The Titans and their kin
- Looks after
- Father of Atlas, Menoetius, Prometheus and Epimetheus
Iapetus
Ἰαπετός
Iapetus is a Titan, and the father of four sons who each meet a bad end: Atlas, Menoetius, Prometheus and Epimetheus.
Family at a glance
Iapetus is one of the twelve Titans. He took as wife the Oceanid Clymene, in Hesiod, and they had four sons. Atlas was condemned to hold up the sky, Menoetius was struck down by Zeus's thunderbolt for his arrogance, Prometheus was chained to a rock for stealing fire, and Epimetheus accepted Pandora and brought trouble to humankind.
Iapetus himself fought against Zeus in the Titan war and was sent to Tartarus.
In later art and language
A moon of Saturn is named Iapetus.
The ancient evidence for Iapetus is limited, so this page is short on purpose.
Ancient sources
- Hesiod, Theogony 132-138, 507-520