Greek God Family Tree in Three Varieties: Primordial Deities, Titans and Olympians

 

A Greek god family tree is a great aid when you want to learn about the internal relationships between the Greek gods.




In this article I will present you with three family trees of Greek gods featuring each of the three orders of Greek gods: the Primordial deities, the Titans and the Olympians.

If you are searching for family trees that show all the Greek gods in one go – meaning both Primordial deities, Titans and Olympians in the same tree, you can find them here.

All family trees on this website are high resolution, free and printable.


The 3 Orders of Greek Gods

The Greek gods and myths were used in everyday religion in ancient Greece. The gods, among other things, embodied explanations of the creation of the universe and gave meaning to natural phenomena.

Within Greek mythology you’ll find there are three primary orders of gods that came into existence in the following chronological sequence: First arose the Primordial deities, then the Titans and finally the Olympians.

They are all related by blood in the sense that some of the Primordial deities gave birth the Titans, some of which again gave birth to some of the Olympians.

Even though they are all related, family life was far from peaceful. Everybody, particularly the males, wanted to be in power and rule the universe. In the end this resulted in a great 10 year war between Titans and Olympians called Titanomachy. or plain language just the Titan War. The war ended badly for the Titans who were the ones in power when the war began. With Zeus as the ruler, the Olympians could leave the battle field as the winners.


Family Tree of the Primordial Gods

Greek god family tree with the Primordial deities from Greek mythology.

The Greek god family tree featuring the Primordial deities in Greek mythology is 23 cm x 16,16 cm in 210 dpi – meaning it will fit well onto an A4 piece of paper and is thus all ready to print.

The Primordial gods were the first gods that came into existence. They are not gods quite in the same way as the Titans and Olympians. The primordial deities are more embodiments of the building stones of the universe like night and sky, sky and earth, air, light etc.

The Primordial gods were said to be born from Chaos, which is perceived as a nothingness or void.

Most well-known of the Primordial deities are probably Gaia (earth, the primal mother goddess – who gave birth to other Primordial deities along with 12 Titans) and her consort and son Uranus (sky, heaven).

Another deity you are most likely familiar with is Eros (god of procreation).

The other deities feature:

  • Tartarus – a terrifying pit of devilish hell deep underground where souls are tormented. After the war, some of the Titans were also taken prisoners in Tartarus.
  • Erebus – darkness. Not so well-known but is said to be the father of Aether and Hemera with Nyx
  • Nyx – night. With darkness (Erebus) she gave birth to day (Hemera) and light (Aether). All according to resources she also had two sons Hypnos (sleep) and Thanatos (death) either by herself or with Erebus.
  • Pontus and Thalassa – sea. All sea creatures are said to come from the union of Pontus and Thalassa where Pontus is said to represent the deep sea and Thalassa the surface of the sea.
  • Nesoi and Ouera – islands and mountains
  • Nemesis – retribution. Guided by her own sense of justice, she stroke down on people that committed hubris (were too narcissistic).
  • Chronos – Time. Chronos came into existence all by himself. He is often portrayed with three heads: lion, bull and man. With Ananke (inevitability), his consort and daughter, he split the world egg out of which came the hermaphroditic god Phanes (procreation).

Greek God Family Tree of the Titans

Printable family tree of the Greek gods Titans

The family tree of the Greek Titan gods and goddesses above is 24 cm x 15,7 cm in 220 dpi.

The mighty Titans were the rulers of the universe before they were overthrown by the even stronger Olympians.

There exists two generations of Titans. The first generation are the parents of the second generation.

The first generation of 12 Titans are:

  • Cronus – Ruler of Titans, god of harvest and time. Cronus took the position of ruler of the universe after having overthrown his father Uranus. Cronus ruled until he himself was beaten by his own son Zeus in the Titan War (after the Titan War Cronus, Coeus, Crius, Iapetus and Hyperion were thrown in Tartarus (the hell pit) by Zeus.)
  • Rhea – fertility and motherhood.. Consort and sister to Cronus she gave birth to the six Olympians: Zeus, Hades, Hestia, Demeter, Hera and Poseidon.
  • Oceanus – sea.. Oceanus’ consort was his sister Tethys with whom he fathered the Nymphs and Metis (good counsel and advice).
  • Tethys – rivers. Sister and wife to Oceanus.
  • Hyperion – lights of heaven. With his wife and sister Theia he had three children Helios (sun), Selene (moon) and Eos (dawn).
  • Theia – shining light and sight. Wife and sister of Hyperion.
  • Coeus – intellect. Consort of and brother to Phoebe with whom he had Leto (motherhood), Asteria (night and stars) and according to some sources also Lelantos (air and hunting).
  • Phoebe – intellect, profecy. Wife and sister to Coeus.
  • Mnemosyne – memory. Mother of the nine muses with the Olympian Zeus.
  • Crius – heavenly constellations.. With Eurybia he had Astraeus (astrology, stars, planets), Perses (destruction) and Pallas (warcraft).
  • Themis – law and order.
  • Iapetus – morality and life span. With Asia (daughter of Oceanus) he had four children: Atlas (endurance, bears heaven on his shoulders), Menoetius (violent anger), Prometheus (forethought) and Epimetheus (afterthought, excuses).

Olympian Gods Family Tree

Greek family tree of the Olympian Gods.

The above family tree of the Olympian Gods are 25 cm x 17,88 in 220 dpi.

Residing on Mount Olympus, the Olympians were believed to lead human life in all aspects. After the victory in the Titan War they became the rulers of the universe.

There were said to be 12 Olympians: Zeus, Hera, Demeter, Poseidon, Apollo, Artemis, Athena, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Hermes and probably Hestia. Some Olympians are always includes as members of the 12 while others are not. Thus there is a bit disagreement regarding membership.

The attributes of the 12 Olympians are:

  • Zeus – ruler of the Olympians, god of thunder, law and order. Married to his sister Hera with whom he has Ares and Hephaestus (members of the 12 Titans) and Hebe, Eileithyia and Eris. Zeus was quite a womanizer and had many, many children with many, many women/goddesses. He sure didn’t hold himself back. Some of his more famous children are: Apollo, Artemis, Dionysus, Athena, Perseus, Heracles, Persephone, Helen of Troy and the Muses. If you want to learn more about Zeus and see a family tree of Zeus and his many mistresses you may go here.
  • Hera – family and marriage Sister and wife of Zeus. Being fairly jealous of Zeus’ many escapades, she tried to get back at Zeus’ many lovers.
  • Demeter – fertility and agriculture.. With her brother Zeus she had the daughter Persephone.
  • Poseidon – seas and rivers. A popular representation of him is with a beard and a trident.
  • Hestia – hearth and family life. Never married or had children just like Athena and Artemis.
  • Athena – wisdom and intellect. Daughter of Metis and Zeus. She is also goddess of more strategic battles and would not fight without a very fair and just reason.
  • Apollo – music, arts and healing.. His parents were Zeus and the Titaness Leto. He had a twin sister, Artemis.
  • Artemis – hunt, wild animals and virginity. She is daughter of Zeus and Leto and is often portrayed with a bow and arrow. With Apollo she was the leader of the gods of music.
  • Ares – war and bloodshed. Son of Zeus and Hera. Leader of the gods of war. Stands as a contrast to his half sister Athena in terms of how to conduct war.
  • Hephaestus – blacksmith, forge and fire. Also son of Zeus and Hera and thus brother to Ares. Married to Aphrodite. He made all the weapons for the Olympian gods.
  • Aphrodite – love and beauty. Daughter of Zeus and Dione. She was married to Hephaestus although she had many lovers e.g. Ares.
  • Dionysus – wine, vegetation and party. Son of Zeus and the mortal woman Semele.
  • Hermes – messenger of the gods, commerce. Son of Zeus and one of his mistresses Maia.

Minor Olympians that are sometimes included within the 12 are: Hades (underworld), Persephone (underworld, spring), Heracles (strength, masculinity), Eros (sex, love and beauty), Hebe (youth), Asclepius (healing and medicine) and Pan (nature and the wild).


Pages on This Site You Might also Like

Want to become wiser on the Greek gods? See Greek Mythology Family Tree with Primordial Deities, Titans and Olympians.

Learn more about the mighty Greek god Zeus on the pageTwo Zeus Family Tree Charts Showing the Relations Between the Greek Gods

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