Greek Titans – Phoebe, goddess of prophetic radiance

Phoebe (Phoibe) was a Titan goddess of prophetic radiance, often associated with Selene (goddess of the moon). She, however, had never been referred as the goddess of the moon. The misinterpretation probably comes because her granddaughter Artemis was also called Phoebe, after her, just like her grandson Apollo was called Phoebus. And latin authors were all referring Phoebe as the moon goddess or moon itself, but they clearly had Artemis in mind doing so. That is why the Titaness is often misidentified as the moon goddess. To the Greeks it was pretty simple and obvious that Selene was the correct goddess. Romans on the other hand associated Artemis, Hera and Selene to the moon amongst others, but there was no mentioning of Titaness Phoebe. However, some researchers believe that Artemis (Diana, Phoebe) became known as the goddess of the moon because of her grandmother whom she got the name after. Anyhow, Phoebe was rather associated with being prophetic, like her sister Themis and her mother Gaea. She was also one of the twelve titans who were the descendants of Uranus and Gaea. She was, like all of her sisters, never involved in the war between Titans and Olympian gods, and was spared from being imprisoned in Tartarus. Instead, she took her place at the oracle of Delphi.

Prophet of the Delphic Oracle

She became the third prophet at the Oracle of Delphi, where she was believed to have heard her mother’s voices. Her predecessors were Gaea and Themis. Gaea honorably gave away her place to her daughter Themis who then gave it to her sister Phoebe. However, according to Aeschylus‘s myth, Phoebe had felt like having extreme burden to carry and gave away her place to her grandson Apollo as a present for his birthday, probably to motivate him. Apollo then presided over the prophetic power of light and heavens.

Asteria and Leto

Phoebe consorted with her brother Coeus, with whom she had two daughters. One of the daughters, called Leto, plays an important role in the later ages, in the time of Olympians. In those times, Phoebe had also developed a lust for mortal men, but her affairs never came to any fruition. According to Hyginus, who also mentions Asteria and Leto, she was also the mother of Perses and Pallas by Coeus.

Asteria – Titan goddess of oracles and prophecies. With her cousin Perses, she gave birth to goddess Hecate. She was also very beautiful like her sister and therefore pursued by Zeus. However, in order to escape from his embraces, she transformed herself into an island Asteria, later known as Delos.

Leto – Titan goddess of modesty and motherhood. She had very beautiful eyes, with which she charmed Zeus and he soon got her pregnant. Because of it, she was pursued relentlessly by jealous Zeus’s wife Hera who drove her from island to island, preventing her to rest and give birth. In the end Leto was finally provided with refuge by her sister Asteria who welcomed her to literally reside on her.

Greek Titans – Crius, god of heavenly constellations

Crius (Krios, the Ram, Aries) was a Titan god of heavenly constellations and was also known as a Pillar of the south pole. Crius, which means “Ram”, was often referred as a starting season of the Greek year, because his constellation was called Aries which nowadays means the start of spring. Together with his other three brothers Coeus, Hyperion and Iapetus, they presided as the Pillars of holding Heaven and Earth apart. He was one of six sons of Uranus and Gaea and is mentioned by Apollodorus as one of the five brothers, all but Oceanus, who participated in rebellion against Uranus and later attacked him. When they overcame him, the four brothers probably held him down, while Cronus castrated him. According to Pausanias, Crius was the father of Python, a dragon slain by Apollo, and was also closely related with the island of Euboea. The author even names two rivers after the titan.

Titanomachy

In a time of war, he was mentioned siding with the Titans against the younger Olympian gods. After the war, where the titans had lost, Crius was along his brothers and many relatives imprisoned in Tartarus beneath the underworld. Although there is no clear statement made, he was supposed to be condemned to eternal punishment. However, according to Aeschylus’ lost play , he was later released byZeus from Tartarus with the rest of the titans.

Father of the Astraeus, Pallas, and Perses

In his time, he consorted with his half-sister Eurybia, a daughter of Gaea and Pontus. Together they had three children:

Astraeus – Titan god of the stars and the art of astrology. He was also the god of the dusk and father of the Four Winds and the Stars of the Heaven by Eos(goddess of dawn). They also had children who are often associated with the time of twilight.

Pallas – Titan god of warcraft who was defeated during Titanomachy by younger goddess Athena. He was a father of Rivalry, Victory, Strength and Power.

Perses – Titan god of destruction. He was married with his cousin Asteria with whom he fathered Hecate.