ACCORDING TO HESIOD’S THEOGONY

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IES Narcís Monturiol, Barcelona

In the beginning there was Chaos(―emptiness‖).

Out of Chaos came Gaia, the Earth.

Later came Night and Day and Eros ―Love‖.

After that Gaia gave birth to Uranos, the Sky.

Gaia and Uranos then had twelve children, the Titans.

However, Uranos was afraid one of his children could overthrow him.

Therefore, he hid them in the dark centre of the Earth –Gaia.

This made Gaia angry and she plotted her revenge.

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IES Narcís Monturiol, Barcelona

She persuaded her youngest son Kronos to

attack his father with a sharp sickle.

So Kronos attacked his father while he was

asleep.

Uranos blood dripped onto the sea giving

birth to Aphrodite, goddess of Love and

Beauty.

Uranos was left wounded and powerless and

Kronos took his place as ruler of the sky.

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IES Narcís Monturiol, Barcelona

Kronos married his sister Rhea and they

had six children; three daughters:

Hestia, Demeter and Hera and three

sons: Hades, Poseidon and Zeus.

However, Kronos was afraid one of his

children could overthrow him.

Therefore, he ate his children as soon

as they were born.

That made Rhea very angry so that

when she gave birth to her youngest

child, Zeus, she decided to trick Kronos.

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IES Narcís Monturiol, Barcelona

So she hid the child in a cave and

gave Kronos a stone wrapped as

if it was the child.

Kronos swallowed the stone

without noticing. Meanwhile

Zeus was growing up safe and

sound hidden from his father.

When Zeus became an adult he

decided to fight his father.

However, he needed the

assistance of their brothers and

sisters.

Therefore, firstly he tricked his

father into drinking a potion.Pilar Torres Carmona

IES Narcís Monturiol, Barcelona

When Kronos drank the potion he

felt sick and vomited the stone and

his children, still alive.

Secondly, with the assistance of

his brothers and sisters Zeus fought

against Kronos and the Titans.

At the end Zeus won the war. He

then shared the power with his

brothers Hades and Poseidon.

Finally Zeus became the ruler of

the sky, Poseidon of the sea and

Hades of the Underworld.

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IES Narcís Monturiol, Barcelona

Zeus then married his sister Hera. However, hewas an unfaithful husband and had many loveaffaires both with goddesses and mortal women.

Many children were born to Zeus from thoserelationships.

- By Hera he had the god Ares and the goddessHebe.

- By Metis he had the goddess Athena.

- By Leto the twins Artemis –a goddess—and Apollo–a god.

- By Maia the god Hermes.

- By Demeter the goddess Persephone.

- By Semele, a mortal woman, he had the godDionysus

Finally, Hera had a son by herself, the godHephaestus.

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IES Narcís Monturiol, Barcelona

GAIA

OCEANUS THEA PHOEBE THEMIS MNEMOSYNE

ZEUS

APHRODITE

HERADEMETER

Primal gods

Titans

Olynpians I

Olympians II

Other deities

Mortals

THE GREEK GODS’

FAMILY TREE

TETHYS HYPERION COEUS IAPETUS CRIUS

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IES Narcís Monturiol, Barcelona

Photograph of a sickle from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Sickle_sigd.jpg

J.A.D. Ingres, Venus Anadyomene (1848), Musée de Chantilly (France) from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:1848_Jean-Auguste-Dominique_Ingres_-_Venus_Anadyom%C3%A8ne.jpg

Giorgio Vasari and Gherardi Christofano (16th century), The Mutiliation of Uranus by Saturn, Palazzo Vecchio, Florence (Italy) from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:The_Mutiliation_of_Uranus_by_Saturn.jpg

Francisco de Goya, Saturno devorando a sus hijos (1819-23), Museo del Prado, Madrid (Spain) from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Saturno_devorando_a_sus_hijos.jpg

Rhéa présentant une pierre à Cronos, Galerie mythologique, tome 1 d'A.L. Millin1811 fromhttp://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Rh%C3%A9a_pr%C3%A9sentant_une_pierre_emmaillot%C3%A9e_%C3%A0_Cronos_dessin_du_bas-relief_d%27un_autel_romain.jpg

Zeus wielding the thunderbold in his right hand and holding an eagle (?) on the other hand. Detail of an Attic red-figure amphora, 480–470 BC. From Vulci. Musée du Louvre, Paris (France) from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Zeus_Louvre_G204.jpg

Poseidon greeting Theseus (on the right). Detail, side A from an Attic red-figured calyx-krater, first half of the 5th century BC. From Agrigento. Cabinet des médailles de la Bibliothèque National de France. Paris (France) from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Poseidon_enthroned_De_Ridder_418_CdM_Paris.jpg

Hades (right-hand side) and Persephone (left-hand side). Detail from an Attic red-figure amphora, ca. 470 BC. From Italy. Musée du Louvre, Paris (France) from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Amphora_Hades_Louvre_G209_n2.jpg

Pilar Torres Carmona

IES Narcís Monturiol, Barcelona