Titans

Nationality/Culture

Greek

Pronunciation

TYE-tuhnz

Alternate Names

None

Appears In

Hesiod's Theogony

Lineage

The children of Uranus and Gaia

Character Overview

The Titans were gigantic, powerful, ancient beings that loomed in the background of many Greek myths and tales. Children of Uranus (pronounced YOOR-uh-nuhs) and Gaia (pronounced GAY-uh), the Titans ruled the world before they were overthrown by the god Zeus (pronounced ZOOS) and his brothers and sisters. Originally there were twelve Titans. The Greek writer Hesiod listed six male Titans—Oceanus (pronounced oh-SEE-uh-nuhs), Coeus (pronounced SEE-uhs), Cronus (pronounced KROH-nuhs), Crius (pronounced KRYE-uhs), Hyperion (pronounced hy-PEER-ee-on), and Iapetus (pronounced eye-AP-uh-tus)—and six female Titanesses—Tethys (pronounced TEE-this), Themis (pronounced THEEM-is), Phoebe (pronounced FEE-bee), Mnemosyne (pronounced nee-MOSS-uh-nee), Theia (pronounced THEE-uh), and Rhea (pronounced REE-uh). Some accounts add the brothers Prometheus (pronounced pruh-MEE-thee-uhs), Epimetheus (pronounced ep-uh-MEE-thee-uhs), Atlas (pronounced AT-luhs), and the moon goddess Selene (pronounced suh-LEE-nee) to this group of Titans. These four gods and a few others are more often described as children of the original twelve Titans.

Major Myths

The most important tales of the Titans involve the overthrow of their father Uranus and their own battle against the Olympian gods. Uranus hated the children born from his wife Gaia, so he forced her to keep the Titans in Tartarus (pronounced TAR-tur-uhs), a dismal pit deep within Gaia's bowels. This caused Gaia much pain, and she asked her sons to help her defeat Uranus by cutting off his genitals with a sickle. Only her youngest son, the Titan Cronus, was willing to do it. After he was successful, the Titans were freed from Tartarus and ruled the heavens. Cronus, with his sister Rhea at his side, was their leader.

However, Cronus was told that when he had children, one of his sons would overthrow him—just as he had done to his own father. To avoid this fate, Cronus swallowed each of his children as soon as they were born. Rhea managed to save only one child, Zeus, by hiding him and feeding Cronus a stone in the baby's place. When Zeus grew older, he gave his father a potion that made him vomit out his other siblings. These children, known as the Olympians, then waged an eleven-year war against the Titans. The Olympians eventually won and cast many of the Titans back into Tartarus, where Uranus had imprisoned them long before. However, several of the Titans—including Oceanus and all the female Titans—did not participate in the war against the Olympians, and therefore were able to remain free.

Titans in Context

Some scholars suggest that the reign—and ultimate defeat—of the Titans in Greek mythology reflects the conquest of an earlier culture by the one we now associate with the ancient Greeks. This earlier culture is believed to have been matriarchal, meaning women held the primary positions of power within the society. This is suggested by the Titans' close association with their mother, Gaia, and poor relationship with their father Uranus. The ancient Greeks, being a patriarchal society (where men held the most power), were similar to the Olympian gods who take control of the heavens. The regions of the world were divided among the three sons—Zeus, Poseidon (pronounced poh-SYE-dun), and Hades (pronounced HAY-deez)—while the daughters were not given direct rule over anything. If this idea is correct, the myths of the ancient Greeks would be a direct reflection of ancient cultural clashes in the region.

Key Themes and Symbols

The Titans represent huge, primitive, hard-to-control forces; indeed, many of the Titans are embodiments of the forces of nature and are born from Mother Earth (Gaia). They also symbolize a spirit of rebellion against the authority of the gods, as in the story of the Titan Prometheus, who helped human beings against Zeus's will. The myth of the Titans and their downfall includes a theme common throughout Greek mythology: the fate of a god or person cannot be avoided, no matter how hard one might try to change it.

Titans in Art, Literature, and Everyday Life

The Titans are featured in ancient art primarily in depictions of the war between them and the Olympian gods. Although some Titans, such as Prometheus, appear in other myths, they were not generally considered important subjects for literature or art. Instead, throughout the centuries, the Olympian gods dominated art influenced by Greek mythology. The most notable exception is Cronus, also referred to by his Roman name, Saturn. One of the most famous images of Saturn is Francisco Goya's grisly painting Saturn Devouring One of His Children (1823), which depicts the myth of the Titan leader consuming one of his children in order to keep from being overthrown. Another famous image of Cronus/Saturn eating one of his children was created by Peter Paul Rubens in 1636. More recently, the 1997 Disney animated film Hercules included a plot by Hades to release the Titans from their imprisonment and take control of Greece and Olympus. In modern usage, the immense size of the Titans has led to the word “titanic,” meaning extremely large.

Read, Write, Think, Discuss

The myths of the early Greek gods include two examples of sons overthrowing their fathers for control of the heavens—first Cronus defeating Uranus, and then Zeus defeating Cronus. In both cases, the sons are raised by mother figures and have very little or no contact with their fathers. What do you think this theme of conflict between fathers and sons reflects about ancient Greek family life?

SEE ALSO Atlas; Cronus; Gaia; Greek Mythology; Prometheus; Uranus; Zeus