Kronos, the youngest Titan, castrated and overthrew his father on behalf of his mother, and the Titans took their place as the rulers of the universe. This began the cycle of sons overthrowing fathers, known as the ‘Succession Myth.’ The ‘Succession Myth’ is repeated several times in the Theogony, as well as within Greek mythology.īirth of Venus by William Bouguereau, 1879, via Museum d’Orsay In order to punish Uranus, Gaia asked her Titan children to attack their father with a sickle. Uranus imprisoned the monstrous children, which greatly angered Gaia. Gaia took her son, Uranus, as her husband and gave birth to the Twelve Titans, as well as six monstrous children. They then created the rest of the primordial beings, such as Hemera (Day), Uranus (Sky or Heavens), and Pontus (Sea). From Chaos emerged Gaia (Earth), Tartarus (Underworld), Eros (Desire), Erebus (Darkness), and Nyx (Night). The prominence of Chaos as the primordial condition and preceding the primordial beings is significant mythologically and later philosophically. In the beginning, there was only Chaos, the primordial condition. Hesiod and the Muse by Gustave Moreau, 1891, via Museum d’Orsay Hesiod’s other poem, Works and Days, contains myths about the creation of man and woman, but it is not as a whole a creation myth. Starting with a hymn for the Muses, the Theogony tells the story of the universe starting from when there was just one primordial condition, to the creation of women.

This poem is the most prominent of the three, as well as the longest written story of the creation myths. The first complete account of the Greek creation myths can be found in Hesiod’s Theogony, in which he describes the creation of the world, the gods, and mankind. Greek Creation Myths: Hesiod And The First Creation Myth Pseudo-Seneca (now thought to be a bust of Hesiod), via Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli

Hesiod dionysus hades