The Titans were the group of deities that came before the Olympians, they are the offspring of the two primordial beings, Uranus and Gaia.

The Titans

Named after their place of residence, Mount Olympus, the Olympians were a race of gods that made up the majority of the ancient Greek pantheon. They were primarily third and fourth generation immortal beings.

The Olympians

The ancient Greeks had more than one story to explain the creation of mortals. Some aligned the creation of Zeus himself with the creation of all mortals, but the most commonly accepted version is the one Ovid tells in his "Metamorphosis". It states that Prometheus took earth mixed with rain water, and fashioned it into the likeness of the gods and "thus clay...was metamorphosed to assume the strange new figure of man."

The Creation of Mortals

Both Ovid and Hesiod list the same four Ages of man, however Hesiod adds one:
- The Gold Age
- The Silver Age
- The Bronze Age
- The Age of Heroes (Hesiod's additional Age)
- The Iron Age

The Four (or Five) Ages

- The Titans
- The Olympians
- The Creation of Mortals
- The Four or Five Ages

San Jose State University

- Religious Practices and Beliefs
- Creation Mythology
- Sanctuaries and Temples
- Role of Women
- Mystery Religions

Areas of Ancient Greek Religion

Morford, M., Lenardon, J., and Sham, M. (2014). Myths of creation. In Classical Mythology, (10th ed. pp. 61-83). Oxford University Press.

Myths of Creation

Morford, M., Lenardon, J., and Sham, M. (2014). Zeus' rise to power: The creation of mortals. In Classical Mythology, (10th ed. pp. 84-116). Oxford University Press.

Zeus' Rise to Power: The Creation of Mortals

A polytheistic religion, there was no single sacred text or centralization of authority, and similar to some modern religions many of their religious practices differed from one area to the next; however, all Ancient Greeks shared the same basic principles of participating in festivals, sacrifices, rites of passage, and religious ceremonies.

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