The Titans and the Lesser Gods of Greek

The Titans and the Lesser Gods of Greek Mythology

For the ancient Greeks, the very first gods were called the Titans. They were the gods before the Olympians were born.

Uranus (like the planet!) was the god of the sky,

and Gaea was the Goddess of the Earth— in fact, she was the Earth itself, sometimes called Mother Nature. Say JEE-uh

Gaea and Uranus were the parents of the other Titans.

The titan Atlas had the job of holding up the world!

Prometheus was another titan, brother of Atlas. He created man, that is, he made human beings. Say pro-ME-thee-us

He was also famous for giving fire to human beings— for the very first time.

But Zeus did not want humans to have fire—so he punished Prometheus.

Prometheus had a brother, Epimetheus, who gave each animal its own special power. Say ep-ee-MEthee-us

Now, Zeus made the first woman, named Pandora, and gave her to Epimetheus—who fell in love with her.

But Zeus also gave Pandora a box, called Pandora’s Box. When she opened it, all the evils (bad things) of the world flew out.

Cronus and Rhea were two important titans. Say KROH-nuss and REE-uh

Originally, Uranus was the king of the gods. Then Cronus became king of the gods.

The Roman name for Cronus was Saturn (like the planet!).

Cronus and Rhea were mother and father of Zeus and his brothers and sisters.

But Zeus fought against Cronus and the other titans. Zeus became king of the gods and the Olympians became the most powerful gods.

Aphrodite had a son, named Eros, who was the God of Love. (The Romans called him Cupid. ) Say AIR-oss

Eros fell in love with a beautiful woman, Psyche. Say SIGH-kee

Helios was the God of the Sun, who drove the chariot of the sun across the sky each day. Say HE-lee-us

Helios had a son, Phaethon, who drove the chariot when he shouldn’t have. Say FAY-uh-tun

Aeolus was another god— the God of Winds. His winds blew Odysseus’ ship far away. Say EE-uh-luss

The Erinyes (or Furies) were three goddesses who punished anyone who did anything very, very wrong. Say ear-IN-ee-eez

The three Charites (Graces) were goddesses of beauty, laughing, and joy. Say KAR-ih-teez

The Moirae (Fates) were three goddesses of life—when it began, how long it was, and how it ended. Say MOY-ree

Some say there were three Muses, goddesses of literature and the arts.

But others say there were nine muses.

Nymphs were female spirits, who lived in and protected special places like rivers and forests. They looked like beautiful young women.

Calypso was a sea nymph who made Odysseus stay on her island.

Echo was a nymph, too, who fell in love with a handsome young man named Narcissus.

Maybe the Sirens were dangerous bird-women, with beautiful singing voices.

But sometimes they are just beautiful young women, or halfwomen, half-fish, like mermaids, who lived in the sea. They were also dangerous.

The End