From the union of Erebus and Nyx came Hemera (Day) and Ether (Void of Outer Space). On her own, Nyx was able to bring forth Hypnos, god of sleep. He would bring a deep sleep to beings all over by making them drink from his cup, or tapping their eyelids with his wand. The sleep would be brought on whenever Nyx would appear in the sky, and would end when she left and Hemera came.
Soon Hemera and Ether fell in love, and conceived their first child. Chaos expressly forbade them to have any more children, as any further progeny would be lesser that what already existed, and thus imperfect. Not heeding the warning that they were given, Ether and Hemera fled to the farthest reaches of the void, and there Hemera gave birth to Gaia (Mother Earth). Gaia soon gave birth to Uranus (The Starry Sky). Gaia and Uranus remained in this part of the void, where they were safe from the wrath of Chaos.
Gaia and Uranus were alone, and they began to fall in love with each other. The first thing that Gaia gave birth to was the Ocean, which covered a large part of her body. Next were the Hecatoncheiries (Hundred-handed Ones), enormous giants, each one of them had 100 hands and 50 heads. The Cyclopses were born soon after, and Uranus looked upon them with disgust. Giants with one eye set in the middle of their forehead, and imperfect bodies made from flesh. He took the Hundred-handed Ones and the Cyclopses to the deepest caves within Gaia where he locked them up so they would not be on the surface to offend his eyes anymore. Gaia loved her children, and tried time and time again to set them free, but Uranus would always stop her.
Her next brood was that of the 12 Titans, and Uranus looked upon them in awe. Each of them possessed beauty beyond all comprehension, and they were as tall as mountains. Uranus favoured them, and treated them very well. Gaia would tell them of their brothers that were locked away deep within the earth, and ask them to help her free them. The only one of the Titans that was brave enough to stand up to their father was Cronus. For him, Gaia made a sickle out of her hardest flint, sharp enough to cut through anything that existed. Together the two of them formulated a plan to over-throw Uranus, and to free Gaia’s children.
One night Uranus returned to lay beside Gaia, and quickly fell asleep. Cronus silently crept up to his sleeping father, raised the sickle, and in one sharp blow severed Uranus’ genitals, flinging them into the ocean. As Uranus was weakening, he swore to Cronus that some day one of his children would over-throw him, just as he had done to his own father, for crime begets crime. Uranus then fled to the farthest reaches of the universe, leaving a trail of stars behind him, and Cronus assumed the rôle that was suddenly left vacant. He took his youngest sister Rhea as his queen, and established his kingdom on the summit of Mount Olympus.
Now that Uranus was out of the way, Gaia reminded Cronus that he was to release his brothers that were locked away. He followed Gaia down to the caves where the monsters were kept, and was repulsed when he found them. He refused to release such ugly things on his perfect earth, and forbade Gaia to release them. Gaia was furious that Cronus had deceived her, and vowed to avenge her children that were locked away at all costs. She knew that all she had to do was be patient, for one day Cronus’ prophecy would be fulfilled.
