In Greek mythology the Titanomachy, or War of the Titans , was the ten-year series of battles which were fought in between the two camps of deities long before the existence of modern mankind: the Titans of Atlantis and the Olympians and their allies. This Titanomachia is also known as the Battle of the Titans, Battle of Gods, or just The Titan War. It was fought to decide who would become the rulers.
Greeks of the Classical age knew of several poems about the war between the gods and many of the Titans. The dominant one, and the only one that has survived, is the Theogony attributed to Hesiod. In it Zeus waged a war against his father with his siblings as allies: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon. He also released the Cyclopes from the earth (where they had been imprisoned) and they forged for Zeus his iconic thunder and lightning. Fighting on the other side allied with Cronus, were the other Titans with the important exception of Prometheus who allied with Zeus.
Following their final victory, the three brothers divided the world amongst themselves: Zeus was given domain over the sky and the air, and was recognized as overlord. Poseidon was given the sea and all the waters, whereas Hades was given the Underworld, the realm of the dead. Each of the other gods was allotted powers according to the nature and proclivities of each. The earth was left common to all to do as they pleased, even to run counter to one another, unless the brothers were called to intervene.
These Greek stories of the Titan War fall into a class of similar myths throughout Europe and the Near East, where one generation of a race or group of gods by and large opposes the dominant one, often the parent civilization. Sometimes the Elder Gods are supplanted. Sometimes the rebels gods lose, and are either cast out of power entirely or incorporated into the existing pantheon.
Other examples might include the ancient Sumerian and Babylonian creation epic Enuma Elish, the Hittite "Kingship in Heaven" Kumarbi narrative, the struggle between the Tuatha Dé Danann and the Fomorians in Celtic mythology, The Æsir–Vanir War in Scandinavian Norse mythology, and the obscure generational conflict documented in Ugaritic fragments.
In the Cretan tradition, the Titans were portrayed as agrarian gods who lived in the vicinity of Knossos in Crete where they ruled over mankind during the Golden Age. At this time the Earth produced an endless bounty, and presented the Titans with the first sickle for the harvest. The Sicilian myths also speak of the Titans harvesting the first grain.
Some of the Titans were also apparently gods of foreign import: Atlas and the fire-stealing Prometheus, for example, were frequently associated with the Anatolian kingdom of Lydia. The cosmic story of five Titans - four holding the corners of heaven - may be Phoenician in origin. Late Greek writers also equated the Titans with Set, enemy of the god-king Osiris in Egyptian myth.
Greeks of the Classical age knew of several poems about the war between the gods and many of the Titans. The dominant one, and the only one that has survived, is the Theogony attributed to Hesiod. In it Zeus waged a war against his father with his siblings as allies: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon. He also released the Cyclopes from the earth (where they had been imprisoned) and they forged for Zeus his iconic thunder and lightning. Fighting on the other side allied with Cronus, were the other Titans with the important exception of Prometheus who allied with Zeus.
Following their final victory, the three brothers divided the world amongst themselves: Zeus was given domain over the sky and the air, and was recognized as overlord. Poseidon was given the sea and all the waters, whereas Hades was given the Underworld, the realm of the dead. Each of the other gods was allotted powers according to the nature and proclivities of each. The earth was left common to all to do as they pleased, even to run counter to one another, unless the brothers were called to intervene.
These Greek stories of the Titan War fall into a class of similar myths throughout Europe and the Near East, where one generation of a race or group of gods by and large opposes the dominant one, often the parent civilization. Sometimes the Elder Gods are supplanted. Sometimes the rebels gods lose, and are either cast out of power entirely or incorporated into the existing pantheon.
Other examples might include the ancient Sumerian and Babylonian creation epic Enuma Elish, the Hittite "Kingship in Heaven" Kumarbi narrative, the struggle between the Tuatha Dé Danann and the Fomorians in Celtic mythology, The Æsir–Vanir War in Scandinavian Norse mythology, and the obscure generational conflict documented in Ugaritic fragments.
In the Cretan tradition, the Titans were portrayed as agrarian gods who lived in the vicinity of Knossos in Crete where they ruled over mankind during the Golden Age. At this time the Earth produced an endless bounty, and presented the Titans with the first sickle for the harvest. The Sicilian myths also speak of the Titans harvesting the first grain.
Some of the Titans were also apparently gods of foreign import: Atlas and the fire-stealing Prometheus, for example, were frequently associated with the Anatolian kingdom of Lydia. The cosmic story of five Titans - four holding the corners of heaven - may be Phoenician in origin. Late Greek writers also equated the Titans with Set, enemy of the god-king Osiris in Egyptian myth.
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