"Greek primordial deities In Greek mythology, the primordial deities are the first gods and goddesses born from the void of Chaos. In Orphic tradition, they are born from Chronos and Ananke. Hesiod's first (after Chaos) are Gaia, Tartarus, Eros, Erebus and Nyx. The primordial deities Gaia and Uranus give birth to the Titans, the Cyclopses and from the castration of Uranus, Aphrodite. The Titans Cronus and Rhea give birth to Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Hestia, Hera and Demeter who overthrow the Titans. The warring of the gods ends with the reign of Zeus. Hesiod's ""Theogony"" (c. 700 BC) tells the story"
"Zeus Zeus (; , ""Zeús"" ) is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion, who rules as king of the gods of Mount Olympus. His name is cognate with the first element of his Roman equivalent Jupiter. His mythologies and powers are similar, though not identical, to those of Indo-European deities such as Indra, Jupiter, Perkūnas, Perun, Thor, and Odin. Zeus is the child of Cronus and Rhea, the youngest of his siblings to be born, though sometimes reckoned the eldest as the others required disgorging from Cronus's stomach. In most traditions, he is married to Hera, by"
"Helios Helios (; ""Hēlios""; Latinized as ""Helius""; in Homeric Greek) is the god and personification of the Sun in Greek mythology. He is the son of the Titan Hyperion and the Titaness Theia (according to Hesiod), also known as Euryphaessa (in ""Homeric Hymn 31"") and brother of the goddesses Selene, the moon, and Eos, the dawn. Helios was described as a handsome young man crowned with the shining aureole of the Sun, who drove the chariot of the sun across the sky each day to earth-circling Oceanus and through the world-ocean returned to the East at night. In the ""Homeric"
"Pontus (mythology) In Greek mythology, Pontus (; , , ""Sea"") was an ancient, pre-Olympian sea-god, one of the Greek primordial deities. Pontus was Gaia's son and has no father; according to the Greek poet Hesiod, he was born without coupling, though according to Hyginus, Pontus is the son of Aether and Gaia. For Hesiod, Pontus seems little more than a personification of the sea, ""ho pontos"", ""the Road"", by which Hellenes signified the Mediterranean Sea. With Gaia, he fathered Nereus (the Old Man of the Sea), Thaumas (the awe-striking ""wonder"" of the Sea, embodiment of the sea's dangerous aspects), Phorcys"
"Phorcys In Greek mythology, Phorcys (; , ""Phorkus"") is a primordial sea god, generally cited (first in Hesiod) as the son of Pontus and Gaia (Earth). According to the Orphic hymns, Phorcys, Cronus and Rhea were the eldest offspring of Oceanus and Tethys. Classical scholar Karl Kerenyi conflated Phorcys with the similar sea gods Nereus and Proteus. His wife was Ceto, and he is most notable in myth for fathering by Ceto a host of monstrous children. In extant Hellenistic-Roman mosaics, Phorcys was depicted as a fish-tailed merman with crab-claw forelegs and red, spiky skin. Hesiod's ""Theogony"" lists the children"
"language is poorly understood and there is no scholarly consensus for the translation. Tinia appears in several inscriptions, including: Tinia Tinia (also Tin, Tinh, Tins or ""Tina"") was the god of the sky and the highest god in Etruscan mythology, equivalent to the Roman Jupiter and the Greek Zeus. He was the husband of Thalna or Uni and the father of Hercle. The Etruscans believed in Nine Great Gods, who had the power of hurling thunderbolts; they were called ""Novensiles"" by the Romans. Of thunderbolts there were eleven sorts, of which Tinia, as the supreme thunder-god, wielded three. Tinia was"
"Astraeus In Greek mythology, Astraeus or Astraios (; Ancient Greek: Ἀστραῖος means ""starry"""""") was an astrological deity and the Titan god of the dusk. Some also associate him with the winds, as he is the father of the four Anemoi (wind deities), by his wife, Eos. According to Hesiod's ""Theogony"" and ""Bibliotheca"", Astraeus is a second-generation Titan, descended from Crius and Eurybia. However, Hyginus wrote that he was descended directly from Tartarus and Gaia and referred to him as one of the Gigantes. Appropriately, as god of the dusk, Astraeus married Eos, goddess of the dawn. Together as nightfall and"
"of the sea. He can take the form of all animals of the zodiac. Some lists, cited by Hyginus, of the names of horses that pulled Helios' chariot, are as follows. Helios Helios (; ""Hēlios""; Latinized as ""Helius""; in Homeric Greek) is the god and personification of the Sun in Greek mythology. He is the son of the Titan Hyperion and the Titaness Theia (according to Hesiod), also known as Euryphaessa (in ""Homeric Hymn 31"") and brother of the goddesses Selene, the moon, and Eos, the dawn. Helios was described as a handsome young man crowned with the shining aureole"
"Coeus In Greek mythology, Coeus (; , ""Koios"", ""query, questioning"" or ""intelligence"") was one of the Titans, the giant sons and daughters of Uranus (Heaven) and Gaia (Earth). His equivalent in Latin poetry—though he scarcely makes an appearance in Roman mythology—was Polus, the embodiment of the celestial axis around which the heavens revolve. Like most of the Titans he played no active part in Greek religion—he appears only in lists of Titans—but was primarily important for his descendants. With his sister, ""shining"" Phoebe, Coeus fathered Leto and Asteria. Leto copulated with Zeus (the son of fellow Titans Cronus and Rhea)"
"Aeëtes Aeëtes or Æëtes(; also spelled , ""Aiētēs"" ), also Aeeta, was a King of Colchis in Greek mythology. The name means ""eagle"" (aietos). Aeetes was the son of sun god Helios and the Oceanid Perseis, brother of Circe, Perses and Pasiphaë, and father of Medea, Chalciope and Absyrtus. His consorts was either (1) Idyia, youngest of the daughters of Oceanus, (2) Asterodeia, a Caucasian Oceanid, (3) Neaera the Nereid, (4) Clytia, (5) Ipsia or Eurylyte. According to others, he was the brother of Perses, a king of Tauris, husband of his niece Hecate, and father of Medea, Chalciope and"
"Aeolus (Odyssey) In Greek mythology, Aeolus (; , ""Aiolos"" , Modern Greek: ""quick-moving, nimble"") was the keeper of the winds and king of the island of Aeolia, one of the abrupt rocky Lipara islands close to Sicily. Later classical writers regarded him as a god. Aeolus was the son of Hippotes, son of Mimas, a son of Aeolus, son of Hellen. He was most frequently conflated with Aeolus, the son of Poseidon, god of the sea. According to some accounts, Hippotes married the same Melanippe who was the mother of Arne. Like Aeolus, the son of Poseidon, this Aeolus was"
"Nereus In Greek mythology, Nereus (; Ancient Greek: Νηρεύς) was the eldest son of Pontus (the Sea) and Gaia (the Earth), who with Doris fathered the Nereids and Nerites, with whom Nereus lived in the Aegean Sea. R. S. P. Beekes suggests a Pre-Greek origin. In the ""Iliad"" the Old Man of the Sea is the father of Nereids, though Nereus is not directly named. He was never more manifestly the Old Man of the Sea than when he was described, like Proteus, as a shapeshifter with the power of prophecy, who would aid heroes such as Heracles who managed"
"Caelus Caelus or Coelus was a primal god of the sky in Roman myth and theology, iconography, and literature (compare ""caelum"", the Latin word for ""sky"" or ""the heavens"", hence English ""celestial""). The deity's name usually appears in masculine grammatical form when he is conceived of as a male generative force, but the neuter form Caelum is also found as a divine personification. The name of Caelus indicates that he was the Roman counterpart of the Greek god Uranus (Οὐρανός, ""Ouranos""), who was of major importance in the theogonies of the Greeks. Varro couples him with Terra (Earth) as ""pater"""
"Tinia Tinia (also Tin, Tinh, Tins or ""Tina"") was the god of the sky and the highest god in Etruscan mythology, equivalent to the Roman Jupiter and the Greek Zeus. He was the husband of Thalna or Uni and the father of Hercle. The Etruscans believed in Nine Great Gods, who had the power of hurling thunderbolts; they were called ""Novensiles"" by the Romans. Of thunderbolts there were eleven sorts, of which Tinia, as the supreme thunder-god, wielded three. Tinia was also part of the powerful ""trinity"" that included Menrva and Uni, and had temples in every city of Etruria."
"after Pallas, while the Argives claimed it was named for the Argive Pellen. Pallas (Titan) In Greek mythology, Pallas (; ) was one of the Titans. According to Hesiod, he was the son of Crius and Eurybia, the brother of Astraeus and Perses, the husband of Styx, and the father of Zelus (""Zeal"" or ""Emulation""), Nike (""Victory""), Kratos (""Strength"" or ""Power""), and Bia (""Might"" or ""Force""). Hyginus says that Pallas, whom he calls ""the giant"", also fathered with Styx: Scylla, Fontes (""Fountains"") and Lacus (""Lakes""). Pallas was sometimes regarded as the Titan god of warcraft and of the springtime campaign"
"Aether (mythology) In Greek mythology, Aether (; , ""Aither"", ) is one of the primordial deities. Aether is the personification of the upper air. He embodies the pure upper air that the gods breathe, as opposed to the normal air (ἀήρ, ""aer"") breathed by mortals. Like Tartarus and Erebus, Aether may have had shrines in ancient Greece, but he had no temples and is unlikely to have had a cult. In Hesiod's ""Theogony"", Aether (Light), was the son of Erebus (Darkness) and Nyx (Night), and the brother of Hemera (Day). The Roman mythographer Hyginus, says Aether was the son of"
"Phaethon Phaethon (; , ""Phaéthōn"", ) was the Ancient Greek name for the planet Jupiter, the motions and cycles of which were personified in poetry and myth. Phaethon was said to be the son of the Oceanid Clymene and the solar deity Helios. Alternatively, less common genealogies make him a son of Clymenus by Oceanid Merope, of Helios and Rhodos (thus a full brother of the Heliadae) or of Helios and Prote. Phaethon, challenged by his playmates, sought assurance from his mother that his father was the sun god Helios. She gave him the requested assurance and told him to"
"Theia In Greek mythology, Theia (; , also rendered Thea or Thia), also called Euryphaessa ""wide-shining"", is a Titaness. Her brother/consort is Hyperion, a Titan and god of the sun, and together they are the parents of Helios (the Sun), Selene (the Moon), and Eos (the Dawn). The name ""Theia"" alone means simply ""goddess"" or ""divine""; ""Theia Euryphaessa"" () brings overtones of extent (, ""eurys"", ""wide"", root: ) and brightness (, ""phaos"", ""light"", root: φαεσ-). Hesiod's ""Theogony"" gives her an equally primal origin, said to be the eldest daughter of Gaia (Earth) and Uranus (Sky). Robert Graves also relates that"
"Typhon Typhon (; , ""Tuphōn"" ), also Typhoeus (; , ""Tuphōeus""), Typhaon (, ""Tuphaōn"") or Typhos (, ""Tuphōs""), was a monstrous serpentine giant and the most deadly creature in Greek mythology. According to Hesiod, Typhon was the son of Gaia and Tartarus. However one source has Typhon as the son of Hera alone, while another makes Typhon the offspring of Cronus. Typhon and his mate Echidna were the progenitors of many famous monsters. Typhon attempted to overthrow Zeus for the supremacy of the cosmos. The two fought a cataclysmic battle, which Zeus finally won with the aid of his thunderbolts."
"Hades Hades (; ""Hádēs""; Ἅιδης ""Háidēs""), in the ancient Greek religion and myth, is the god of the dead and the king of the underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea, although the last son regurgitated by his father. He and his brothers, Zeus and Poseidon, defeated their father's generation of gods, the Titans, and claimed rulership over the cosmos. Hades received the underworld, Zeus the sky, and Poseidon the sea, with the solid earth, long the province of Gaia, available to all three concurrently. Hades was often portrayed with his"
"Pegasus Pegasus (, ""Pḗgasos""; ) is a mythical winged divine stallion, and one of the most recognized creatures in Greek mythology. Usually depicted as pure white, Pegasus is a child of the Olympian god Poseidon. He was foaled by the Gorgon Medusa upon her death, when the hero Perseus decapitated her. Pegasus is the brother of Chrysaor and the uncle of Geryon. Greco-Roman poets wrote about the ascent of Pegasus to heaven after his birth, and his subsequent obeisance to Zeus, king of the gods, who instructed him to bring lightning and thunder from Olympus. Friend of the Muses, Pegasus"
"Hymen (god) Hymen (), Hymenaios or Hymenaeus, in Hellenistic religion, is a god of marriage ceremonies, inspiring feasts and song. Related to the god's name, a ""hymenaios"" is a genre of Greek lyric poetry sung during the procession of the bride to the groom's house in which the god is addressed, in contrast to the ""Epithalamium"", which is sung at the nuptial threshold. He is one of the winged love gods, Erotes. Hymen is the son of Apollo and one of the muses, Clio or Calliope or Urania or Terpsichore. Hymen is supposed to attend every wedding. If he did"
"Deorum"" (""Concerning the Nature of the Gods""), claims that he was the offspring of the ancient gods Aether and Hemera, Air and Day. According to the Orphic Hymns, Uranus was the son of Nyx, the personification of night. Uranus was the brother of Pontus, the God of the sea. According to Hesiod's ""Theogony"", Uranus mated with Gaia, and she gave birth to the twelve Titans: Oceanus, Coeus, Crius, Hyperion, Iapetus, Theia, Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne, Phoebe, Tethys and Cronus; the Cyclopes: Brontes, Steropes and Arges; and the Hecatoncheires (""Hundred-Handed Ones""): Cottus, Briareos, and Gyges. Further, according to the ""Theogony"", when Cronus"
"Cronus In Greek mythology, Cronus, Cronos, or Kronos ( or , , from , ""Krónos""), was the leader and youngest of the first generation of Titans, the divine descendants of Uranus, the sky, and Gaia, the earth. He overthrew his father and ruled during the mythological Golden Age, until he was overthrown by his own son Zeus and imprisoned in Tartarus. According to Plato, however, the deities Phorcys, Cronus, and Rhea were the eldest children of Oceanus and Tethys. Cronus was usually depicted with a harpe, scythe or a sickle, which was the instrument he used to castrate and depose"
"daybreak they produced many children who are associated with what occurs in the sky during twilight. They had many sons, the four Anemoi (""Winds""): Boreas, Notus, Eurus, and Zephyrus, and the five ""Astra Planeta"" (""Wandering Stars"", i.e. planets): Phainon (Saturn), Phaethon (Jupiter), Pyroeis (Mars), Eosphoros/Hesperos (Venus), and Stilbon (Mercury). A few sources mention one daughter, Astraea, the goddess of innocence and, sometimes, justice. He is also sometimes associated with Aeolus, the Keeper of the Winds, since winds often swell up around dusk. Astraeus In Greek mythology, Astraeus or Astraios (; Ancient Greek: Ἀστραῖος means ""starry"""""") was an astrological deity and"
"Eros In Greek mythology, Eros (, ; , ""Desire"") is the Greek god of sensual love and desire. His Roman counterpart was Cupid (""desire""). Some myths make him a primordial god, while in other myths, he is the son of Aphrodite. He is one of the winged love gods, Erotes. The Greek ἔρως, meaning ""desire,"" comes from ἔραμαι ""to desire, love"", of uncertain etymology. R. S. P. Beekes has suggested a Pre-Greek origin. Eros appears in ancient Greek sources under several different guises. In the earliest sources (the cosmogonies, the earliest philosophers, and texts referring to the mystery religions), he"
"spirit, breath, life or animating force"". Eros In Greek mythology, Eros (, ; , ""Desire"") is the Greek god of sensual love and desire. His Roman counterpart was Cupid (""desire""). Some myths make him a primordial god, while in other myths, he is the son of Aphrodite. He is one of the winged love gods, Erotes. The Greek ἔρως, meaning ""desire,"" comes from ἔραμαι ""to desire, love"", of uncertain etymology. R. S. P. Beekes has suggested a Pre-Greek origin. Eros appears in ancient Greek sources under several different guises. In the earliest sources (the cosmogonies, the earliest philosophers, and texts"
"Sabazios Sabazios (, ""Savázios"") is the horseman and sky father god of the Phrygians and Thracians. In Indo-European languages, such as Phrygian, the element in his name derives from ""dyeus"", the common precursor of Latin ""deus"" ('god') and Greek ""Zeus"". Though the Greeks interpreted Phrygian Sabazios as both Zeus and Dionysus, representations of him, even into Roman times, show him always on horseback, as a nomadic horseman god, wielding his characteristic staff of power. It seems likely that the migrating Phrygians brought Sabazios with them when they settled in Anatolia in the early first millennium BCE, and that the god's"
"Pallas (Titan) In Greek mythology, Pallas (; ) was one of the Titans. According to Hesiod, he was the son of Crius and Eurybia, the brother of Astraeus and Perses, the husband of Styx, and the father of Zelus (""Zeal"" or ""Emulation""), Nike (""Victory""), Kratos (""Strength"" or ""Power""), and Bia (""Might"" or ""Force""). Hyginus says that Pallas, whom he calls ""the giant"", also fathered with Styx: Scylla, Fontes (""Fountains"") and Lacus (""Lakes""). Pallas was sometimes regarded as the Titan god of warcraft and of the springtime campaign season. The ""Homeric Hymn to Hermes"" makes the moon goddess Selene (usually the"
"Thaumas In Greek mythology, Thaumas (; ; ""gen"".: Θαύμαντος) was a sea god, son of Pontus and Gaia, and the full brother of Nereus, Phorcys, Ceto and Eurybia. According to Hesiod, Thaumas' wife was Electra, one of the Oceanids, the many daughters of the Titans Oceanus and Tethys, by whom he fathered Iris, the messenger of the gods, and the Harpies. The names of Thaumas' Harpy daughters vary. Hesiod and Apollodorus name them: Aello and Ocypete. Virgil, names Celaeno as one of the Harpies. However while Hyginus, ""Fabulae"" Preface has the Harpies, Celaeno, Ocypete, and Podarce, as daughters of Thaumas"
"(rendered ""Elus"" or called by his standard Greek counterpart Cronus) is not the creator God or first God. Ēl is rather the son of Sky (Uranus) and Earth (Ge). Sky and Earth are themselves children of ‘Elyôn 'Most High'. Ēl is brother to the God Bethel, to Dagon and to an unknown god, equated with the Greek Atlas and to the goddesses Aphrodite/’Ashtart, Rhea (presumably Asherah), and Dione (equated with Ba‘alat Gebal). Ēl is the father of Persephone and of Athena (presumably the goddess ‘Anat). Sky and Earth have separated from one another in hostility, but Sky insists on continuing"
"Hesperus In Greek mythology, Hesperus ( ""Hesperos"") is the Evening Star, the planet Venus in the evening. He is the son of the dawn goddess Eos (Roman Aurora) and is the half-brother of her other son, Phosphorus (also called Eosphorus; the ""Morning Star""). Hesperus' Roman equivalent is Vesper (cf. ""evening"", ""supper"", ""evening star"", ""west""). By one account Hesperus' father was Cephalus, a mortal, while Phosphorus' was the star god Astraios. Other sources, however, state that Hesperus was the brother of Atlas, and thus the son of Iapetus. Hesperus is the personification of the ""evening star"", the planet Venus in the"
"Iapetus In Greek mythology, Iapetus (), also Japetus ( ""Iapetos""), was a Titan, the son of Uranus and Gaia, and father (by an Oceanid named Clymene or Asia) of Atlas, Prometheus, Epimetheus and Menoetius. He was also called the father of Buphagus and Anchiale in other sources. Iapetus as the progenitor of mankind has been equated with Japheth (יֶפֶת), the son of Noah, based on the similarity of their names and the tradition, reported by Josephus (""Antiquities of the Jews""), which made Japheth the ancestor of the ""Japhetites"". Iapetus was linked to Japheth by 17th-century theologian Matthew Poole and, more"