Uranus
Uranus
Nationality/Culture
Greek
Pronunciation
YOOR-uh-nuhs
Alternate Names
Caelus (Roman), Aeon (Roman)
Appears In
Hesiod's Theogony
Lineage
Son of Gaia
Character Overview
Uranus, who represented the sky, was one of the original deities (gods and goddesses) of Greek mythology . He was the son of Gaia (pronounced GAY-uh), the earth, who also became his wife. Together they had many children, including the Titans and the Cyclopes (pronounced sigh-KLOH-peez). He was eventually overthrown by his son Cronus (pronounced KROH-nuhs).
Major Myths
Uranus detested the children he had with Gaia. As soon as they were born, he forced them into Tartarus (pronounced TAR-tur-uhs), a dark place deep beneath the surface of the earth. This caused Gaia great pain. She asked her children to stop Uranus, but only her son Cronus came to her aid. Cronus cut off his father's sex organs with a flint-bladed sickle and threw them into the sea. According to myth, Aphrodite (pronounced af-ro-DYE-tee) was born from the foam where they landed. Uranus became the sky that surrounds the earth, and Cronus replaced his father as king of the universe. But Cronus was later defeated by his son Zeus (pronounced ZOOS) who, together with Hera (pronounced HAIR-uh) and other Olympian gods, overthrew the Titans and took their place ruling the universe.
Uranus in Context
To the ancient Greeks, the mention of the sickle having a flint blade was significant, and puts the era of the old gods into a proper context. Flint, an easily splintered stone, was used in the creation of tools and weapons long before humans had mastered the art of metalworking. Ancient cultures throughout Greece and the surrounding regions were effectively creating bronze tools and weapons at least two thousand years before the writings of mythographers like Hesiod, and in fact were mastering the creation of iron and steel products by that time. For the myth of Uranus to specifically mention a flint blade, then, reflects either the original age of the myth or an attempt to illustrate that the tales of the old gods took place in the very distant past of the ancient Greeks.
Key Themes and Symbols
One of the central themes in the myth of Uranus is the overthrow of the heavenly hierarchy. This is shown in Cronus's rebellion against Uranus, as well as by the prediction that Cronus will suffer the same fate as his father. For the ancient Greeks, Uranus represented the most ancient of beliefs and traditions, two generations removed from their own beliefs in the Olympian gods.
Uranus in Art, Literature, and Everyday Life
Though he lies at the heart of an ancient Greek creation myth, Uranus was seldom worshipped and only occasionally depicted in art. Roman artists sometimes showed a slighdy different version of Uranus, known as Aeon and considered to be the god of time, standing over Gaia and holding the wheel of the zodiac (another representation of time). In 1781, when the sixth planet of our solar system was discovered by William Herschel, it was named Uranus in honor of the oldest god.
Read, Write, Think, Discuss
Most of the planets in our solar system are named after gods and goddesses from Greek and Roman mythology. For several, their names were determined based on similarities to their mythical counterparts. Based on what you know about classical mythology, can you figure out why the planets Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus were named the way they were? You may have to do some research about the planets in order to find the answers.