Greek Story

In the beginning there was Chaos, a yawning nothingness (some versions say that in the beginning there was Nyx – a big bird with dark wings. In those myths, it is Nyx who gave birth to an egg that later on turned into Chaos). Out of the void emerged Gaia (the Earth) and other divine beings — Eros (love), the Abyss (part of the underworld), and the Erebus (the unknowable place where death dwells). Gaia gave birth to Uranus (the Sky), who then fertilized her, bringing forth the birth of the Titans: Coeus, Crius, Cronus, Hyperion, Iapetus, and Oceanus, and six females: Mnemosyne, Phoebe, Rhea, Theia, Themis, and Tethys. They also created the Cyclops. 

The Titans disliked their father, Uranus, and one day Cronus castrated Uranus and threw the severed genitals into the sea, from which arose Aphrodite, goddess of love, beauty and sexuality. Uranus' blood also dripped to the earth and created other creatures, including giants and nymphs. Cronus became the ruler of the gods with his sister-wife, Rhea, as his consort. The other Titans became his court. Because Cronus had betrayed his father, he feared that his offspring would do the same, so each time Rhea gave birth, Cronus snatched up the child and ate it. Rhea hated this and tricked him by hiding one child, Zeus, on the island of Crete. Then she wrapped a stone in a baby’s blanket so that Cronus ate the stone instead of the baby. 

When Zeus was grown, he drugged his father (Cronus) with a drink that made Cronus to vomit, throwing up Rhea’s other children and the stone. Zeus also freed the Cyclops. In gratitude, the Cyclops gave Zeus his lightning and thunderbolt. Poseidon received a powerful trident and Hades received a helmet of invisibility. Together, the brothers and uncles banded together as Olympians to overthrow the Titans in a great battle. Those other children and Zeus became the Olympians: Hestia, Hades, Demeter, Hera, Poseidon. The Titans, on the other hand, were hurled into the Abyss (underworld). 

But Zeus was plagued by the same concern as his father had been and, after a prophecy that his first wife, Metis, would give birth to a god greater than he, he swallowed Metis. But she was already pregnant with Athena, and they both made him miserable until Athena, the goddess of wisdom, civilization and justice, burst from his head — fully grown and dressed for war. But Zeus was able to fight off all challenges to his power and to remain the ruler of Mt. Olympus, the home of the gods.

One son of the Titans, Prometheus, did not fight with fellow Titans against Zeus and was spared imprisonment; he was given the task of creating man. Prometheus shaped man out of mud, and Athena breathed life into the clay figure. Prometheus made man stand upright as the gods did and gave him fire. Prometheus tricked Zeus, and to punish him, Zeus created Pandora, the first woman, of stunning beauty, wealth, and a deceptive heart and lying tongue. He also gave Pandora a box she was commanded never to open, but eventually her curiosity got the best of her, and she opened the box to release all kinds of evil, plagues, sorrows, and misfortunes. She hastened to close the box, but everything had flown out, except hope, which lay at the bottom of the box. 

The Flood

Many years later, Jupiter hears of the evil doings of humans. Angered, he decides to destroy the human race and all living creatures of the earth. Prometheus decides to warn his son, Deucalion of the coming world-ending flood, and he builds a small boat to carry him and his cousin-wife Pyrrha (daughter of Pandora) to safety. 

Jupiter invokes the floodwaters, opening the waters of the sky and sea together, and water covers the entire earth and wipes out every living creature. When Jupiter sees that all life has been extinguished except for Deucalion and Pyrrha, he sends the north wind to scatter the clouds and mist; he calms the waters and the floods subside. Deucalion and Pyrrha survive in the boat for nine days, and when their boat lands on Mt. Parnassus, they discover that they are the only ones left. They make a sacrifice to Zeus to learn how to repopulate the earth, and Zeus tells them to throw stones over their shoulders. The stones Deucalion throws become men, and those thrown by Pyrrha become women. Thus, they avoid the awkward and thorny issue of incest. Their offspring became the founders of various Greek tribes, including the Ionians, Achaeans, and Dorians.