We know the Greek origin story from some of the earliest Greek literary sources that have survived—The Theogony and Works and Days, both written by Hesiod.

Titans and Olympians

In the beginning, there was Chaos—infinite nothingness. Out of this void emerged Gaia (Earth) and other divine beings: Eros (love), Tartarus (the underworld), Erebus (darkness), and Nyx (night). Gaia then gave birth to Uranus (sky/the heavens), who was her partner and equal, and to the mountains and seas. Eros encouraged Gaia and Uranus to fall in love. Their children were the Titans, who were the first immortal beings.

The Titans included six males and six females, among them Cronos (time/harvest) and Rhea (fertility). Uranus forced the 12 Titans to stay hidden within Gaia until Gaia devised a plan that allowed them to escape. Using a sickle, Cronos separated Uranus and Gaia and threw part of Uranus into the sea, and that part became Aphrodite (love/beauty). But after Cronos betrayed Uranus, Uranus issued a warning to his son: one of Cronus’s own children would one day betray him as well.

Cronus then became the ruler of the gods with his sister Rhea, who was also his wife. The other Titans became his court. But fearing Uranus’s warning, each time Rhea gave birth, Cronus snatched up the child and ate it. Rhea hated this. With the help of her parents, Gaia and Uranus, Rhea tricked Cronus when one child, Zeus (sky/weather), was born. Rhea gave Cronus a stone wrapped in a baby’s blanket, and Cronus ate the stone instead of the baby.

When Zeus was grown, he tricked Cronus into drinking a liquid that made him vomit up Rhea’s other children and the stone—freeing them all. Zeus then challenged Cronus to war for the kingship of the gods. Zeus and his siblings, the Olympians, were victorious, and the Titans were imprisoned in Tartarus—the underworld.

Zeus was plagued by the same fear as Cronus—that one day he too would be betrayed by his child. Consequently, Zeus swallowed his first wife, Metis, when she was pregnant with their child Athena (wisdom/justice). But Metis and Athena made Zeus miserable until Athena burst from his head—fully grown and dressed for war. Zeus was able to fight off all challenges to his power and remained the ruler of Mount Olympus, the home of the gods.

Zeus’s cousin Prometheus is credited with shaping man out of mud, while Zeus’s daughter Athena breathed life into the clay figure. For a time, man lived on Earth without the problems of work and disease. But Prometheus was also known as a clever trickster. After Prometheus tricked Zeus by stealing fire for man, Zeus created Pandora, the first woman, to punish Prometheus’s man. Zeus also gave Pandora a box she was commanded never to open. Eventually, her curiosity got the best of her. She opened the box and in doing so released all kinds of evil, plagues, sorrows, and misfortunes on humankind. Upon Zeus’s command, Pandora swiftly closed the box. All that remained in the sealed box was hope.