Titan

Titan

ORIGIN:

Greece

The Titans are a pantheon of Greek spirits who preceded the Olympian spirits. They are the good-looking children of Gaia and Uranus, who refused to be ruled by the Olympians and so war ensued. The war between the Titans and the Olympians is called the Titanomachie. The war, waged in Thessaly, lasted for ten years. The Olympians finally won when Gaia promised Zeus victory if he would free the Cyclopes and Hecatoncheires from their captivity in the abyssal pit of Tartarus. (They are the less attractive children of Gaia and Uranus. Uranus was appalled by their looks and locked them away in Tartarus.) After their defeat, most of the Titans were either locked up in Tartarus or sent into exile to an island far away. Either way the Hecatoncheires have been charged to guard them. The Titanesses, the Lady Titans, were generally spared.

The fate of the Titans, cast down into the depths, should have given pause to whoever named the great ship Titanic. The Titans are also memorialized in the name given to titanium, a metallic element of exceptional strength used in the production of steel.

Sacred site:

Mount Othrys is to the Titans as Mount Olympus is to the Olympians.

SEE ALSO:

• Atlas
• Gaia
• Hekate
• Oceanus
• Prometheus
• Styx
• Zeus

SOURCE:

Encyclopedia of Spirits: The Ultimate Guide to the Magic of Fairies, Genies, Demons, Ghosts, Gods & Goddesses – Written by Judika Illes Copyright © 2009 by Judika Illes.