The Mythology Book

32

Z

eus slipped easily into a

position of authority over

his brothers and sisters:

though the youngest, he had been

in the world by far the longest. His

siblings supported him as he strove

to overthrow his father and assert

his primacy across the cosmos.

So began the Titanomachy—the

War of the Gods and Titans.

Zeus, with the support of his

siblings, launched a concerted and

determined attack against the

Titan gods. The siblings were

joined by some of Ouranos’s cast-

out sons. The three Kyklopes—the

one-eyed giants Brontes, Steropes,

and Arges—sided with Zeus after

he freed them from the Underworld.

They were skilled craftstmen who

made weapons for the gods: a

mighty thunderbolt for Zeus,

a cloak of invisibility for Hades,

and a trident for Poseidon. The

Hecatoncheires—Briareos, Kottos,

and Gyges—also fought for the

gods. Each of these terrifying

giants had 50 heads and 100 hands,

and howled as they rampaged

across the battlefield.

Total war

The war was fought on the lower

slopes of Mount Olympus and

across the open plains of Thessaly,

but the earth-shattering conflict

encompassed the entire world.

Huge rocks were hurled around;

Zeus, leader of the gods, stands

beside an eagle in this 4th-century

statue. The eagle, Zeus’s messenger,

remained a symbol of power from

ancient Rome to Nazi Germany.

IN BRIEF

THEME

Olympians take power

SOURCES

Iliad, Homer, 8th century bce;

Theogony, Hesiod, ca. 700 bce;

Library, Pseudo-Apollodorus,

ca. 10 0 ce.

SETTING

The slopes of Mount Olympus

and the plains of Thessaly,

northern Greece.

KEY FIGURES

Olympians The gods Zeus,

Poseidon, Hades, Hera,

Demeter, and Hestia.

Titans Oceanus, Hyperion,

Coeus, Tethys, Phoebe, Rhea,

Mnemosyne, Themis, Theia,

Crius, Kronos, and Iapetus.

Kyklopes The one-eyed

giants Brontes, Steropes,

and Arges; sons of Ouranos.

Hecatoncheires The giants

Briareos, Kottos, and Gyges;

sons of Ouranos and Gaia.

ZEUS IN HIS FIRST

YOUTH BATTERED THE

EARTHBORN TITANS

THE WAR OF THE GODS AND TITANS

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ANCIENT GREECE 33

The Fall of the Titans by Giulio

Romano (1532–1535). Depicting the war

of the Titans, this continuous fresco

covers the walls and ceiling of the Sala

dei Giganti in the Palazzo Te, Italy.

See also: The Olympian gods 24–31 ■ War of the gods 140–41 ■ A complex

god 164 ■ The game of dice 202–03

entire mountaintops were ripped

up and sent flying back and forth

as projectiles; bolts of lightning

flashed like javelins across the sky.

Flames rose up to the farthest

heights of heaven; the thud of

marching feet caused quakes in

the most remote reaches of the

Underworld; swirling dust clouds

darkened the sky, and the din of

the conflict was deafening.

According to Hesiod, the

intensity of the fighting “pained the

soul.” The advantage tipped back

and forth without any real interval

for a full 10 years. Neither side

would yield, so finally Zeus rallied

his cohorts. He refreshed the

Hecatoncheires with nectar and

ambrosia—the divine and exclusive

sustenance of the gods, which

conferred immortality on any

mortal who consumed it. This may

not have been the effect it had on

the Hecatoncheires, but according

to Hesiod, “the heroic spirits grew

in all their hearts” after Zeus gave

it to the giants.

Ultimate triumph

Reinvigorated, the Hecatoncheires

were the tipping point. With such

formidable allies and weapons, the

gods were at last able to defeat

the Titans. They banished them

to Tartarus, the lowest pit of the

Underworld, where the Titans were

imprisoned for all eternity under

the watch of the Hecatoncheires.

Zeus and his siblings now had full

control over the cosmos. They set

up their imperial seat on the top of

Mount Olympus, from where they

ruled the universe. ■

Warfare in ancient

Greece

After the rise of the city-states

of Athens, Sparta, and beyond,

warfare became a way of life

for the people of ancient

Greece. The states fought

each other for territory, trade,

and power in highly ritualized

wars—both sides would

consult with oracles and sing

hymns to the gods before

meeting for set-piece battles.

Scholars use the term “limited

warfare” to describe the

ancient Greek model, in which

cities were destroyed but

the victors were honorable,

fighting within a set of rules

of conduct.

Some city-states, such

as Sparta, became very

militaristic. This perhaps

explains the recurrence of the

idea of a war in heaven. Such

stories dramatized real-life

shifts in theological and

spiritual thinking in ancient

societies. For example, the

Titanomachy could explain

the shift from an earth cult,

centered around deities who

lived in the Underworld, to

the more sky-based theology

found in ancient Greece.

Zeus’s bolts flew thick

and fast from his mighty

hands, with flash and

thunder and flame.

Theogony

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