work, the Theogony, is an account of the origin and descent of the
gods.^3
In the beginning, according to Hesiod, there was Chaos—the
starting point. Out of Chaos came Gaea (Earth), dark Tartarus (the
lowermost depths of the underworld), and Eros (love).
Gaea, feminine-gendered Earth, gave birth to a son, Uranus, who
was also known as Heaven. She then mated with Uranus to create,
among others, the twelve Titans—ancient, primeval, nature powers
who were worshipped in historical Greece. In Hesiod’s genealogy
of the gods, the Titans were an early ruling dynasty, the parents and
grandparents of the Olympians.
Uranus, the first patriarchal or father figure in Greek mythology,
then grew resentful of the children he parented with Gaea, so he
buried them in her body as soon as they were born. This caused
Gaea great pain and anguish. She called on her Titan children to
help her. All were afraid to intervene except the youngest, Cronos
(called Saturn by the Romans). He responded to her cry for help
and, armed with the sickle she gave him and a plan she devised, lay
in wait for his father.
When Uranus came to mate with Gaea, spreading himself on her,
Cronos took the sickle, lopped off his father’s genitals, and threw
them into the sea. Cronos then became the most powerful male god.
He and the Titans ruled over the universe and created new deities.
Many represented elements present in nature, such as rivers, winds,
and the rainbow. Others were monsters, personifying evil or dangers.
Cronos mated with his sister Titan, Rhea. From their union were
born the first-generation Olympians—Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades,
Poseidon, and Zeus.
Once again, the patriarchal progenitor—this time Cronos—tried
to eliminate his children. Forewarned that he was destined to be
overcome by his own son and determined not to let this happen, he
swallowed each child immediately after the birth—not even looking
to see if the newborn were a son or a daughter. In all, he consumed
three daughters and two sons.
Grief-stricken at the fate of her children, and pregnant again, Rhea
appealed to Gaea and Uranus to help her save this
Goddesses in Everywoman