You are here:	About>Education>Ancient / Classical History> Myth / Beliefs> Greek Mythology & Heroes> Greek Mythology Stories> First Gods Genealogy - Origin of the Titans and Gods

The First Gods Genealogy

Part 1: Origin of the Titans and Gods

More of this Feature

• Part 2: Descendants of the Titans
• Part 3: Descendants of Pontos
• Part 4: Descendants of Chaos

Related Resources

• Genealogy of the God Hermes
Another son of Zeus
• Achilles Genealogy
Family tree of Achilles showing his relatives through to Chaos on both Achilles' mother Thetis and father Peleus' sides.
• Zeus' Divine Liaison
• Poseidon's Mates
• Olympians: Emergence
• Hesiod's Theogony

The genealogy of the gods is complicated because the stories told about them are inconsistent and are even frequently contradictory. However, since the ancient Greeks traced their ancestry and that of their heroes to the deities, you should have at least a passing acquaintance with the lineages. Following this explanation of the generations of the gods and primordial powers is a genealogical chart showing one version of the relationship between the primordial powers and the gods and goddesses known from Greek legends and mythology. Other pages in this series look at some of the genealogical relationships among the primordial powers and their other descendants.

Generation 0 - Chaos, Gaia, Eros, and Tartaros

In the beginning were primordial forces. Accounts differ as to how many, but Chaos was probably the first. The Ginnungagap of Norse mythology seems a related concept to Chaos, a sort of nothingness, black hole, or chaotic, swirling disorder or conflict. Gaia, the Earth, came next, and Eros and Tartaros may also have sprung into existence at about the same time. This is not a numbered generation because these forces were not generated, born, created, or otherwise produced. Either they were always there or they materialized, but the idea of generation involves some sort of creation, so the forces of Chaos, the earth (Gaia), love (Eros), and Tartaros are before the first generation.

Generation 1

The earth (Gaia) was the great mother, a creator. Gaia created and then mated with the heavens (Ouranos) and the sea (Pontos). She also produced, but did not mate with the mountains.

Generation 2

From Gaia's union with the heavens (Ouranos) came the Hecatonchires (hundred-handers: Kottos, Briareos, and Gyes), the three cyclops (Brontes, Sterope, and Arges), and the Titans (Kronos [Cronus], Rheia [Rhea], Kreios [Crius], Koios [Coeus], Phoibe [Phoebe], Okeanos [Oceanus], Tethys, Hyperion, Theia [Thea], Iapetos [Iapetus], Mnemosyne, and Themis).

Generation 3

From the Titan pair Kronos and his sister Rhea came the first Olympian gods (Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, and Hestia).

Generation 4

From the mating of Zeus and Hera came Ares, the cup-bearer Hebe, Hephaestus, and the goddess of childbirth Eileithuia. There are other, conflicting genealogies. For instance, Eros is also called the son of Iris, instead of the more conventional Aphrodite, or the primeval anc uncreated force Eros; Hephaestus may have been born to Hera without aid of a male.

Table of the Gods and Goddesses

CHAOS

GAIA

EROS

TARTAROS

(GAIA=) PONTOS

OURANOS (=GAIA)

NEREUS, PHORKYS, THAUMAS, KETO, EURYBIA

KRONOS=RHEIA

KREIOS, KOIOS, PHOIBE, OKEANOS, TETHYS, HYPERION, THEIA, IAPETOS, MNEMOSYNE, THEMIS

ZEUS=HERA

POSEIDON, HADES

DEMETER

HESTIA

ARES, HEPHAESTUS, HEBE, EILEITHUIA

PERSEPHONE

Sources: Timothy Gantz: Early Greek Myth
Hesiod Theogony, translated by Norman O. Brown

Next page > Descendants of the Titans > Page 1, 2, 3, 4

From N.S. Gill,
Your Guide to Ancient / Classical History.
FREE Newsletter. Sign Up Now!

Olympians Emergence - Three parental generations tried ...The First Gods The Golden Fleece and the Heroes Who Lived Before Achil...Genealogy of the Olympic Gods - Greek Gods of Mount Oly...The Titans of Greek Mythology

Preventing Diabetes

Diabetes Warning Signs Keep Kids Diabetes-Free What is Diabetes?What is Pre-diabetes?Diabetes and Pregnancy

What's Hot

Susan Wise Bauer's History Medusa's Head Latin Abbreviations Trojan War People helots

Newsletters & RSS Email to a friend Submit to Digg

All Topics | Email Article | |

Advertising Info \| News & Events \| Work at About \| SiteMap \| Reprints \| Help	Our Story \| Be a Guide
User Agreement \| Ethics Policy \| Patent Info. \| Privacy Policy	©2008 About, Inc., A part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.

Advertising Info \| News & Events \| Work at About \| SiteMap \| Reprints \| Help	Our Story \| Be a Guide
User Agreement \| Ethics Policy \| Patent Info. \| Privacy Policy	©2008 About, Inc., A part of The New York Times Company. All rights reserved.