Titanomachy

Greek Mythology
The Titanomachy

The war between the

Titans and the Olympians
for supremacy of the
universe.
Zeus is successful

Zeus had
succeeded in
tricking his father,
Cronus and had
released his
brothers and sisters
when his father
drank a magical
potion.
Zeus plots an overthrow

When Zeus grew to maturity,

he declared that he who was
without office or right under
Cronus should be raised to
both office and rights.
He wanted to rule!
He was careful to offer
Hecate proper offerings in
his pursuit for justice.
Hecate
She is a Titaness
known as the
queen of night and
the goddess of the
cross-roads; her
three faces are
turned towards
many directions,
and her name was
shrieked at night.
Zeus proved his ability to be a good
ruler as he proceeded to build
proper alliances.
Styx offers to assist

Upon hearing that Zeus was about

to wage war with the Titans, the
Titaness Styx offered to join his
side. She also brought her
children: Nike, Zelus, Cratus, and
Bia.
Nike

Nike is victory
and is often
seen with
Athena who
never puts up
with defeat.
Themis

The Titaness Themis

(of law and order)
sided with Zeus
because she knew that
neither the brute nor
the violent would
prevail only the clever.
Prometheus listened
to her words, and
sided with Zeus too.
 Mt. Othrys was the home for the
Titans.
 Mt. Olympus, the home of the
youthful Olympians.
10 Years in Battle

The war between the Titans and

Olympians wages on for 10 years with
the sides equally matched.

Gaia went to Zeus to foretell that he will

only win if he releases the Cyclopes
and the Hecatoncheires.
 Tartarus
Remember…
Uranus had locked
the
HECATONCHEIRES
and the
CYCLOPES
deep in Tartarus.
Zeus provided the
HECATONCHEIRES nectar and
ambrosia to revive their spirits
and then spoke to them…
"Hear me, bright children of Earth and Heaven,
that I may say what my heart within me bids. A
long while now have we, who are sprung from
Cronos and the Titan gods, fought with each
other every day to get victory and to prevail.
But show your great might and unconquerable
strength, and face the Titans in bitter strife; for
remember our friendly kindness, and from
what sufferings you are come back to the light
from your cruel bondage under misty gloomy
through our counsels.”
Cyclopes

The Cyclopes
gave the three
sons of Cronus
gifts in
payment for
their release.
The Gifts

Zeus received thunder, lightning, and

thunderbolt.

Poseidon received a trident.

Hades received a helmet of invisibility.

It is told that during this great
war the sea rang terribly, the
earth crashed loudly, heaven
was shaken, and Olympus
reeled from its foundation.
The HECATONCHEIRES held huge rocks
with their hundred arms, and Zeus hurled
his lightning, while the earth burned and the
woods crackled with fire. The streams of
Ocean seethed, and the vapor lapped round
the TITANS. A huge flame rose to the upper
air. The glare of thunderstone and lightning
blinded the eyes of the TITANS. It is said
that it seemed as if earth and heaven came
together in a mighty crash, amid
earthquakes and dust storms.
The HECATONCHEIRES
overshadowed the TITANS with the
many rocks that their hundred
arms hurled at them, and having
defeated them, they chained them
as far beneath the earth in
Tartarus.
Zeus appointed the HECATONCHEIRES
to guard the Titans, and in time
Poseidon gave the Hecatoncheire
Briareus, his daughter Cymopolea as
his wife.
 Having thus won victory, the gods cast
lots for the sovereignty, and to Zeus
was allotted the dominion of the sky,
to Poseidon the dominion of the sea,
and to Hades the dominion of the
Underworld.
 It is also told that, as time went by,
Zeus issued an amnesty and set the
TITANS free except for Atlas, who still
holds the sky.
The Gigantomachy

Several years
following the
defeat of the
Titans it is said
that the Giants
raised a
rebellion.
The GIANTS, those creatures
that rose from the blood of
Uranus were serpent-footed,
had a thousand hands, and
being huge, they were also
invincible in their might.
There were far more Giants than
Titans.

Though not truly

immortal, it is said
that the Giants
could be killed but
only by a god and
an immortal at the
same time.
Gaia intervenes

Gaia was infuriated that the

Titans had been locked away
in Tartarus following the war.
She prodded the Giants into
their rebellion.
The Giants tried to hurl rock
upon rock to build a mountain
that would take them to the
very top of Mount Olympus
and harass the gods.
It was foretold that the Giants would
gain Mt. Olympus unless a mortal were
to intervene. Despite the many
thunderbolts Zeus hurled, the Giants
continued upward.

Zeus put out a plea for Heracles and

Dionysus to assist.
All the earth shook!
The battle raged on with
the assistance of Heracles
Another son of Zeus, Dionysus brought
with him the many Satyrs to help with
the battle.
The battle’s end

Through many years and many

battles, the Olympians took control.
Zeus managed to kill many Giants
with his thunderbolts. Heracles
killed the rest with his arrows.
Following the battle, Gaia
buried her many dead sons
beneath the mountains.
Thousands of years later, it is
still said that the bones of the
Giants can still be found.
The End