Greek Mythology Series:

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Greek Mythology Series The Story of
Creation22 Slide PresentationAn Original
Dramatic Interpretation
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Chaos

• In the beginning there was Chaos. A black and
  omnipresent void, absent of all light and immune
  to time.

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Gaea (Terra) Mother Earth

• But a faint flicker appeared in the blackness and
  began to grow. An enormous rock, cold and barren,
  emerged.
• Gaea, Mother Earth as she came to be known, was
  born.

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Gaeas Longing

• Surrounded in the nothingness of Chaos dark
  grip, bathed in utter blackness, Gaea grew weary.
  Loneliness it was, yes a human flaw.
• Great Mother Earth desired nothing more than a
  companionsomeone to spend eternity beside.

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Uranus (Caelus)

• She prayed. She wished. And from the core of her
  being a golden essence seeped, rose up into the
  darkness and took form.
• Uranus was born. Father UniverseLord of the
  Heavens itself. In all his divine glory he rained
  down upon Mother Earth. He filled her deep
  recesses with life giving water.

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Pontus

• By mixing their primordial essences the worlds
  ocean was given life. Pontus was born. With the
  help of Uranus godly rain, he encircled the
  world and his veins rose up into the mountains
  and filled the rivers and lakes and streams.
• Life began. Grass grew. Vines sprouted. Great
  trees rose up and towered into the sky. Pontus
  fathered many divine children who were water
  spirits and nymphs.

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The Twelve Titans

• Still Gaea longed. She wanted children to love
  and protect and soon the Titans were born. Human
  in all ways but size. They were built like
  mountains and hovered over all the land.
• Six brothers and six sisters who formed six
  sister-brother pairssome of whom even wed one
  another. For there was no one else as powerful as
  them to ensure the survival of their race.

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The Union of the Titans
Male Female
Ruler of Water and the Seas lt Oceanus Tethys gt Titaness of Life-giving Water
Titan of Light Observation lt Hyperion Theia gt Titaness of Sight Aether
Titan of Intelligence lt Coeus Phoebe gt Titaness of Light the Moon
Titan of Time and the Ages lt Cronus Rhea gt Titaness of Fertility Motherhood
Iapetus gt Titan of Mortality Death Titaness of Law, Justice Order gt Themis
Crius gt Titan of Leadership Animals Titaness of Memory gt Mnemosyne
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The Cyclopes

• Mother Earth loved the Titans more than she did
  herself but she was not content. She wanted more
  and her next children came in two sets of three.
• Full of rage and passion were the Cyclopes, The
  Circle-Eyed Ones Brontes The Thunderer, great
  and bellowing Steropes, swift as lightning and
  Arges, bright and radiant. All three fierce,
  master forgers and builders.

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The Hecatoncheires

• Next, there were the 100-Handed, 50-Headed,
  100-Eyed Hecatoncheires Briareus The Vigorous
  Cottus The Furious Striker and Gyges The
  Large-Limbed. Monstrous and infantile yet more
  powerful than the Titans.
• They were like the forces of nature causing
  earthquakes and tidal waves at a whim.

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Gaeas Other Children
The Cyclopes The Hecatoncheires
Brontes The Thunderer The Vigorous Briareus
Steropes Lightning The Furious Striker Cottus
Arges Brightness The Large-Limbed Gyges
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Only a Mother Could Love

• And Gaea loved them all unconditionally because
  the bond between a mother and her children is the
  strongest of them all however, her joy was soon
  destroyed.
• Uranus only loved the Titans who were made in his
  own image. He did not recognize the younger
  monstrosities as his own.

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Exiled

• In a violent and omnipotent rage, Uranus cast his
  children down and flung them into the deepest
  bowels of Mother Earth Tartarusthe eternal
  chasm that is the Underworld.
• Shocked at her husbands actions Gaea fell into
  despair but patience was one of virtues. She
  waited. She plotted.

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The Passing of Time

• The Titans grew to adulthood and had children of
  their own who in turn had children. Life on Earth
  was paradise. A Golden Age of plenty and Uranus
  still ruled.
• Nevertheless, Gaea could never forget the
  youngest of her children as she felt their
  riotous desperation from deep within her being.

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Children of the Titans
1ST Generation of Titan (Parents) 2ND Generation of Titans (Children)
Hyperions Theias Children Eos gt Titaness of the Dawn Helios gt Titan of the Sun Selene gt Titaness of the Moon
Coeuss Phoebes Daughters Leto gt Titaness of ? Asteria gt Titaness of Dreams, Oracles, Falling Stars
Iapetuss Sons Atlas gt Titan of Excessive Daring EndurancePrometheus gt Titan of Cunning Foresight The Fore-thinker Epimetheus gt Titan of After-sight The After-thinkerMenoetius gt Titan of Mortality, Anger, Rash Action
Oceanus Tethys Daughter Metis gt Titaness of Prudence, Wisdom, the Conscience
Criuss Sons Astraeus gt Titan of the StarsPallas gt Titan of War Perses gt Titan of DestructionThe Destroyer
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A Mothers Bidding

• It was time for action. Mother Earth whispered
  into the ear of the youngest of her Titan
  progeny. Cronus (Saturn) answered his mothers
  desperate pleas.
• He would lead his brothers and rise up against
  their father and free his uncles from their
  imprisonment.

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The Defeat of Uranus

• In secret Gaea conjured a great adamantine
  sickle. A powerful and skillfully sharpened
  weapon forged from deep within. She infused it
  with her very essence and gifted it to Cronus,
  the only Titan brave enough to strike a killing
  blow against his father.
• Cronus lifted the weapon, lunged forward, and
  tore his father asunder. Uranus cursed Cronus and
  prophesized that his children too would be betray
  him as he had betrayed his own father!
• Nevertheless, as Uranus blood oozed from his
  divine form, Cronus took in most of his celestial
  energies as his father slowly dispersed into the
  cosmos.

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At War with the Universe

• The Titans and their children answered their
  great mothers plea. The battled raged and blows
  struck repeatedly on both sides. But Uranus was
  supreme and clashed down upon them with the
  weight of the Universe.
• The Titans were seemingly no match, but through
  the years Gaea had prepared well.

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A New Reign

• Cronus was now the Divine Ruler of the Heavens,
  Earth, and Time. With his Sister-wife Rhea
  (Cybele) at his side, a new age was at hand.

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From the Blood Rose

• Perplexingly, as Uranus blood poured out and
  fell to the Earth, more children were born.
• The Furies, three vengeful sisters, sprang up
  from Gaeas caverns.
• Some even say that because the blood spilled in
  the ocean, Aphrodite Goddess of Love rose from
  the sea foam.
• This was also the prelude to an even more
  monstrous set of childrenThe Giants!

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The Avenging Sisters
The Furies (Erinyes) The Avengers
Alecto The Unnameable gt Goddess of Relentless Anger Sought Punishment for Moral Crimes
Megaera The Grudging gt Goddess of Jealousy and Envy Sought Punishment for Crimes of Marital Infidelity
Tisiphone Vengeful Destruction gt Goddess of Vengeance Sought Punishment for Crimes of MurderParricide, Fratricide, Homicide
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A Mothers Regret

• Gaea poured all her hope faith into her son
  Cronus, and he did her proud in undertaking the
  task to destroy Uranus however, he too betrayed
  her trust and broke his promise.
• He did not free his brothers from the bowels of
  Tartarus. He kept them imprisoned so he could
  reign supreme. Truly he was his fathers son!
• Again, Gaea waited and planned