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Greek Mythology: Titans & Monsters Fine Taufatofua 9/30/07

Approximately 1100-800 B.C., the Ancient Greeks believed in great and powerful gods and heroes. These gods and heroes ruled the earth. The all-powerful Titans were the first gods to rule the earth. Then, came Zeus, and the other eleven gods. Then the Gods created us, the humans, now the dominate species of the earth. Yet there were still monsters who wreaked havoc amongst the humans, and other horrible things yet to come. The heroes, demigods who can muster awesome powers and strengths, battled monsters. Most monsters are offspring of Typhon & Echidna, two very powerful monsters. The monsters were created to overthrow the Big Twelve and to be challenges for heroes. Some heroes were no match for the monsters and the monsters used them as toothpicks, but, of course, some heroes destroyed a lot of monsters.

Outline: Greek Mythology: Titans and Monsters I. Gaea, the Earth, bore son, Uranus, the sky a. Gaea marries Uranus & produces many children 1. The children are the Titans 2. Uranus throws his children in Tartarus [|] b. Gaea gives birth to Cronus 1. Gaea hides Cronus so Uranus can’t harm him c. Cronus overthrows Uranus 1. Cronus is made ruler of the universe 2. Cronus frees the other Titans II. Cronus marries Rhea and produces many offspring a. Cronus, in the safety of his rule, swallows his children b. Rhea gives birth to Zeus c. Rhea tricks Cronus and saves Zeus 1. Zeus grows up and overthrows Cronus 2. Zeus frees the other gods III. Other Titans preside before the overthrow of Cronus a. Oceanus, the river that surrounds the earth, married Tethys 1. They produce rivers, lakes, and many nymphs b. Hyperion is the father of the sun, the moon, and the dawn c. Mnemosyne is the god of memory and mother of the Muses d. Themis is the Titan of justice, order, and mother of the Fates and Seasons e. Iapetus is the father of Prometheus, Epimetheus, and Atlas f. Coeus was Titan of intelligence and father of Leto g. Crius was the grandfather of the four winds and the stars h. Phoebe in the Titan of the moon and mother of Leto i. Thea is the wife of her brother, Hyperion 1. Mother of Eos, Helios, and Selene 2. Considered beautiful in which all light emanates from her j. Prometheus is the Titan of forethought 1. Created humans 2. Gave humans fire 3. Was chained to a rock for a eagle to swoop by and eat his liver k. Epimetheus was the Titan of afterthought and brother of Prometheus 1. Created animals 2. Accepted Pandora, a woman who freed evils unto mankind l. Atlas was a son of Iapetus 1. Fought for Cronus 2. Is punished to hold the world on his shoulders m. Metis was the Titan of the fourth day and the planet Mercury 1. Mother of Athena and wife of Zeus IV. Monsters a. Typhon was a fire breathing dragon that had a hundred heads 1. Zeus buried him under Mount Sicily b. Echidna was a female monster that was half-nymph, half-serpent 1. Mated with Typhon to produce many offspring 2. Killed by Argus, a hundred eyed giant c. Gorgons are creatures with snakes for hair and can turn anything into stone with her ugly face 1. There were three 2. Medusa was one of the three d. The chimera was a monster that is a combination of a snake, a lion, and a goat 1. Killed by Bellerophon e. Sirens are half-bird, half-women that sing a song that distracts a person so much, the person will die of hunger f. The minotaur was a monster that was created when King Minos disgraced Poseidon 1. It was put inside a labyrinth 2. The hero, Theseus, killed the beast g. The manticore is a monster that is a human mixed with a lion that shoots poisonous spikes

Report: In the early years there was only Chaos. Then Gaea, the earth, was created out of Chaos. Gaea then bore Uranus, the sky. Gaea made Uranus her husband, and created many offspring. Uranus was not satisfied with their children, so he threw them into Tartarus. Gaea was not happy with this, so she bore Cronus, and hid him away. Later, Cronus challenged Uranus and won against him. Cronus freed his siblings that were cast into Tartarus and took rule over the universe. Cronus made Rhea his wife. Cronus was afraid that his offspring would overthrow him. He then ate his children so that threat would not come true. Rhea wasn’t satisfied with Cronus’ actions, so she bore a son named Zeus, and hid him away. Instead of giving Cronus Zeus, Rhea tricked Cronus, by giving him a rock. Zeus grew, freed his siblings, and overthrew Cronus. Before Zeus overthrew Cronus, other Titans ruled the universe with Cronus. The Titan Oceanus, the river that surrounds the earth, married another Titan named Tethys. They produced many rivers, lakes, and nymphs. A Titan by the name of Hyperion is the Titan of light and the father of the sun, the moon, and the dawn. Mnemosyne was the Titan of memory and mother of the nine Muses. The Titan Themis was the Titan of justce and order. She is also the mother of the Fates and the Seasons. Iapetus was the father of the Titans Prometheus, Epimetheus, and Atlas. Coeus was the Titan of intelligence and the father of Leto. Crius was the grandfather of the four winds, Zephyrus, Boreas, Eurus, Notus, and the stars. Phoebe is the Titan of the moon and is Leto’s mother. Thea is the mother of the wife of her brother, Hyperion. She is the Titan in which all light emanates and is the mother of the sun, the moon, and the dawn. Prometheus is the Titan of forethought. Prometheus created the humans. He gave them fire and was punished by Zeus. He is chained to a rock and every day an eagle swoops by and eats his liver. Epimetheus is Titan of afterthought. He created animals and accepted Pandora, a woman who freed evils unto mankind. Atlas was also a son of Iapetus. He fought for Cronus and is punished to hold the world on his shoulders. Metis was the last Titan and she was married to Zeus. She was the Titan of wisdom. She said that her second child would overthrow Zeus, so Zeus then swallowed her. Later, Athena was born from Metis. At the time, there were many monsters that challenged young heroes and such. Typhon was a dragon that had a hundred heads. Zeus buried him under Mount Sicily. Echidna was a monster that was half-nymph, half-serpent that often mated with Typhon. Many of the monsters were offspring of Typhon and Echidna. On a far off island, there lived three monsters. These monsters are called Gorgons. They had snakes for hair and were so ugly, if a person would look directly in their face, they would turn to stone. The chimera was a deadly creature. It was a lion, a goat, and a snake combined. The chimera was killed by the brave hero, Bellerophon. Sirens are very dangerous too. They are half-bird, half-woman monsters that distract people with their songs. They can make a man starve to death. The minotaur is a monster that was created when King Minos disgraced Poseidon. It was kept in a labyrinth, until the hero, Theseus, killed it. The Manticore was a monster that was a man and a lion combined that shoots poisonous spikes. There are many more monsters, but this is just a short list. Overall, the Titans and the Monsters of Greek Mythology are very interesting.

Need to Know Facts: Some Need to Know Facts are; Gaea mated with Uranus to produce many offspring [|] Uranus was overthrown by his son, Cronus Cronus was overthrown by Zeus Typhon mated with Echidna to produce many offspring Prometheus was chained to a rock and is being tortured by a eagle Rhea aided Zeus in the overthrow of Cronus Gaea aided Cronus in the overthrow of Uranus

Web Resources: [|__http://www.greekmythology.com/__] [|__http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_mythology__] [|__http://www.desy.de/gna/interpedia/greek_myth/greek_myth.html__] [|__http://www.pantheon.org/areas/mythology/europe/greek/articles.html__] [|__http://messagenet.com/myths/immortals.html__] [|__http://www.ancientgreece.com/__]

Book Resources:

__D’Aulaire’s Book of Greek Myths__ Ingri & Edgar D’aulaire __Myths and Legends__ Anne Jerry White __Gods, Men & Monsters from Greek Myths__ Michael Gibson