What is the difference between titans and olympians

For example, Zeus is a God, but Cronus his father was a Titan. So what is the difference between a Titan and a God in Greek mythology? A 'god' is synonymous to a 'deity'; the Titans and Titanesses were gods, they were members of the second order of divine beings - after Gaia and Uranus, and the other primordial deities. Cronus and his fellow Titans comprised the second Ancient Greek pantheon the first comprising of deities such as Ananke, Gaea, and Ouranos , which the younger generation of gods, including Zeus, would later usurp, as the Titans usurped the primordial gods before them.

For more information on this concept of change in dominant deities, read up on the theory of The Golden Age , particularly that of Hesiod, who also wrote the only surviving account of the Titans in his Theogony. As for why the Titans have their own order name as opposed to Zeus et al who are simply 'gods', there is debate as to the exact etymology of the word 'titan' but this quote from Hesiod's Theogony states:.

Evelyn-White, here with side-by-side Greek. However this is not to say Hesiod was correct; he himself was writing long after the supposed Golden Age ended.

First were the primordial deities , the first beings in existence, which included Uranus and Gaia. Then, descended from the primordial deities were the Titans , which included Chronos and Rhea Zeus' parents.

Note that the Titans were still deities. According to Wikipedia:. What you call Gods would be the Olympians , who later overthrew the Titans, some of whom were their own parents. There is a family tree denoting the differences between the three classes of deity here. The word "Titan" is used to denote a class of mythological entities that existed before "Gods" were born and Titans are usually used to describe the creation of the world.

All titans were born from Uranus Sky and Gaia Earth , which were the first mythological creatures to be created when the world was formed. After them, Cronus was born, the cunning, youngest and the most terrifying of his her children Gaia's and hated his strong father. Uranus and Gaia had three sets of children. There were the Hundred-handed ones, or Hekatonchieres, the Cyclopes, and the Titans. Uranus thought the Hundred-handed ones and the Cyclopes were hideous, so he threw them into Tartarus.

Gaia did not appreciate this and told Cronus to kill Uranus. Later on, Perseus turned Atlas into stone using Medusa's head. So, Atlas is now a mountain. After defeat by the Olympians the Titans were cast into Tartarus which is a "pit" beneath the underworld of Hades. Since Prometheus sided with Zeus in the war between the Titans and the Olympians, he had to fight against Cronus. That is what made them enemies.

The Titanomachy, which resulted from the death of Cronus. The Titans didn't have specific powers or abilities. They were deities just like the Olympians. They were immortal and nearly omnipotent. They represented the natural order that existed before the gods and in some places were worshiped alongside the Olympians. Log in. Greek and Roman Mythologies. The Difference Between. Study now. See Answer. Best Answer.

The Titans were the Olympians Parents eg Kronus was father of Zues, Posiedon and Hades so basically they were the first gods of Greece In Greek mythology, the Titans came first, their children became Gods AKA Olympians, so Titans where the first race in Greek mythology and Olympians came second and later took over and ruled over the Titans.

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The Odyssey 22 cards. Q: What was the difference between Titans and Olympians? Write your answer Related questions. What were the differences between titans and Olympians? How did the 12 Olympians become the Olympians? Who are the Olympians enemies? For some more detail on the Greek gods and their powers you can check out the article here.

For more detail on the Titans and their powers you can check out the linked article. In Greek mythology there are said to be roughly 3 tiers of gods. There are the primordial gods, so were are talking about Uranus, Gaia, Tartarus, Nyx, Thanatos and so on. Then we have the Titans, which include the 12 elder Titans and also other lesser Titans like Prometheus and Atlas.

Then finally we have the Olympian Gods, most of whom are related to Zeus in one way or another. In this context, all three tiers are classes as gods. So, to answer the question. Yes, Titans are gods. Just not Olympian gods who people are most familiar with. But certainly just a different type of god.

In the great Titanomachy battle of the Olympians vs the Titans, neither side could gain a significant advantage over the other. On one side the Titans led by Cronus and to a lesser extent Atlas. At this point in the stalemate Gaia decided to intervene. She told Zeus to release the Hecatoncheires and the Cyclopes. The Hecatoncheires would hurl rocks at the Titans and the Cyclopes forged three gifts. To Hades they gave the Helmet of Invisibility, to Poseidon they gave the Trident and to Zeus they gifted the thunderbolt weapon.

Poseidon then fought Cronus head on with his Trident and Zeus took the opportunity to strike Cronus with the thunderbolt. Cronus was beaten down and with the help of the Cyclopes and Hecatoncheires the Olympians were able to defeat the rest of the Titans. Zeus decided to throw most of the defeated Titans in Tartarus but Atlas was given the unique punishment of having to hold up the sky for eternity.

This has led many people to question whether Aphrodite is a god or titan. When Uranus was overthrown, he was castrated and his genitals were thrown into the ocean. From the foam of the ocean emerged Aphrodite. This makes her quite different from the Titans who were born from the union of Uranus and Gaia, or the Greek gods who are siblings or children of Zeus. Nevertheless, she is thought of as an Olympian god.

She is a member of the pantheon of Greek gods. In the many descriptions from Greek mythology she is never described as a Titan. In the great Titanomachy, the Titans and the Olympians match off. In the beginning the two sides are well matched and neither side can overcome the other. It is only with the help of the Hecatoncheires and Cyclopes that Zeus and co take the upper hand. So, in truth the Titans and the Gods are evenly matched. In truth, to answer the question of can Titans kill gods, a better way to think about it is can Greek gods die?

The answer is that it is pretty rare. There is Uranus who is killed and thrown into the ocean, there is Atlas who is turned to stone, there are some demigods like Achilles and Hercules who die. But in non of these cases does a Titan kill a god. There are three contenders for the title of the strongest Titan. I would say it is between Cronus, Oceanus and Atlas. Initially the Titans, especially Cronus, hated and feared the gods because there was a prophecy that the gods would overthrow the Titans.

Later, after the Titans were defeated, the Titans hated the gods because they were imprisoned in Tartarus. A place of endless punishment and torment. They thought Zeus to be a poor ruler and they would have plotted to overthrow him many times. There you have it.

Greek gods vs Titans. I hope we went some way to answering your questions as to the difference between the two groups. We wrote two separate articles about the Olympians and the Titans and it probably worth checking them out if you have any more questions.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. So, what is the difference between the Greek gods and the Titans? The Titans The lineage of the Titans was a little simpler. He could fire lightning bolts at whoever he pleased and rode a winged horse called Pegasus.

He also carried a shield called Aegis and it was said that he spoke multiple languages. His major symbols were the oak tree, the lightning bolt, thunderbolt and the sceptre.

He was a carefree and wise god, but could also be vengeful, a lover of many women and deceitful. Hera — She was the goddess of marriage, women, the family, the heavens and the sky. She had the ability to bless and curse specifically in the realm of child birth, she was said to be eternally youthful and was able to regenerate every year. However she also liked to control the minds of men and cause madness in some of them.

Her major symbols were the diadem, the scepter and the pomegranate. She was quick to anger, arrogant, rude but also cunning and loyal. Poseidon — He was the god of many realms including the sea, rivers, water, earthquakes, storms, and horses. He could cause earthquakes and storms, he had some divine control of horses.

He was super sized compared to the other Olympians. His symbols were the scepter and seaweed. His personality was highly temperamental, cruel, vengeful, violent, and predatory. Demeter — She was the goddess of agriculture, fertility, law and the harvest. She had the power to bring about and protect harvests, she could cause the earth to be more fertile and she rode a chariot pulled by a team of serpents.