The Titans and the Lesser Gods of Greek Mythology

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The Titans and the Lesser Gods of Greek Mythology
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For the ancient Greeks, the very first gods were
calledthe Titans. They were the gods before the
Olympians were born.
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Uranus (like the planet!) was the god of the sky,
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and Gaea was the Goddess of the Earthin fact,
she was the Earth itself, sometimes called Mother
Nature.
Say JEE-uh
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Gaea and Uranus were the parents of the other
Titans.
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The titan Atlas had the job of holding up the
world!
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Prometheus was another titan, brother of Atlas.
He created man, that is, he made human beings.
Say pro-ME-thee-us
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He was also famous for giving fire to human
beingsfor the very first time.
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But Zeus did not want humans to have fireso he
punished Prometheus.
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Prometheus had a brother, Epimetheus, who gave
each animal its own special power.
Say ep-ee-ME-thee-us
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Now, Zeus made the first woman, named Pandora,
and gave her to Epimetheuswho fell in love with
her.
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But Zeus also gave Pandora a box, called
Pandoras Box. When she opened it, all the evils
(bad things) of the world flew out.
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Cronus and Rhea were two important titans.
SayKROH-nuss and REE-uh
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Originally, Uranus was the king of the gods.
Then Cronus became king of the gods.
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The Roman name for Cronus was Saturn (like the
planet!).
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Cronus and Rhea were mother and father of Zeus
and his brothers and sisters.
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But Zeus fought against Cronus and the other
titans. Zeus became king of the gods and the
Olympians became the most powerful gods.
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Aphrodite had a son, named Eros, who was the God
of Love. (The Romans called him Cupid.)
Say AIR-oss
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Eros fell in love with a beautiful woman, Psyche.
Say SIGH-kee
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Helios was the God of the Sun, who drove the
chariot of the sun across the sky each day.
Say HE-lee-us
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Helios had a son, Phaethon, who drove the chariot
when he shouldnt have.
Say FAY-uh-tun
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Aeolus was another godthe God of Winds. His
winds blew Odysseus ship far away.
Say EE-uh-luss
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The Erinyes (or Furies) were three goddesses who
punished anyone who did anything very, very wrong.
Sayear-IN-ee-eez
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The three Charites (Graces) were goddesses of
beauty, laughing, and joy.
Say KAR-ih-teez
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The Moirae (Fates) were the three goddesses of
lifewhen it began, how long it was, and how it
ended.
Say MOY-ree
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Some say there were three Muses, goddesses of
literature and the arts.
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But others say there were nine muses.
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Nymphs were female spirits, who lived in and
protected special places like rivers and forests.
They looked like beautiful young women.
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Calypso was a sea nymph who made Odysseus stay on
her island.
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Echo was a nymph, too, who fell in love with a
handsome young man named Narcissus.
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Maybe the Sirens were dangerous bird-women, with
beautiful singing voices.
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But sometimes they are just beautiful young
women, or half-women, half-fish, like mermaids,
who lived in the sea. They were also dangerous.
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The End