Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Mythology Explained. In today’s video, we’re going
to be discussing Uranus- one of the primordial deities and the personification of the sky.
Uranus is both son and consort to Gaia, the personification of the earth. In addition
to Uranus, Gaia independently conceived two other children, Pontus (the Sea) and Ourea
(the Mountains), though of the three, Uranus is the only one Gaia reproduces with. There
are other sources that have Uranus as the product of a union between Aether, the personification
of the upper sky, and Gaia, however, this video is going to stick to Hesiod’s version
of events, which has Uranus as being independently conceived by Gaia without copulation.
Uranus is a central figure within the Greek theogony, which is, essentially, the genealogy
of the gods, as he sired many children with Gaia. Most Gods and Titans are descended from
him. Among his children are the first generation of titans, the cyclopes (Brontes, Steropes,
and Arges), and the Hecatoncheires (cottus, Briareus, and Gyges), who were colossal giants
of immense strength; they had 100 arms, and the breadth of their shoulders was surmounted
by 50 heads.
Unfortunately, the union between Uranus and Gaia wasn’t the happiest affair, but that
doesn’t come as much of a surprise, I mean, what’s greek mythology if not a grand mosaic
of betrayal, incest, and murder.
Each time night would fall, Uranus would envelope Gaia in a sexual embrace. And while Uranus
allowed free reign to his oldest children, the titans, he detested his younger children,
the Cyclopes and the Hekatonkheires, so he imprisoned them deep within Gaia, in Tartarus.
Having many of her children trapped inside of her was a source of great pain for Gaia,
so she wrought a great stone sickle and set a plan in motion to free her from anguish.
She asked her sons to castrate their father, but of them, only Cronos, the youngest titan,
possessed the audacity and ambition to strike. Cronos lay in wait and ambushed his father
when Uranus descended to plant his seed in Gaia. He castrated his father and cast his
testicals into the sea. The droplets of blood that spilled forth were fertile and became
a wellspring for life, producing the giants, the furies, and the tree-nymphs. The discarded
testicals, now bobbing in the ocean, frothed up a copious amount of foam, and from this
foam, Aphrodite was born. Other, later, accounts, such as Homer’s Iliad, list Aphrodite as
the daughter of Zeus
After Cronos supplants his father, he goes on to reincarcerate both the Hekatonkheires
and the Cyclopes in Tartarus, something Gaia was less than thrilled about. Following that,
Gaia and Uranus prophesied that the cycle of the son usurping the father would perpetuate
to the next generation. Cronos, fearing to be overthrown as he had his own father, attempted
to forestall his fate by devouring his infant children, trapping them inside him.
Beyond being the vanquished deity of a bygone era, Uranus doesn’t play much of a role
in Greek mythology. After his testicals are severed from his loins, his virility diminishes,
and his lusty night visits cease. Now sexually chastened, he keeps his distance, staying
high above the earth.
Interestingly, Uranus is one of the least Anthropomorphic deities in all of Greek mythology,
meaning he has little characterization with the human body. Aside from being castrated,
there isn’t, I believe, another instance that depicts uranus as having human body parts.
Even his sexual encounters with Gaia are devoid of traditional physicality. Uranus isn’t
described as having intercourse with Gaia by penetrating her with his phallus, but rather,
the two reproduce by Uranus enveloping Gaia, just as the sky envelopes the earth.
In comparison with many of the titans, gods, and heroes who came after him, Uranus is a
relatively obscure figure. One of the ways he lives on today is through the planet Uranus,
for which he is the namesake. The days of ancient Rome predated the invention of the
telescope by about 2000 years, so astronomers of that time were quite limited with what
they could see. Only five planets were perceptible to the human eye, and these the Romans named
after their most revered gods: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. It wasn’t until
the 18th century that a sixth planet was discovered. Uranus became the eponymous deity for the
sixth planet because he was seen as the natural addition. Both Venus and Mercury were the
children of Jupiter. Jupiter is the Roman equivalent of Zeus, and Saturn is Roman equivalent
of cronos. Having Uranus as the next planet continues the genealogical succession.
And that’s it for today’s video, if you enjoyed it- please remember to like the video
and subscribe to the channel. As always, leave your video suggestions down below.
Until next time
“That man is best who sees the truth himself. Good too is he who listens to wise counsel.
But who is neither wise himself nor willing to ponder wisdom is not worth a straw.”