The theme of “the fear of loss of power” is quite prevalent in Greek mythology. In this myth you can see many examples of this particular theme in “The Creation of the Titans and Gods.” The general idea is that once someone comes into power. They become so afraid of losing that power that they start to do drastic things so they can continue to rule as they were. This theme can be seen throughout the entire story, starting in the beginning with Uranus and ending with Cronus.
After his wife gave birth to his sons, the Hundred Handed Giants and the Cyclops, Uranus realized what great strength they had, and soon became terrified that they would overthrow him. In order to prevent that from happening, he threw his children into Tartarus, so they couldn’t escape. It says on page 83, “ Uranus feared the terrible strength of these six children.” This shows that even though it was not certain that his children would take the throne from him, they only had the capability of doing it, and that is what terrified Uranus. Little did he know, his kingdom was still not safe from being overthrown.
As a result of Uranus’s decision, Gaea set forth to take her revenge on him. With the help of Cronus, one of her other sons, they were able to get the power back that Uranus once stole. However, Cronus saw what great power his father had and he wanted it. After receiving the power, Gaea prophesied that he would be overthrown by one of his own children. With that, Cronus became just as paranoid about his throne as his father was, maybe more. It states on page 85, “…opened his gigantic mouth ,and swallowed the infant in one gulp.” It also says, “Cronus took the baby lovingly from his wife…” This proves that he went to extreme lengths to prevent the prophecy from ever coming true, even if he loved them. His fear drove him to do mad things in order to keep his power.
Gaea noticed the fear that Cronus had, and used it against him to get her revenge and take the kingdom back. Gaea and Cronus’ wife, Rhea, tricked Cronus into eating a rock instead of their child, and raised him elsewhere. When he grew up, Zeus went with Rhea and gave a drink to his father. Only after the drink does Cronus realize that he didn’t know who was with his wife and that he had been poisoned. He threw up his children that had been growing inside him for the past generations. Page 87 says, “ Suddenly, Cronus felt an excruciating pain in his stomach. He vomited up (his children).” Zeus then went to war with his father, and with the help of his brothers, the Cyclops and the Hundred Handed Giants. He was able to defeat Cronus and establish a new ruler, himself.
As you can see, someone’s thirst for power can cause damage to people’s lives and make people go crazy. Uranus and Cronus are great examples as to what can happen when someone has too much power that they do not want to let go of. Just the fear alone of losing something of that worth could drive them insane. They were so paranoid and afraid that they were unable to enjoy the things that life had given them. Gaea was able to use this weakness against them, to get her revenge and save the throne from both tyrants.
