Who Were The Titans? Greek Mythology Guide

So you've probably heard of the Greek gods (you know, Zeus, Hades, Athena and the like), but have you heard of the Greek titans? This powerful bunch were the descendants of the Greek Primordial gods and were also the parents to the Olympian gods of ancient Greece.

The titans were once the cruel rulers of... well... everything, before the Greek gods turned up. But one day Zeus led a rebellion against his dad (the titan, Cronus) and after many, many years of war (called the Titanomachy), the Olympian gods defeated the titans and imprisoned them for their wicked ways.

There were twelve original titans, including six titan brothers and six titan sisters. This motley crew also had some fascinating titan kids, too. Below, we've included a handy list of some of the titans that might turn up in the myths and legends you hear about from Ancient Greece.

Note: As with most of the Greek myths and legends, some of the stories below may vary slightly (or even outright contradict each other!), but that's not surprising given that these stories have been around for thousands of years!

This amazing artwork shows the moment when the titans were defeated in the Titanomachy. It's called "The Fall of the Titans" by Peter Paul Rubens

The Titan Brothers

Coeus

Coeus' name is thought to mean "questioning" and represented intellect. He was one of the four pillars holding the earth separate from the heavens. Coeus was the North pillar.

Crius

Crius was another of the four pillars that were thought to hold the earth and the heavens apart. Crius was the south pillar.

Here's Oceanus looking all awesome! And naked... He must be very cold!

Cronus

Also known as Kronos. He was the god of time and the leader of the Titans. He was the father to many of the Olympian gods and had a nasty habit of eating his children!

Hyperion

Hyperion was also one of the four pillars, he was the east. He was father to the sun (Helios), the moon (Selene) and the dawn (Eos) with his wife Thea.

Lapetus

Hyperion was the final pillar holding the earth and the heavens apart, he was the west pillar. He later passed his job onto one of his sons; Atlas.

Oceanus

Oceanus represented the huge fresh-water river that was said to go around the entire world. He also had thousands of children with his wife Tethys, including Potamoi, Oceanids, nymphs and more!

The Titan Sisters

Mnemosyne

Mnemosyne was the titan goddess of memory. She was also the mother of the nine Muses, who inspire literature, arts, science, creativity and knowledge.

Mnemosyne's children; the Nine Muses. Goodness me, that's a lot of kids! Can you tell what each of them were the muse of?

Phoebe

Phoebe was associated with the Oracle of Delphi and was the titan goddess of telling of the future. She didn't join the war against the Olympian gods and was spared imprisonment.

Here's Rhea saving the day by giving her husband a rock swaddled as a baby for him to eat instead of baby Zeus.

Rhea

Rhea represented the flow of all things (time, water, coffee, you name it!) and was the wife of Cronus. Rhea saved her son, Zeus from being eaten by his dad, leading to the war between the Titans and Olympians.

Tethys

Tethys was married to her brother, Oceanus who she had thousands of children with. She was such a good mother that Rhea asked Tethys to look after her daughter Hera.

Thea

Thea was a very popular titan, who represented beauty and light. She was thought to be responsible for giving gold, silver and gems their sparkle!

Themis

Themis was the titan goddess of order, including natural order and moral order. She invented the divine laws that even the gods had to stick to. She was also Zeus' second wife.

Other Important Greek Titans

Atlas hard at work holding up the earth on his shoulders. Great work Atlas! Now don't drop us!

Atlas

After the war, the Olympian gods punished Atlas with having to hold the sky up on his shoulders for all eternity. In that time, he got one short break when Heracles (Hercules) took the sky from him during one of his labours. Later, Perseus turned Atlas into a big stony mountain. How rude.

Metis

Metis was Zeus' first wife. Unfortunately for her, there was a prophecy that claimed her children would be powerful enough to overthrow Zeus. Zeus wasn't keen on this idea so he tricked Metis into turning herself into a fly. Then he swallowed her. How mean. Also, eww.

Here's Prometheus getting attacked by that pesky eagle whilst chained to a rock. Oh if only he was wearing some clothes. Perhaps then the eagle wouldn't have found it quite so easy to nibble on his liver!

Prometheus

After fighting alongside the Olympian gods during the war, Prometheus then argued with Zeus over how badly he was treating humans. Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gifted it to the humans which made Zeus pretty mad. Zeus then chained Prometheus to a rock where an eagle would nibble on him for all eternity. Not cool Zeus, not cool.

Styx

Styx was a titan goddess who fought on the side of the Olympian gods during the war against the titans. She was the titan goddess of the river that flows between the earth and the underworld, the River Styx.

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Want to find out more? Keep checking back with us as we add some new blogs about these fascinating titan deities in the future!