Greek mythology
01. The Birth of Zeus
In the beginning, there was only Chaos. Chaos was a void, a dark and formless expanse that held the potential for all things. The first primal deities emerged from Chaos. They were Gaia of Earth, Tartarus (the Abyss), Eros (Love), Erebus (Darkness), and Nyx (Night). As the primal deities interacted and procreated, the world began to take shape, leading to the rise of the Olympian gods and the rich tapestry of myths that followed.
Gaia, the Earth, emerged from Chaos and became the foundation of all life. She gave birth to Uranus, the Sky, who enveloped her completely. Through the power of Eros, the god of love, Gaia and Uranus fell in love and had many children. Their first children were the twelve Titans, powerful and majestic beings. Among the Titans were Oceanus, the river that encircled the world, and Hyperion, the god of light, as well as Cronus, the god of time.
However, Uranus feared the power of his children and imprisoned them within Gaia. The Hecatoncheires, also known as the Hundred-Handed Ones, were three monstrous giants. They were named Cottus, Briareus, and Gyges. Each Hecatoncheires had fifty heads and one hundred arms, making them incredibly powerful. Uranus was horrified by their appearance and imprisoned them in Tartarus, the deepest part of the underworld. The Cyclopes were also children of Uranus and Gaia, and they were known for their single eye in the middle of their forehead. There were three main Cyclopes: Brontes (Thunder), Steropes (Lightning), and Arges (Bright). Like the Hecatoncheires, they were also imprisoned by Uranus in Tartarus.
Gaia, unable to bear the suffering of her children, devised a plan to overthrow Uranus. Gaia, seeking revenge, created a great sickle and asked her children to overthrow Uranus. Among the Titans, only Cronus, the youngest and most ambitious, agreed to assist his mother. Gaia handed him the sickle and instructed him on what to do. One night, as Uranus descended to lie with Gaia, Cronus lay in wait. Cronus, armed with a sickle given by Gaia, ambushed Uranus and castrated him. Cronus then threw the severed genitals into the sea, from which Aphrodite later emerged. The blood from Uranus fell upon the Earth, and from it sprang the Erinyes (Furies), the Giants, and the Meliae (nymphs of the ash trees).
Cronus separated Uranus from Gaia, thus dividing the Sky and the Earth. Cronus and his siblings, the Titans, were freed from Uranus’ tyranny. After Cronus castrated Uranus, he became the ruler of the Titans. He married his sister Rhea, and they ruled during what was known as the Golden Age. During the Golden Age, it is said that the gods prospered peacefully without laws or rules. But Cronus re-imprisoned the Hecatoncheires and the Cyclopes in Tartarus, fearing their power, and he set the dragon Campe to guard them.
Despite being freed from Uranus’ tyranny, the siblings found themselves imprisoned once again. Gaia, their mother, was deeply saddened by this and sought revenge against Cronus. Gaia and Uranus prophesied that Cronus would be overthrown by one of his own children. Cronus and Rhea had several children together. Their children included Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon. But Cronus swallowed each of his children at birth to prevent them from overthrowing him. Rhea, devastated by the loss of her children, devised a plan to save her youngest child, Zeus.
Rhea, the wife of Cronus, was desperate to save her youngest child, Zeus, from being swallowed by his father. When Rhea became pregnant with Zeus, she sought help from her mother, Gaia. Gaia advised Rhea to give birth in secret on the island of Crete. Rhea followed Gaia’s advice and gave birth to Zeus in a hidden cave on Mount Ida. To deceive Cronus, Rhea wrapped a stone in swaddling clothes and presented it to him as their newborn son. Cronus, without inspecting the bundle, swallowed the stone, believing it to be Zeus. Meanwhile, Zeus was safely hidden in the cave, where he was cared for by nymphs.
The nymphs, including Adrasteia and Ida, nurtured Zeus with milk from the goat Amalthea. They also hung his cradle from a tree to keep him hidden from Cronus. The Kouretes, a group of armed warriors, danced and clashed their weapons to drown out the cries of baby Zeus. Zeus grew up strong and wise under the care of the nymphs and the protection of the Kouretes. And he knew it was time to challenge his father, Cronus.
With the help of his mother, Rhea, and the Titaness Metis, Zeus devised a plan to free his siblings. Zeus disguised himself as a cupbearer and served Cronus a potion that made him vomit up his swallowed children. One by one, Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon were freed from Cronus’s stomach. Grateful and determined, Zeus and his siblings declared war on Cronus and the Titans.
This great battle, known as the Titanomachy, lasted for ten years. Zeus sought the help of the Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires, whom Cronus had imprisoned in Tartarus. The Cyclopes forged powerful weapons for Zeus and his brothers: the thunderbolt for Zeus, the trident for Poseidon, and the helm of darkness for Hades. Armed with these mighty weapons, Zeus and his allies launched a fierce attack on the Titans. The earth shook and the sky roared as the gods and Titans clashed in a cataclysmic battle. Zeus hurled his thunderbolts, Poseidon wielded his trident, and Hades used his helm to become invisible and strike from the shadows.
The Titans fought back with all their might, but they were no match for the combined power of the Olympian gods. Finally, after a long and brutal struggle, Zeus and his siblings emerged victorious. Cronus and the defeated Titans were cast into the depths of Tartarus, where they could no longer threaten the new order. Zeus, now the undisputed king of the gods, established his rule from Mount Olympus. He divided the realms among his brothers: Poseidon received the sea, Hades the underworld, and Zeus the sky. Together, they brought order and justice to the world, ending the age of the Titans and beginning the reign of the Olympian gods.
Ps. Because Greco-Roman mythology contains many versions of the same story of the same character, the story you see in Roy's Box may not be the story you know. In Roy's Box, we list the full episodes in chronological order, and where possible, we've adapted non-contradictory versions.