In the beginning, there was only Chaos, who is not quite a god but a shapeless and confused mass of elements. And from Chaos, Night and Erebus was born. Erebus is the "unfathomable depth were death dwells." This was all, and there was nothing else. Then from Night and Death, Love was born, and that's when things started to turn around, bringing beauty and order, as Love created Light and Day.

Then, there came a seperate force known as Gaea, or Mother Earth, who came from somewhere that is mysterious and unexplained. She was the first of all the gods. Her husband, Uranus, or Father Sky, was also her son. He was born as Gaea slept. Together, she and Uranus had their first two sets of children, who were the Hundred-handed Ones and the Cyclopes. They then produced the Titans, who reined supreme in the universe for untold ages. Uranus was very cruel to his children, and he kept the Hundred-handed Ones locked deep inside the earth. Gaea was very upset over this and plotted with Cronus, her Titan son, to overthrow her husband. She gave him a scythe which he used to castrate his father, and threw his genitals from the heavens. From the drops of blood that fell, the Giants and the Erinnyes were born. And when his genitals reached the ocean, it created a foam, and from this foam Aphrodite was born.

Cronus then ruled the universe. He was married to his sister, Rhea. Because of a prophecy that foretold a child of Cronus would dethrone him, he swallowed each of his children as they were born. Of course, this was upsetting to Rhea, and with her last child, Zeus, instead of giving Cronus the child, she wrapped a stone in swaddling blankets, which he swallowed. Zeus was cared for and raised on the island of Crete. When he later returned, he was made Cronus' cupbearer, and with Metis' help, he laced his cup with an emetic that made his father vomit up his five brothers and sisters.

A great war began between Cronus and the Titans and Zeus and his five siblings. The wise Titan, Prometheus took Zeus' side, and Zeus also released the Hundred-handed Ones who used their great weapons of lightening, thunder, and earthquake. The Titans were conquered and punished terribly, being chained and imprisoned deep beneath the earth. And as Atlas' punishment for siding with the Titans, Zeus commanded that he bear the burden of the celestial globe upon his shoulders for all eternity.

Later, Gaea gave birth to, yet, another monster called Typhon, which Zeus had no trouble defeating. By that time, he had been able to control thunder and lightening and used them as he wished. They were his weapons, and his alone. The Olympians were challenged once more by the Giants. Heracles helped to defeat them and they were confined to the underworld. The Olympians reined supreme.

So now with all the monsters out of the way, the world was ready for mankind. This job was given to Prometheus and his brother, Epimetheus, whose names mean "forethought" and "afterthought." Epimetheus had already given all the best gifts to animals and discovered he had nothing left to give man. So he asked his brother for help. Prometheus agreed and thought of ways to make man superior to animals. So, he made them walk upright like the gods and gave them fire. And for a long time, only man roamed the earth. There were no women...yet.

Zeus was really mad at Prometheus because he cared so much for man. He had given them fire, and he also fixed it so that men kept the good meat and sacrificed the rest to the gods. Prometheus cut up an ox and seperated the bones and fat from the eatable meat, which he wrapped in the hide and then piled the intestines on top. Then, next to this, he placed the bones, diguised of course, wrapped in white fat. He told Zeus to choose one, and he chose the bones and fat. But there wasn't anything he could do about it. He made his choice. So man was able to keep the good meat for themselves thereafter, and the rest was burned in sacrifice to the gods.

Needless to say, Zeus was not happy, and he sought revenge on mankind and Prometheus. He went to Hephaestus and had him create a beautiful woman out of clay. The Four Winds blew life into her, and the gods gave her a box, warning her never to open it. Her name was Pandora, which means "gift to all," and she was the first woman. She was then sent to Epimetheus as a gift. His brother had warned him never to accept gifts from Zeus, but obviously, he didn't listen. Eventually, curiosity got the best of Pandora and she opened the box. Plagues, sorrow, and mischief flew out, but she closed the lid in time to save Hope, which we always have when things are rough.

Then Zeus focused on punishing Prometheus. He sent Force and Violence to fetch Prometheus, and they took him to Caucasus where they chained him to a rock. Zeus also wanted information from him. He knew that one day he would have a son who would dethrone him, and only Prometheus knew the name of the mother who would bear this child. He refused to tell when Hermes was sent to plead with him. He knew that he had served Zeus well and was right in pitying and helping man. So, in addition to being chained to the rock, an eagle or a vulture came to feast on Prometheus' liver each day. And each night it would grow back, only to be eaten again the next day.

After many, many, many (you get the picture) years, Heracles eventually happened upon Prometheus and pleaded his case to Zeus. Zeus relented and allowed Heracles to free him and kill the menacing bird. Prometheus, the great rebel of injustice, never gave in, it was Zeus who caved. But, he made Prometheus wear a ring with a stone setting from the rock as a reminder of his punishment. It was the first ring to have a setting, and this is the reason man wore rings, as gratitude for all Prometheus had given them.

While Prometheus was chained to the rock, Zeus sent a great flood. Zeus was disgusted with how wicked man had become and decided to destroy them. Prometheus warned his son, Deucalion, about Zeus' intentions and told him to build an ark. So he and his wife, Pyrrha, who was the daughter of Epimetheus and Pandora, and their children boarded the craft. Zeus, with Poseidon's help, sent rain from the heavens and flooded the rivers out over the world. It rained for nine days and nine nights before Deucalion's boat landed on Mount Parnassus. They looked out to see that there was no sign of life anywhere. Zeus took pity on them and drained off the flood waters. They ventured down and found a slimy temple where they entered to give thanks. Zeus then sent Hermes and Themis to tell them to throw stones over their shoulders. The ones Deucalion threw became men, and the stones Pyrrha threw became women. This was apparantly the same flood that is told of in the Bible.

� 1998

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