Titanomachy and Olympic Gods
16/02/2020
Titanomachy is also known as the "War of the Titans" against the Olympian Gods and is one of the most discussed themes in Greek Mythology. Understand how it happened and who won this decade-long war.
The Titanomachy War:
"Titanomachy, in Greek mythology, was the war between the Titans, led by Cronos, against the Olympic gods, led by Zeus, who would define the rule of the universe. Zeus managed to defeat Cronos after rescuing his brothers after a fight that lasted ten years."
EVERYTHING STARTED...
It all starts when Uranus wishes to marry Gaia, the Earth. As a result, 12 children are born, six women and six men - called titans. Uranus feared that one of his sons would try to steal his throne, so each time his sons were born, Uranus would put them back in Gaia's womb. She persuaded her children to revolt against their father. The leader was Cronos, who, at the time Uranus was copulating, was released and used a scythe to cut his father's genitals. Uranus' blood as it fell to Earth generated the seas, mountains, forests and erinias, and his sperm generated the goddess Aphrodite. Cronos then frees his brothers.
TITANOMACHY:
Cronos marries his titanid sister Reia. Before being dethroned, Uranus prophesied that like him, Cronos would also be defeated by one of his sons. With this, Cronos demands that his children be delivered one by one in order for him to devour them. The mother delivers all but the last one, Zeus. In other versions, Reia also saves Poseidon (replacing him with a small horse) and Hera (handing her over to the hour and Ocean and Tethys). The mother delivers Zeus to the nymphs (elementary beings) or, in other versions, to the centaurs. As an adult, Zeus disguises himself and gives his father a potion (which he had received from his first wife the titanide Métis) that makes him vomit his brothers as adults.
THE CHILDHOOD OF ZEUS:
Zeus does not start as king of the gods, he rises from obscurity to challenge his father, Cronos, for control of the universe, but that will not be easy. Cronos was the king of the titans, beings as powerful as the gods, yet mortal as humans. Sixth son of the titans Cronos and Reia, Zeus was born secretly in Crete and was delivered to Gaia and the nymphs or, in other versions, to the centaurs. Reia gives Cronos a stone wrapped in cloth, and he swallows it thinking he is his son.
Zeus spends his childhood preparing for his destiny, which is to challenge his father and the Titans for control of the universe. Years later Zeus becomes an adult man and is prepared to take revenge on his father. However, he doesn't have enough power to defeat the Titans alone. He must first free his brothers swallowed by Cronos, to fight together against the Titans. For this Zeus, pretending to be a traveler, gives Cronos a potion which he received from the goddess Métis, and which makes him vomit his five brothers. First Cronus vomits the stone that Reia had given him in the place of Zeus and then regurgitates all his five children. Zeus now has his brothers, but he still needs more strength to defeat the Titans. There are also other distant family members who also want revenge. The brothers of Cronos, the cyclops and the hecatônquiros. But to find them, Zeus must go to the underworld.
As Cronus was afraid of the power of his hecatronchy and cyclop brothers, Gaia advises Zeus to use the strength of his "uncles" and thus defeat the Titans. In Tartarus, he talks to them saying "I respect them. I know that my father Cronos betrayed them and arrested them, but now I release them on condition that they fight by my side". As a way of thanking them for being released, the cyclops give Zeus the power of lightning.
THE BATTLE:
In the first attack, from the top of Mount Olympus, Zeus sends a deadly lightning bolt at the Titans and at that moment the whole planet is shaking. On one side, the hecatronchians pulling stones from the mountain and playing on the titans. On the other hand, the Titans fighting with the other gods. After years of war, the Olympians were already reaching victory, but the Titans use their last weapon and from the depths of Tartarus comes out a colossal and dark beast, Typhon, an extremely strong creature that challenges Zeus, a final challenge for the gods to reign over the universe. Hours passed between Tifão and Zeus, Zeus dominates the fight and with a very strong ray hits Tifão, who falls again in the depths of Tartarus together with the other titans, Anyway, Zeus becomes the king of the universe. Victorious, the "Olympians" banish the Titans to Tartarus, along with Erebo.
War Between Titans and Olympic Gods:
Oceano became king of the rivers that surrounded the world. Prometheus later created the first human being out of clay and was later chained to Mount Caucasus for stealing Olympian fire to give to men, but was released by Heracles (or Hercules) in one of his twelve works. And Métis became Zeus' first wife, who was swallowed by him, as Gaia made a prophecy that her son with Métis, who would be born after Athena, would also dethrone Zeus, which is why Zeus swallowed the titanid, still pregnant with first daughter.