The First Gods In the beginning was a primordial force. Accounts differ as to how many, but Chaos was probably the first. Gaia, the Earth, came next and Eros and Tartaros may also have sprung into existence at about the same time. Gaia was the great mother who created and then mated with the heavens (Ouranos) and the sea (Pontos). From her union with the heavens came the Titans (Kronos, Rhea, Kreios, Koios, Phoibe, Oceanus, Tethys, Hyperion, Theia, Iapetos, Mnemosyne, and Themis). From the Titan pair Kronos and his sister Rheia (Rhea) came the first Olympian gods (Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, and Hestia). From the mating of Zeus and Hera came Ares, Hebe, Hephaestus, and the goddess of childbirth Eileithuia. There are other, conflicting genealogies. For instance, Eros is variously called the son of Iris and Aphrodite and Hephaestus may have been born to Hera without aid of a male.

CHAOS		GAIA		EROS		TARTAROS
	(GAIA=) PONTOS		OURANOS (=GAIA)
NEREUS, PHORKYS, THAUMAS, KETO, EURYBIA				KRONOS=RHEA	KREIOS, KOIOS, PHOIBE, OKEANUS, HYPERION, THEIA, IAPETOS, MNEMOSYNE, THEMIS
		ZEUS=HERA		POSEIDON, HADES		DEMETER		HESTIA
		ARES, HEPHAESTUS, HEBE, EILEITHUIA				PERSEPHONE

Related Links Zeus' Divine Liaison Poseidon's Mates Source Timothy Gantz: Early Greek Myth, 1993.

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