The Greek Gods

According to the ancient Greek mankind, there are many phenomenal myths they composed as to how they felt the world came to be. There have been many translations of these theories and some of the are similar and others are nothing alike. It is up to the individual to decide how they feel about these theories. It is believed that in the beginning, there was only the god known as Chaos. He was the first Greek god and was only a dark abyss from which all things came into being. There was a primeval emptiness which was a dark, silent, formless nothing with no trace of life. He was the father of Earth (also known as Gaea, Gaia, or Mother Earth). Gaea gave birth, by herself, to Uranus (the Sky or Heavens), Ourea (mountains), and Pontus (the Sea). She then married Uranus and from their union came the original 12 Titans known of which there were six females and six males. They paired off and the results were Coeus married Phoebe, Crius married Mnemosyne, Hyperion married Thea, Oceanus married Tethys, and Cronus married Rhea. Lapetus and Themis did not marry but Themis was loved by her nephew, Zeus, and Lapetus married the nymph, Clymene, who was the daughter of Oceanus and Thetys.

Chaos also created Tartarus, the Underworld. Tartarus and Gaea united and created Typhoeus (Typhoon), who was a fire breathing dragon which had a hundred heads. Then from the love of Chaos came Eros, who was thought to be the most handsome and invincible by nature. Chaos also gave birth to Erebus, which was the symbol of the dark silence, and also Nyx, the embodiment of night. Erebus and Nyx got together and Nyx created Aether (the Atmosphere), and Hemera (the Day).

The Titan were said to be powerful gods who ruled during the Golden Age. The Titans dwelled on Mount Olympia in Ancient Greece. They were later overthrown by Zeus and the Olympian gods and cast into the Underworld pit known as Tartarus after losing the battle with the Olympians.

Hestia is the oldest of the 12 original Titans. She had a throne of her own until Dionysus grew into godhood. She then became the goddess of the hearth and home. She was also one of the three virgin goddesses. Her symbol was kept in every house and when the family had a child, they had to carry the baby around the symbol before it could be accepted into the family. Demeter was the goddess of harvest or the goddess of the fields. The Greeks used to break bread in the name of Demeter and drink wine to Dionysus. The goddess Hera, was the wife of Zeus and the Queen of the gods.

There were many more gods and goddesses in the Greek mythology books. These were just a few of the most well known ones and the first leaders of the Universe, according to the Greeks.