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The Titans are the children of Uranus and Gea in Greek mythology, preceding the Olympians. There are twelve Titans, including six male and six female. They are the ancestors of many gods and goddesses and have astronomical names.
In Greek mythology, the Titans are the children of Uranus, the sky, and Gea, the earth. They are the generation before the Olympians, the gods and goddesses led by Zeus who are the best known in this tradition.
There are twelve Titans, six male and six female. The male titans are Cronus or Cronus, Iapetus or Iapetus, Hyperion, Oceanus, Coeus or Koios, and Creus or Crio or Krios. The female titans are Theia, Rhea, Mnemosyne, Phoebe, Tethys and Themis. Atlas and Prometheus, both sons of Iapetus, are also considered Titans. Cronus has an important counterpart in Roman mythology, in which he is known as Saturn.
Some of the names of the Titans have particular meanings that give an idea of their characterization. For example, Mnemosyne means memory, Phoebe means light, and Themis means justice. While Cronos may sound very similar to the root of time, it is actually a distinct word.
One of the pivotal stories about the Titans, told by Hesiod, tells that Uranus was jealous of his children and feared their rebellion, so he kept them confined to Gaea. With Gaea’s encouragement, Cronus overthrew Uranus, castrating him with a scythe provided by Gaea, and the Titans took control of the world.
Once freed, the Titans became the ancestors of most if not all of the major and minor gods of the Greek pantheon. Cronus and Rhea are the parents of Demeter, Hades, Hera, Hestia, Poseidon and Zeus. Hyperion and Theia are the parents of Helios, the sun god; Selene, the goddess of the moon; and Eos, goddess of dawn. Oceanus and Thethys are the parents of the river gods and the Oceanids. Coeus and Phoebe are Leto’s parents. Mnemosyne and Zeus are the parents of the Muses. And Themis and Zeus are the parents of the Hours, the Seasons, and of the Morae, the Fates.
The Titans have also been immortalized as astronomical names. Cronus, like Saturn, is a planet. Saturn’s moons include Titan, Thethys, Rhea, Iapetus, Hyperion, and Phoebe. Mnemosyne Regio, Themis Regio and Tethus Regio are regions on Venus, and Rhea Mons and Theia Mons are Venusian mountains. The name 57 Mnemosyne was also given to an asteroid.
On Earth, Iapetus is the name given to the precursor to the Atlantic Ocean, which existed 400 to 600 million years ago. Tethys Ocean was located east of Gondwana about 245 to 65 million years ago.
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