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Greek Mythology

According to Greek mythology, there was nothing in the beginning except a dark void. Then came Gaia (Earth), Tartarus (the Underworld), and Eros (Love). Gaia gave birth to Uranus (the Sky), and then Uranus and Gaia gave birth to the Titans, including Kronos. Kronos eventually overthrew Uranus, beginning the reign of the Titans.

Kronos married Rhea, who was also a daughter of Gaia and Uranus. Kronos swallowed all his children whole because, before he overthrew his father, Uranus had given him a prophecy: "One day, your own child will overthrow you." Out of fear, Kronos ate his children: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, and Poseidon. When the youngest brother, Zeus, was born, Rhea had had enough; she sent Zeus away to the island of Crete. Rhea then wrapped a rock in blankets and gave it to Kronos, tricking him into thinking he had swallowed baby Zeus.

Zeus grew up hidden on the island of Crete, raised by a goat named Amalthea, who fed him milk and cared for him. When Zeus reached adulthood, he confronted his father. With the help of his mother, Rhea, Zeus tricked Kronos into drinking a special potion that made him vomit up the other gods: Poseidon, Hades, Hera, Demeter, and Hestia. Zeus and his siblings then declared war on Kronos and the Titans. This was called the Titanomachy. Because Zeus could summon lightning bolts and had the help of his siblings, they won the war. The prophecy came true, and Kronos was banished and locked in the depths of Tartarus. The three most powerful brothers—Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades—divided the world between themselves: Zeus took the sky, Poseidon the sea, and Hades the underworld.

Later, Zeus fathered more godly children:

Athena – Goddess of wisdom (born from Zeus’s head).

Apollo – God of the sun, music, and prophecy (Parents: Zeus & Leto).

Artemis – Goddess of the hunt (Parents: Zeus & Leto).

Ares – God of war (Parents: Zeus & Hera).

Hermes – Messenger god (Parents: Zeus & Maia).

Hephaestus – God of fire and metalworking (Parents: Usually Zeus & Hera; in some myths, Hera alone).

Aphrodite – Goddess of love (In one myth: born from sea foam after Uranus was overthrown; in another: daughter of Zeus & Dione).

Dionysus – God of wine (Parents: Zeus & Semele).

Zeus's children and siblings came together to form the Twelve Olympians. Dionysus and Hestia are sometimes excluded from certain lists of the Twelve, but they are major deities. Hades, despite being one of the "Big Three," is not counted as an Olympian because he lives in the Underworld rather than on Mount Olympus, the mountain in Greece believed to be the home of the gods.