Titan (mythology)

This article is about the race of the Titans in Greek mythology. For the Greek sun-deity sometimes referred to as "Titan", see Helios. For other uses, see Titan (disambiguation).

Template:Greek myth (Titan) In Greek mythology, the Titans (Greek: Τιτάν, Titán, plural: Τiτᾶνες, Titânes) and Titanesses (or Titanides; Greek: Τιτανίς, Titanís, plural: Τιτανίδες, Titanídes) were members of the second generation of divine beings, descending from the primordial deities and preceding the Olympians. Based on Mount Othrys, the Titans most famously included the first twelve children of Gaia (Mother Earth) and Uranus (Father Sky). They ruled during the legendary Golden Age, and also comprised the first pantheon of Greek deities.

The first twelve Titans were the females Mnemosyne, Tethys, Theia, Phoebe, Rhea, and Themis and the males Oceanus, Hyperion, Coeus, Cronus, Crius, and Iapetus.

They begat more Titans: Hyperion's children Helios, Selene, and Eos; Coeus' children Leto and Asteria; Iapetus' sons Atlas, Prometheus, Epimetheus, and Menoetius; Oceanus' daughter Metis; and Crius' sons Astraeus, Pallas, and Perses.

Just as Cronus overthrew his father Uranus, the Titans were overthrown by Cronus's children (Zeus, Hades, Poseidon, Hestia, Hera and Demeter), in the Titanomachy (or "War of the Titans"). The Greeks may have borrowed this mytheme from the Ancient Near East.

Titanomachy

Main article: Titanomachy

Greeks of the classical age knew several poems about the war between the Olympians and Titans. The dominant one, and the only one that has survived, was in the Theogony attributed to Hesiod. A lost epic, Titanomachia (attributed to the legendary blind Thracian bard Thamyris) was mentioned in passing in an essay On Music that was once attributed to Plutarch. The Titans also played a prominent role in the poems attributed to Orpheus. Although only scraps of the Orphic narratives survive, they show interesting differences with the Hesiodic tradition.

The classical Greek myths of the Titanomachy fall into a class of similar myths throughout Europe and the Near East concerning a war in heaven, where one generation or group of gods largely opposes the dominant one. Sometimes the elders are supplanted, and sometimes the rebels lose and are either cast out of power entirely or incorporated into the pantheon. Other examples might include the wars of the Æsir with the Vanir in Scandinavian mythology, the Babylonian epic Enuma Elish, the Hittite "Kingship in Heaven" narrative, the obscure generational conflict in Ugaritic fragments, Virabhadra's conquest of the early Vedic Gods, and the rebellion of Lucifer in Christianity. The Titanomachy lasted for ten years. The Titans were imprisoned in Tartarus after the war had ended. Tartarus is said to be the deepest part of the Underworld and the place where the evilest beings are tortured for all eternity.

Genealogy

Titan Family Tree
Uranus Gaia Pontus Oceanus Tethys Hyperion Theia Crius Eurybia The Rivers The Oceanids Helios Selene  Eos Astraeus Pallas Perses Cronus Rhea Coeus Phoebe Hestia Hera Poseidon Zeus Leto Asteria Demeter Hades Apollo Artemis Hecate Iapetus Clymene (or Asia)  Themis (Zeus) Mnemosyne Atlas  Menoetius Prometheus  Epimetheus The Horae The Muses

Orphic sources

File:Rhea MKL1888.png

Rhea, a Titan daughter of the earth goddess Gaia, was both sister and wife to Kronos.

Hesiod does not have the last word on the Titans. Surviving fragments of poetry ascribed to Orpheus preserve some variations on the myth. In such text, Zeus does not simply set upon his father violently. Instead, Rhea spreads out a banquet for Cronus so that he becomes drunk upon fermented honey. Rather than being consigned to Tartarus, Cronus is dragged – still drunk – to the cave of Nyx (Night), where he continues to dream throughout eternity.

Another myth concerning the Titans that is not in Hesiod revolves around Dionysus. At some point in his reign, Zeus decides to give up the throne in favor of the infant Dionysus, who like the infant Zeus, is guarded by the Kouretes. The Titans decide to slay the child and claim the throne for themselves; they paint their faces white with gypsum, distract Dionysus with toys, then dismember him and boil and roast his limbs. Zeus, enraged, slays the Titans with his thunderbolt; Athena preserves the heart in a gypsum doll, out of which a new Dionysus is made. This story is told by the poets Callimachus and Nonnus, who call this Dionysus "Zagreus", and in a number of Orphic texts, which do not.

One iteration of this story, of the Late Antique Neoplatonist philosopher Olympiodorus, recounted in his commentary of Plato's Phaedo, affirms that humanity sprang up out of the fatty smoke of the burning Titan corpses. Pindar, Plato, and Oppian refer offhandedly to the "Titanic nature" of humans. According to them, the body is the titanic part, while soul is the divine part of humans. Other early writers imply that humanity was born out of the malevolent blood shed by the Titans in their war against Zeus. Some scholars consider that Olympiodorus' report, the only surviving explicit expression of this mythic connection, embodied a tradition that dated to the Bronze Age, while Radcliffe Edmonds has suggested an element of innovative allegorized improvisation to suit Olympiodorus' purpose.

Modern interpretations

File:Saturnus fig274.png

Cronus armed with sickle; after a carved gem (Aubin-Louis Millin de Grandmaison, Galerie mythologique, 1811).

Some 19th- and 20th-century scholars, including Jane Ellen Harrison, have argued that an initiatory or shamanic ritual underlies the myth of the dismemberment and cannibalism of Dionysus by the Titans. She also asserts that the word "Titan" comes from the Greek τίτανος, signifying white "earth, clay, or gypsum," and that the Titans were "white clay men", or men covered by white clay or gypsum dust in their rituals. Martin Litchfield West also asserts this in relation to shamanistic initiatory rites of early Greek religious practices.

Beekes connects the word with τιτώ (a now-obscure word for "day"). Other scholars connect the word to the Greek verb τείνω ("teino", to stretch), through an epic variation τιταίνω and τίσις (titaino and tisis, "retribution" and "vengeance"). Hesiod appears to share that view when he narrates:

"But their father, great Ouranos, called them Titans by surname, rebuking his sons, whom he had begotten himself; for he said they had "strained" (τιταίνοντας, titainontas) in their wickedness to perform a mighty deed, and at some later time there would be "vengeance" (τίσιν, tisin) for this."

In astronomy

The planet Saturn is named for the Roman equivalent of the Titan Cronus. Saturn's largest moon, Titan, is named after the Titans generally, and the other moons of Saturn are named after individual titans, specifically Tethys, Phoebe, Rhea, Hyperion, and Iapetus. Astronomer Pickering claimed to discover another a moon of Saturn which he named Themis, but this discovery was never confirmed, and the name Themis was given to an asteroid, 24 Themis. Asteroid 57 Mnemosyne was also named for a titan.

A proto-planet Theia is hypothesized to have been involved in a collision in the early solar system, forming the Earth's moon.

Powers & Abilities

Power

• Titan Physiology: The power of the Titans is arguably equal to that of the gods, as Kronos stated that the Olympians would fade soon after the destruction of their thrones. The Titans, however, had their entire mountain fortress on Mount Othrys destroyed millennia ago, yet they have retained enough strength to lead a war against the Olympian gods. However, this is disputable as the Titans ultimately lost their first war to the gods, although not all the Titans fought Olympus (such as Oceanus or Prometheus) and the gods had the aid of the Hekatonkhieres, the Elder Cyclopes, and other Titans who joined their side (such as Styx, Selene, and others). Also, the defeat of Kronos and the destruction of Mount Othrys left them extremely weak for thousands of years and only with the pledging of loyalty by many demigods were the Titans able to rise again.
  • Giant Monster Physiology: Essentially all Titans possess vast supernatural strength, speed, and durability, possibly more so than the gods. Kronos is stated to be physically extremely powerful since he is essentially the most powerful and dangerous of all the Titans, but since Atlas is the Titan of Endurance and Strength, he is possibly narrowly as powerful as Kronos; Percy found it impossible to go blow-for-blow with Atlas (this may have been due to the curse Ares inflicted on him so that his sword would fail him in the fight with the Titan).
    • Superpowered Monster Physiology
    • Large Size
    • Superhuman Strength - Titans are as strong as gods. The Titan Atlas bears the weight of Heaven on his shoulders.
    • Superhuman Speed - Titans move so fast that everything to them appears to be in slow motion.
    • Superhuman Durability - Titans have strong bodies and don't feel pain. Titans are also immune to extreme temperatures.
    • Superhuman Stamina - Titans possess unlimited stamina. The do not need to breathe, eat, or blink.
    • Invulnerability - Titans are extremely resistant to attack.
      • Power Immunity - They are immune to most powers possessed by lesser beings.
    • superhuman durability
  • Elemental Being Physiology: Some of the Titans may also possess some form of energy projection and the power to control and manipulate the elements which they embody. Oceanus and Perses seem to be covered in their respective elements, Oceanus being covered in Water and Lightning, and Perses is covered in Lava implying that they both could manipulate those elements. Gaia could also possess the power over Earth and possibly over the life on it.
    • Elemental Monster Physiology: The Titans had complete dominion over the very elements of light, time, space, earth, air, water, and fire and most likely 'gave birth' to the things they preside over (e.g. Selene and Helios being the Moon and Sun instead of a deity of the moon and sun like Artemis and Apollo).
    • Healing Factor - Titans heal from wounds and are immune to disease. The liver of Titan Prometheus is devoured daily by an eagle but always grows back.
    • Pyrokinesis - Titans have dominion over fire.
    • Ergokinesis - Titans possess power over the energies of nature and magic.
    • Atmokinesis - Titans were the original rulers of Heaven.
    • Aerokinesis - Titans possess dominion over the powers of the air and wind.
    • Hydrokinesis - Titans are masters of the sea.
    • Electrokinesis - Titans can use lightning and thunder as weapons.
    • Geokinesis - Titans have mastery over the powers of the Earth.
  • Immortality - Titans cannot die.
  • Teleportation - Titans can teleport.
  • They seem to possess shape-shifting ability, since the Titans Rhea, Helios, Prometheus and Eos fully resemble human beings in size, height and beauty. Given that their fellow Titans didn't look appealing at all, so it can be assumed that they prefer a more attractive human form, and assume their appearance.
    • Chaotic Form
    • According to Dionysus, Kronos' true divine form is so violent that mortals are incinerated by simply being in its presence, and it also empowers the other Titans. As he is the Titan King it is unknown if it applies for all Titans or just him.
  • Telekinesis - Titans can move objects with their willpower.
  • Greater Divinity
    • Giant Divinity
      • Divine Giant Physiology
      • Nature Divinity
      • Old Gods
    • Dark Divinity
  • Power Siphoning - Kronos was able to drain Zeus' divine powers.
  • Flight - Titans are not subject to gravity.
  • Primordial Giant Physiology
    • Primordial Force Manipulation
      • Primordial Force Attacks
      • Primordial Power Link
      • Energy Manipulation: All Titans have the potential to wield magical or cosmic energies. These powers are mostly limited to changing their appearance or shape and teleporting across great distances. However, a small minority of the Titans are capable of manipulating vast amounts of energy for a variety of purposes including teleportation, shape-shifting, matter manipulation, augmentation of their physical capabilities, erecting powerful force fields, firing powerful blasts of energy for destructive purposes and granting superhuman attributes to objects and beings.
        • Primordial Energy Generation
      • Primordial Force Combat
      • Chronokinesis - Titans possess dominion over time and space.
      • Giant Magic
      • Personal Primordial Force
    • Non-Human Physiology
  • Power Granting

Abilities

• Divine Weaponry

In popular culture

Main article: Titans in popular culture

References

• Burket, Walter, The Orientalizing Revolution: Near Eastern Influence on Greek Culture in the Early Archaic Age, Harvard University Press, 1995. ISBN 978-0-674-64364-2.
• Harrison, Jane Ellen, Themis: A Study of the Social Origins of Greek Religion, 1913.
• Hesiod, Theogony, in The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White, Cambridge, Massachusetts., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
• Smith, William, Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology, 1870, Ancientlibrary.com, article on "Titan"
• West, Martin Litchfield, The Orphic Poems, Clarendon Press, 1983. ISBN 978-0-19-814854-8.

External links

• Theoi Project, Titans references to Titans in classical literature, in translation
• Greek Mythology Link, Titans summary of the Titans myth
• Titans from MonsterVerse Wikia
• Titans from Greek Myth Wikia
• Titans from Ray Harryhausen's Creatures Wikia
• Titans & MUTO (Term) from Godzilla Wikia
• Titans from Wikizilla
• Titans from Monsters Wikia
• Titans from Camp Half-Blood Fanon Wikia
• Titans of Myth from DC Wikia
• Titans from Marvel Wikia
• Titans from Forgotten Realms Wikia
• Titans from Path Finder Wikia
• Titan (Saturn's Moon) & the Titanians from Marvel Wikia
• Titans from Clash of the Titans Wikia
• Titans from The Demonic Paradise Wikia
• Titans from Age of Empires Wikia
• Titans from Disney Wikia
• Titans from Disney's Hercules Wikia
• Titan (disambiguation) from Wikipedia
• Titans from Mythology Wikia
• Titans from Mythic Warriors Wikia
• Titans from Immortalspedia Wikia
• Titans from Overly Sarcastic Production Wikia
• Titans from Greek Mythology Wikia
• Titans from Riordan Wikia
• Titan Physiology from Power Listing Wikia
• Titans from God of War Wikia
• Titans from Marvel Cinematic Universe Wikia
• Titan Physiology from Xarxu Wikia
• Titans & City-bot from Transformers Wikia
• Titans & City Transformers from TFWiki.net
• Cityformers from Transformers Universe MUX Wikia
• Titans from Olympus Guardian Wikia
• Titans from Unnatural World Wikia
• Titans from DC Extended Universe Wikia
• Titans from Gods & Demons Wikia
• Titans from Attack on Titan Wikia
• Kaijus from Multiversology Wikia
• Titans from Legendary series Monsterverse Wikia
• Kaiju from Character Profile Wikia
• Titans from Hercules-Xena Wikia

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