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

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.”