Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome | Page 4

mother. Her many titles refer to
her more or less in this character, and she appears to have been
universally revered among the Greeks, there being scarcely a city in

Greece which did not contain a temple erected in her honour; indeed
Gæa was held in such veneration that her name was always invoked
whenever the gods took a solemn oath, made an emphatic declaration,
or implored assistance.
Uranus, the heaven, was believed to have united himself in marriage
with Gæa, the earth; and a moment's reflection will show what a truly
poetical, and also what a logical idea this was; for, taken in a figurative
sense, {12} this union actually does exist. The smiles of heaven
produce the flowers of earth, whereas his long-continued frowns
exercise so depressing an influence upon his loving partner, that she no
longer decks herself in bright and festive robes, but responds with
ready sympathy to his melancholy mood.
The first-born child of Uranus and Gæa was Oceanus,[2] the ocean
stream, that vast expanse of ever-flowing water which encircled the
earth. Here we meet with another logical though fanciful conclusion,
which a very slight knowledge of the workings of nature proves to have
been just and true. The ocean is formed from the rains which descend
from heaven and the streams which flow from earth. By making
Oceanus therefore the offspring of Uranus and Gæa, the ancients, if we
take this notion in its literal sense, merely assert that the ocean is
produced by the combined influence of heaven and earth, whilst at the
same time their fervid and poetical imagination led them to see in this,
as in all manifestations of the powers of nature, an actual, tangible
divinity.
But Uranus, the heaven, the embodiment of light, heat, and the breath
of life, produced offspring who were of a much less material nature
than his son Oceanus. These other children of his were supposed to
occupy the intermediate space which divided him from Gæa. Nearest to
Uranus, and just beneath him, came Aether (Ether), a bright creation
representing that highly rarified atmosphere which immortals alone
could breathe. Then followed Aër (Air), which was in close proximity
to Gæa, and represented, as its name implies, the grosser atmosphere
surrounding the earth which mortals could freely breathe, and without
which they would perish. Aether and Aër were separated from each

other by divinities called Nephelae. These were their restless and
wandering sisters, who existed in the form of clouds, ever {13} floating
between Aether and Aër. Gæa also produced the mountains, and Pontus
(the sea). She united herself with the latter, and their offspring were the
sea-deities Nereus, Thaumas, Phorcys, Ceto, and Eurybia.
Co-existent with Uranus and Gæa were two mighty powers who were
also the offspring of Chaos. These were Erebus (Darkness) and Nyx
(Night), who formed a striking contrast to the cheerful light of heaven
and the bright smiles of earth. Erebus reigned in that mysterious world
below where no ray of sunshine, no gleam of daylight, nor vestige of
health-giving terrestrial life ever appeared. Nyx, the sister of Erebus,
represented Night, and was worshipped by the ancients with the
greatest solemnity.
Uranus was also supposed to have been united to Nyx, but only in his
capacity as god of light, he being considered the source and fountain of
all light, and their children were Eos (Aurora), the Dawn, and Hemera,
the Daylight. Nyx again, on her side was also doubly united, having
been married at some indefinite period to Erebus.
In addition to those children of heaven and earth already enumerated,
Uranus and Gæa produced two distinctly different races of beings
called Giants and Titans. The Giants personified brute strength alone,
but the Titans united to their great physical power intellectual
qualifications variously developed. There were three Giants, Briareus,
Cottus, and Gyges, who each possessed a hundred hands and fifty
heads, and were known collectively by the name of the Hecatoncheires,
which signified hundred-handed. These mighty Giants could shake the
universe and produce earthquakes; it is therefore evident that they
represented those active subterranean forces to which allusion has been
made in the opening chapter. The Titans were twelve in number; their
names were: Oceanus, Ceos, Crios, Hyperion, Iapetus, Cronus, Theia,
Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne, Phoebe, and Tethys.
Now Uranus, the chaste light of heaven, the essence of all that is bright
and pleasing, held in abhorrence his {14} crude, rough, and turbulent
offspring, the Giants, and moreover feared that their great power might

eventually prove hurtful to himself. He therefore hurled them into
Tartarus, that portion of the lower world which served as the
subterranean dungeon of the gods. In order to avenge the oppression of
her children, the Giants, Gæa instigated a conspiracy on the part of the
Titans against Uranus, which was carried