Uranus (deity)

Culture: Greco-Roman

Mother: Gaia

Siblings: Mountains; Pontus

Children: The Titans; the Cyclopes; the Hecatoncheires; the Furies; the Giants; the Melia; Aphrodite; Aether; Aer; the Nephelae; Eos; Hemera

In Greek mythology Uranus, or Ouranos, was the personification of heaven. Romans identified him with their god, Caelus. Uranus was one of the first Greek deities, the god of the sky, ruling over both the sky and heavens. He was part of a creation myth that explained how the world came to be.

His mother and wife Gaia was the personification of earth, born of Chaos. She was lonely, so she created Uranus and together they had many children, including a dozen giants called the Titans, the one-eyed triplets called the Cyclopes, and the hundred-handed Hecatoncheires. Their son Cronus, one of the Titans, eventually defeated Uranus, thus separating heaven and earth forever. His blood then produced the Furies, the Giants, and the Melia. Aphrodite was created when his body mixed with the sea.

In less well-known myths, Uranus was said to have created three children of the atmosphere, Aether, Aer, and the Nephelae. He was also sometimes described as the son of Nyx, and sometimes the son of Aether. In another version of his myth he had two children with Nyx, called Eos and Hemera.

In Mythology

The Greeks believed that before the world existed, there was only a confused, primordial Chaos. Gaia, the Earth Mother, emerged from Chaos. She created Uranus, the sky, and some myths said she also created the mountains and her son Pontus, the seas. In this version, Gaia and Pontus produced five children who became the gods and goddesses of the sea.

From the union of Gaia and Uranus came the twelve giant Titans, which were said to represent the various elements of the world. They included Oceanus (the ocean), Hyperion (the sun), and Cronus (time). The other Titans were Theia, Rhea, Themis, Mnemosyne, Phoebe, and Tethys. Gaia and Uranus also produced three Cyclopes, each having only one eye, and three creatures called Hecatoncheires. The Hecatoncheires were named Briareus, Cottus, and Gyges and each had fifty heads and one hundred hands. They could shake the universe and cause earthquakes.

Uranus, the personification of heaven and light, despised his children for their ugliness and because he feared they would overthrow him. One myth said he shoved them back into Gaia. The more prevalent mythology related that he cast the Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheires into Tartarus, which was the dark dungeon of the lower world. Gaia begged the Titans to free her imprisoned children and to take revenge on their father Uranus. Cronus was the only Titan to agree and, for the first time in the world, Gaia created a weapon. Cronus took the weapon, a sickle, and castrated his father, who cursed Cronus, saying that Cronus would suffer the same fate of being defeated by his children. Cronus’s action separated heaven and earth forever. Uranus’s curse came true when Cronus was eventually overthrown by his son, Zeus.

Uranus’s blood falling on the earth became the Furies, who were the goddesses of revenge. They punished murders, and were especially vengeful toward anyone who murdered his mother or father. Other versions of the myth said that it also produced the Giants and tree nymphs, and from the foamy sea came Aphrodite, the goddess of love.

Uranus’s mythology also included the creation story that he produced three more children who lived in the space between Uranus and Gaia. Aether (or Ether) dwelled under Uranus. Aether personified the atmosphere that could not be breathed by mortals. Aer (or Air) lived closer to Gaia, and personified the atmosphere that was necessary for mortal life. Between these two lived their constantly moving sisters, the Nephelae, who were personifications of the clouds.

Uranus had an aspect of being the source of light and this aspect was said to have united with Nyx, the goddess of Night. Their children were Eos, the dawn, and Hemera, daylight. Another version said that Uranus was the son of Nyx, and another that he was the son of Aether.

The mythology of heaven and earth being the creators of all living things was a common one all over the world. Similar myths of how heaven and earth were separated were also widespread. These myths typically showed the son defeating the father and often included new children arising from his blood. This tradition was found in China, India, New Zealand, and Mesopotamia, as well as in Greece and Rome. The Hittite myth of Kumarbi was especially similar to the Greek myth of Cronus and Uranus, as Kumarbi castrates the god of the sky in an attempt to defeat him.

Origins and Cults

Uranus had no temples and was not worshipped in ancient Greece. There were no feast days or festivals in his honor. The same was true for his Roman counterpart, Caelus. In contrast, the Greeks worshipped Gaia and built many temples in her honor.

No surviving Greek art portrays Uranus. In other art, such as that of the Romans, he was usually portrayed with a starry cape, pointing at the sun and moon. Sometimes he was shown holding the wheel of the Zodiac, which represented the stars in the heavens. The Egyptian sky goddess was portrayed kneeling over the earth, with the curve of her body creating the sky.

When the planet Uranus was discovered in the eighteenth century, five other planets had already been named for Roman gods. Three of those—Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn—were grandfather, father, and son in Roman mythology. Mars was the son of Jupiter and Jupiter was the son of Saturn. Continuing the naming tradition made the sixth planet Uranus, because Saturn’s Greek name was Cronus and his father was Uranus.

Bibliography

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