THE CREATION:

as told by the Greeks

IN THE BEGINNING

For ages upon ages, people have told stories about how the world came to be as it is. Some of these tales describe how the universe was created. Others explain how social customs began and why people live and behave as they do. The following  stories, all from different cultures, describe how the world was "in the beginning"and how it came to be as it is today.

Before anything existed, there was only Chaos, shapeless and empty. Then Chaos gave birth to two children: the goddess named Night and the place of darkness in the Underworld, named Erebus. The wind fell in love with Night and wooed her, and she laid a silver egg deep in the darkness. Before long, the egg hatched, and Love was born. At once, Love began to create order and beauty. First it made the light and the day, then the earth and the sky.

Mother Earth, named Gaea, and Father Sky, named Uranus, had many children. They were all enormous creatures, as powerful as volcanoes, earthquakes, and hurricanes. The first three to be born were Cronus, the youngest Titan, was, the only one who had enough, courage to help his mother. He fought Uranus, wounding him horribly. As Uranus died from the wound, he made a prediction. "Beware of your children," Uranus said to Cronus. "One of them will do to you as you have done to me."

After defeating Uranus, Cronus ruled as king of Heaven and Earth. He made another Titan, Rhea, his queen. When Rhea was about to give birth to the couple's first child, Cronus became very nervous. He remembered his father's prophecy. Would he really be killed by one of his own children?

Rather than risk it, Cronus decided to destroy his offspring. When Rhea gave him their firstborn child to hold, Cronus swallowed it. Later, when Rhea gave birth to other children, Cronus swallowed these as well. He gulped down three daughters, the goddesses Hestia, Demeter, and Hera, and two sons, the gods Hades and Poseidon.

Rhea mourned the loss of her five children and was furious with her husband. When her next and final child, the god Zeus, was about to be born, she swore that she would save him from his father. Before Cronus had a chance to see the new baby, Rhea gave Zeus to his grandmother, Gaea. Then she wrapped baby blankets around a stone and presented the stone to Cronus. Without looking closely at the blanketed stone, Cronus swallowed the bundle.

Zeus swore that someday he would rescue his brothers and sisters when he grew up he returned home secretly with a plan. He told his mother the plan, and she agreed to help him. One night she gave Cronus a drink that made him sick. Cronus began to throw up. First the stone came up, then each of Zeus' brothers and sisters. Amazingly, they were all unhurt! They all thanked Zeus and begged him to help them get rid of Cronus and the other Titans!

THE WAR OF THE GODS

A long war followed, a war over who would rule Heaven and Earth. Both the Titans and the gods fought fiercely. At first, Cronus and the Titans seemed likely to win. Then Zeus asked his uncles, the Cyclopes, for help.

The Cyclopes were blacksmiths. They could work wonders with metal and had created some amazing weapons. The Cyclopes said they would be happy to help their nephews by giving each of them a weapon.

First, they gave Zeus a mighty thunderbolt.

His brother Hades got a helmet that would make the wearer invisible.

To Poseidon, they gave a sharp three-pointed weapon called a trident. With such tools, the gods could not lose.

One night, Hades put on his helmet of invisibility and entered his father's room. Quietly, he opened the door for

his brothers. Then Poseidon held Cronus off with the trident while Zeus hurled his thunderbolt. Cronus, the

leader of the Titans, was struck dead.

The war had been long, but at last the gods were victorious. They banished the defeated Titans to the

underworld. Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, the three brother gods, controlled the entire universe.

Now they only had to figure out how to divide their power. There were four realms: Heaven, Earth, the Sea, and

the Underworld. At first, Earth seemed too unimportant for the gods to bother with, so they ignored it. Then they

threw dice to decide who would rule the other kingdoms. Zeus won the first toss, and he chose Heaven as his

realm. Poseidon was next, happy to take the Sea. Hades was left with the Underworld, the land of night, of sleep,

and of death.

SHAPING LIFE 0N EARTH

With the important matters settled, the gods began to consider the Earth. How should they arrange it? First they created all the natural features they could imagine to make it beautiful. They raised mountains, carved out valleys, and set water flowing in rivers or gathered it in pools. Then they brightened the whole Earth with trees, green plants, and flowers. At last they were ready to populate this lovely place with living creatures.

Prometheus and his brother Epimetheus were two Titans who had helped Zeus in the war. As their reward, the gods let them create the creatures of Earth. Prometheus' name means forethought, and he was even wiser than the gods, but Epimetheus means afterthought. He had none of his brother's wisdom. Without ever thinking ahead, Epimetheus went to Earth and began handing out presents to all the animals.

He gave them speed and courage, cunning and strength. He gave out fins, feathers, claws, and beaks, as well as fur for warmth. Suddenly he realized he had nothing left to give to humans! Frightened, he called on his wiser brother, Prometheus, for help.

Prometheus had already begun to mold a clay figure. Now he picked it up and changed its shape. He made the figure into the very image of the gods, standing upright and looking toward Heaven. Then Zeus's daughter, the goddess Athena breathed life into this creation. And so humankind was born.

But there was still a problem. The animals had all the gifts that would help a creature survive. By comparison, humans were weak and helpless. If only humans had fire, they would become the most powerful creatures on Earth! Out of love for his creation, Prometheus flew up to Heaven. There, he stole fire from the sun and carried it back to Earth. With this gift, humankind became more than a match for the other animals.

Zeus was outraged. He had never wanted humans to have fire. Fire belonged only to the gods! As a punishment, Zeus condemned Prometheus to be chained to a high cliff, far from humankind. There, every day, an eagle tore at his liver. And every night his body healed, to be ready for the next day's agony. After a very long time, Zeus agreed that his captive could be freed and sent Heracles to the rescue.

Heracles killed the eagle and released Prometheus from his chains. Now the friend of humans was free to help them once again, whenever they might need him.

The End of the Beginning