Prometheus, Zeus, Pandora And The Creation Of Man | Greek Mythology

Today, numerous theories exist about how the universe was created. The ancients also wondered how the universe was created, and their attempts at explaining this creation formed the basis of various myths. One idea was constant, however: The universe emerged from chaos. Before there was Earth or sky or seas, all of the elements of the universe were one, and this oneness was called Chaos.

Chaos was a shapeless void of confusion, but it held the seeds of an organized universe. Contained within Chaos the elements—earth, sky, sea— were jumbled together; no one element had an identity. Earth didn’t have its shape, the sky didn’t have air, and the sea was not watery. The elements fought constantly until an unknown force put an end to the disorder. This force is not explicitly identified in the myths. According to one popular myth, an unnamed force (some call it the Creator) first gave shape to Earth. The Creator designated water to its appropriate places; he then raised the mountains, smoothed out the plains, and shoveled out the valleys, distributing forests, rocky terrain, and fertile fields. Next came the sky: The Creator spread out the air like a blank canvas. He added clouds, thunder, lightning, and winds. The stars, however, he drew from the confines of darkness. After setting up the sky and Earth, the Creator added the fish to the seas, the birds to the air, and beasts to land. Not all of the beasts were created at this time—humanity still did not exist.

Uranus, said to have been born to Gaia in her sleep, mates with his mother (yes, incest permeates classical mythology) to create the rest of Earth’s elements, such as the waters, forestry, and the beasts. Uranus and Gaia also produced other children, including the Titans and Titanesses, the Cyclopes, and the Hundred-Handed Ones.