Legends of Greece and Rome
The Creation
According to Greek and Roman legend, before the universe was created there was nothing but a dark, swirling mass of chaos and confusion. Chaos produced three beings called Erebus (primal darkness), Nox (night) and Eros (the urge to procreate). Erebus and Nox's first child was called Love. Eros had a part to play in love's creation too, as Erebus and Nox would not have felt the need to reproduce without Eros' influence.
Love bought with it order and so Chaos' reign began to dwindle. It's final defeat came with the birth of Love's children 'Light' and 'Day', who vanquished disorder and created an environment into which Gaea (Earth) and Uranus (Heaven) soon spontaneously emerged.
Gaea and Uranus were now the rulers. Their first three children were called the Hekatoncheiers (the hundred handed ones). Not only did they have a hundred hands but they were also immense beings and had fifty heads each. Uranus was appalled at their appearence and imprisoned them beneath the earth as soon as they were born.
The next children to be born to Gaea and Uranus were the Cyclopes. These too were mountainous and were deformed as they only had one eye in the centre of their foreheads. The Cyclopes had tremendous power and strength (as did the Hekatoncheiers) but Uranus allowed them to roam the earth as they wished.
The next results of the union between Gaia and Uranus were the Titans. they were not hideous as were their siblings but they still posessed great size and strength. There were six male Titans (Coeus, Hyperion, Iapetus, Krios, Kronos and Oceanus) and six females (Mnemosyne, Phoebe, Rhea, Theia, Themis and Tethys). These Titans also roamed the earth at will.
Gaea was furious at the mistreatment of the Hekatoncheiers and convinced the Titans to seek revenge on Uranus. Kronos, the leader of the Titans, castrated his father and so stripped him of his power. Uranus' blood fell onto Gaea and was transformed into the giants and the Erinnyes, the last of the children of Gaea and Kronos. The Giants were to become great adversaries of the Olympians still to come.
But it was the Erinnyes who were to hold the race of mankind in fear. These creatures, also known as the Furies were hideous, blind, birdlike beings with snakes for hair. It was their job to punish those who were guilty of crimes against social order. They tormented their victims with whips and fire but, because of their blindness, could not tell when the victim had been punished enough, so the subject of their fury often went insane.
As Uranus had lost his power, Kronos (time), with his wife and sister Rhea, took over the reign of the world.
Source: 'Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome'
Morgan J. Roberts
