Who are the Titans in Greek mythology?

Ancient Greek state existed for several thousand years, the history of this world is rich in fateful events for mankind, inventions and discoveries. Much that is now customary for us, was invented in this country: the fundamentals of medicine, politics, astrology, philosophy and literature. And the images of the gods, the history of their lives and the struggle for power, and now to some extent present in the culture of all countries. Most people can easily answer what kind of gods lived on Olympus, who such titans Or cyclops.

First ideas about the world

The whole mythology of the ancient Greeks is a desire to understand and explain the phenomena of nature. Famous for most of us the gods of Mount Olympus - Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Ares, Artemis, Apollo and others - were already the embodiment of the representations of a later period of the existence of Greece. At a time when the people have already formed statehood, there were well-organized cities, science and thought developed.

But in the so-called dark times, during the Aegean civilization, man was still completely dependent on the vagaries of nature, she was worshiped, tried to appease her with offerings and sacrifices. According to the researchers, it is at this time that myths about the origin of the world are born. The basis of belief is stories about Chaos, the universe from which everything came out: both light and darkness, and the first goddess of the earth, Gaia, and the ruler of the sky - Uranus. Some begin here to get confused in history, forgetting who such titans are, and identifying them with the rest of the gods of Olympus.

Six brothers

In fact, this is not at all the case. Titans are the children of Uranus and Gaia, the gods of the second generation. The images of these first monsters were far from aesthetic perfection, which we are accustomed to see in the literature of Ancient Greece. Six brothers-giants were the embodiment of human fears, horrifying.

In fact, who such titans, from Ancient Greek mythology is difficult to understand unequivocally. Thanks to the works of Homer, Hesiod, to the tragedies of Aeschylus, we know their names and sphere of activity.

• The ocean is the ruler of the world's rivers, personifying the element of water.
• Kay (Coy) is a god who embodies the axis of the sky.
• Krios is the father of Astrea.
• Japet - according to one version, the progenitor of the Aryan tribe, his sons were Atlant and Prometheus.
• Hyperion is the sun god, the father of Helios.
• Kronos is the main titanium. Greece - an ancient country, its history can not be understood without knowledge of traditions, customs, culture, and a huge layer of the latter - mythology, legends and legends, including about this character. There are several options for its identification. Most likely, he is identified with time - chronos. Father of the first Olympians.

Six Sisters

In addition to the male gods, Gaia and Uranus gave birth to the same titanides, who were destined to become the wives of their brothers:

• Tethys. In their marriage with the Ocean, three thousand sons were born - these are rivers, and the same number of daughters. Later in the literature, it acquired the significance of one of the epithets of the ocean.
• Rhea is the mother of the Olympic gods, at the same time she is the sister and the wife of Kronos.
• Theia is the wife of Hyperion, the lord of the night light. In the union of the Sun and the Moon appeared Helios, Eos and Selena.
• Themis - is traditionally considered the patroness of truth, justice and the observance of the law.
• Mnemosyn - memory, personifies with the universal understanding of being, the parent of the nine Muses.
• Phoebe is the wife of Koy, the mother of Leto and Asteria.

War

All the gods were distinguished by one essential feature - the struggle for power. The great Uranus saw in the offspring a threat to himself and his one-man rule, therefore he decided to throw the offspring back into the ground. What was opposed by their mother - Gaia. To protect the children, she persuaded the younger son of Kronos to take a sickle and scold the father-killer.

It is easy to understand from this story who the titans are for Greek mythology: it is a symbol of the victory of the new over the old, in short, the triumph of progress.

And this practice of succession of the world continued with the third generation gods. As already noted, the host of Olympic masters is already a more mature attempt to understand the reality of the Greeks.

Like his father Uranus, Kronos, becoming a king, did not want anyone to give the reign, because all the children born by his sister Rhea he swallowed immediately after they were born. Mother managed to save one of the sons - Zeus. He was secretly raised from his parent on the island of Crete. Entering into force, the new god planned to curtail the cruel king.

Knowing who such titans are, and how dangerous they are, Zeus called to the aid of all his brothers and sisters, whom he freed from the womb of Kronos. For ten years there was a battle for power over the world, the future head of Olympus emerged victorious, and the old titan was overthrown in Tartarus.

Embodiment in art

The history of the struggle of three generations of ancient gods is described in the epic of the unknown author of "Titanomachia", the work itself has not reached our days, but according to some sources its content is partially restored. In the classical period of the development of Greece, many famous writers and poets reproduced in their books certain traditions.

In the Middle Ages in Europe, a whole cult of worship of ancient Greek history and mythology was formed. Hundreds of authors around the world have sought inspiration in the traditions of this country, there are an infinite number of variants of executions, assumptions, who are gods, cyclops, giants, what are titans.

Now the legends of Ancient Greece are experiencing a new round of popularity. Around the world dozens of films on this subject are produced every year.

The richness of the images and pictures of the special beliefs of the Greek people is somewhat overshadowed by the more ancient myths, perhaps now not everyone knows who the Titans are, and indeed they are the beginning of the history of this amazing imaginary world.