were born from that union. These children looked more "human" than Briareos, Kottos, and Gyes ... Ouranos named them Titans because they quickly demonstrated their complete lack of restraint ... the name Titans means Stretchers or Strainers ... they stretched and strained the limits of propriety and indulged themselves without consideration of consequences. The Titans not only brought about their own subjugation, they were also responsible for the demotion and mutilation of Ouranos.
Ge was still suffering from the delayed birth of Briareos, Kottos, and Gyes ... she needed relief and Ouranos had no intention of allowing the boys to see the light of day. Ge pleaded with her Titan sons to help her be rid of Ouranos's interference. Five of the Titan males were fearful of Ouranos and refused to help ... Kronos was the only one willing to do Ge's bidding and confront his father. Kronos reasoned that Ouranos was the first to act shamefully and there would be no blame for standing against him.
Ge created the element flint and formed a sickle ... she gave Kronos the flint sickle with its jagged edge and hid him in a secret place so he could surprise Ouranos. As night fell, Ouranos came to Ge ... Kronos took the sickle in his left hand and struck at his father ... Ouranos was caught unawares and could not protect himself from the cruel flint ... his male members were cut off and the drops of blood were absorbed by Ge ... as the seasons passed, Ouranos's blood gave life to Erinys (the Punisher), the Giants, and the Meliae, i.e. the Nymphs of the Ash Tree. The remaining flesh fell into the sea and from the foam and water a maiden was created ... this maiden became the goddess of love, Aphrodite.
The site of the of the ambush is not known with certainty but there are two locations we might consider. There is a cape on the northern Peloponnesian Peninsula called Cape Drepanum, i.e. Cape Sickle ... the traveler-historian Pausanias thought this was the setting for the assault on Ouranos but that assumption ignores the creation of Aphrodite. The goddess of love is called Kypros and was created, like a good number of the Greek Immortals, in "the east" ... we should therefore look towards the island of Kypros (Cyprus) as her birthplace. There is a place on the western coast of Kypros named Drepanum (Sickle) and this is more than likely the place where Ouranos was castrated and bled into the sea creating Aphrodite.
After the mutilation of Ouranos, Kronos reveled in his newfound glory and became the de facto leader of the Titans. Like his father before him, Kronos thought Briareos, Kottos, and Gyes would be a threat to his authority and would not allow the boys to be born. The tyranny of Kronos only lasted one immortal generation ... his son Zeus deposed him. When Zeus established himself on Mount Olympos he freed Briareos, Kottos, and Gyes from their underground tomb-womb. The firstborn children of Ge and Ouranos were finally free.
The Titans were determined to establish their dominance over their children ... thus began the War of the Titans. Zeus rallied the Immortals Kronos had subjugated and waged a ten-year war against the Titans. Among other liaisons, Zeus freed Briareos, Kottos, and Gyes from their underground prison. The three monstrous brothers were pivotal in the success of the war ... they literally ripped up mountains and hurled them at the Titans until they were forced to surrender.
As an ironic conclusion to the war, Zeus banished the Titans to the Underworld and placed Briareos, Kottos, and Gyes as their guards ... after all the years the brothers spent trapped underground, they voluntarily returned because of their loyalty to Zeus.
When Zeus, the grandson of Ge and Ouranos, became infatuated with the goddess Metis, both Ge and Ouranos warned him that any child she conceived would be powerful and apt to challenge Zeus for his throne. Zeus took the warnings seriously and promptly swallowed Metis. Inside the vastness of Zeus, Metis remained a prisoner until she gave birth to a marvelous daughter ... this was the child Ouranos and Ge had warned Zeus about.
Metis's daughter was named Athene ... she was born and grew into a young goddess inside Zeus's vast being ... she was born a second time when she burst from Zeus's head, clothed in armor and ready for battle. She did not contend with Zeus or try to usurp his power and authority but instead became his loving and obedient daughter. She was called the goddess of wisdom and was equally at home teaching crafts and routing armies on the battlefield.
The prophecy of Ouranos and Ge did not come to pass.
The Iliad
The Odyssey
Theogony
Hymn to Demeter II
Hymn to Delian Apollon
Hymn to Pythian Apollon
Hymn to Ge the Mother of All XXX
War of the Titans
Odes of Pindar
Description of Greece by Pausanias
Library of History by Diodorus of Sicily