Titanomachy

(God of War style)

When Ouranus imprisoned his and Gaia's children the Hecatonchires/Hundred-handed and the Cyclopes inside Gaia it caused her pain and anger and she incited their eldest Titan son Cronus to rebel. Cronus castrated him with a sickle Gaia gave him and became king of the new generation of leaders- the Titans. Cronus however did not learn from his father's mistakes and he reimprisoned the Hecatonchires and Cyclopes within Gaia along with the Gigantes, who were born as a result of Cronus' castration impregnating Gaia. Ouranos (or Ouranos and Gaia) prophesised that Cronus too would be overthrown by his own child.

Cronus feared that a child of his would overthrow him as he overthrew his father, paranoid he devoured all of them except Zeus who escaped thanks to his mother Rhea who gave Cronus a stone wrapped in swaddling cloth to swallow instead.

Zeus was raised by a nymph or goat named Amalthea/Amaltheia/Adamanthea/Adrasteia in a cave in Crete, the sounds of his wails drowned out by the Curetes/Kuretes or Korybantes. When he had grown, Zeus helped free his siblings by having Cronus regurgitate them, some say it was Metis, Zeus' first wife the Titaness of wisdom and mother of Athena, who caused him to do this by poisoning him. In one version Zeus manages to do this by tricking Cronus into allowing him to be his cupbearer. Soon after the Titanomachy began.

According to Hesiod Titanomachy was actually caused by Hera/Juno. Jealous to see Epaphus, a son born as a result of Zeus' infedelity with the nymph Io, become a king in Egypt she arranged for him to be killed hunting and then encouraged the Titans to overthrow Zeus. When they tried to climb to Olympus Zeus stopped them with the help of Athena, Apollo and Artemis and threw them into Tartarus. He then punished their leader Atlas by making him bear the weight of the sky.

What happened is not clear as the main source, an epic poem possibly by Eumelus of Corinth, has been lost. From what can be gathered the war appeared to have lasted at least ten years and not all the Titans fought against the gods, Okeanos, possibly Helios, Prometheus, Epimetheus, Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne, Phoebe and Tethys seem to have stayed neutral, or even supported the gods.

The gods has their base on Mt. Olympus whilst the Titans had their on Mt. Othrys. Neither side gained the upper hand until Gaia urged Zeus to free the Cyclopes and the Hecatonchires. Zeus obeyed and as a result received his thunderbolt from the Cyclopes, they also gave Hades his helmet of invisibility and Poseidon his triton.

Hesiod names three Cyclopes- Brontes (Thunderer), Steropes (Lightning) and Arges (Bright). He also names three Hecatonchires- Briareus (Vigorous), also known as Aigaion/Aegaeon (sea goat), Cottus (Striker/Furious), and Gyges/Gyes (Big limbed). They helped the Olympians by throwing rocks as big as mountains at the Titans. All six were guarded by a drakaina (female dragon monster), Campe/Kampê who was a dragon with a woman's head and torso and a scorpion's tail. Zeus killed her when he freed the Cyclopes and the Hecatonchires.

The Olympians won the war and the Titans were imprisoned in Tartarus as punishment though some did not remain there or might not have been imprisoned in the first place. Cronus is sometimes said to have been made drunk and put to sleep on honey and remained that way either in the cave of Night or Tartarus. Menoetius for example was sent to the Underworld in death rather than imprisonment when Zeus struck him down with his lightning bolt and Atlas was made to hold up the sky/Ouranos as punishment. It has also been mentioned by Hesiod, Plato and Pindar, that after several generations Zeus freed Cronus and allowed him to rule as lord of the Blessed Isles in Elysium where heroes went in death.

After their victory the three brothers drew lots, Zeus took the heavens for his domain, Poseidon the seas and Hades the Underworld, leaving the earth for all.