The fallen gods

Mankind prefers their gods to be invincible for their own closure. Long before mankind roamed the earth or gods ruled it, history witnessed a time when Titans ruled the heaven and the oceans. It tells us about Titanomachy, the battle between Titans and gods which submerged all of heaven in holy blood. It in reality revealed how similar the gods were to us.

It all started with a prophecy born out of a conspiracy. In the beginning there was only chaos. Heaven and earth used to be nameless places. Then out of the void appeared the very first king Uranus and his wife Gaia. Uranus was the first ruler to reign over the holy land. Together Uranus and Gaia gave birth to the Cyclopes and the Titans. Uranus was worshipped by every being in the universe. However, he feared that the giant Cyclopes would someday overthrow him from his throne. Cyclopes were the one eyed monsters with the height of mountains. So he ordered their imprisonment in Tartarus. Tartarus was the prison at the heart of the underworld. The world then was divided into four layers; first one was the underworld where darkness dwelled with his friend fire. Then was the sea where mystery used to roam around the depth. Third layer was the earth and soil where humans lived and prayed to fuel the immortality of the gods. And the last layer was the sky that reached to heaven. Legends have defined Tartarus as a dungeon of torment and sufferings. Tartarus used to hold ungodly monsters, primordial giants and witches as prisoners. It was built by the great Hephastesous under the order of Uranus. It was the dual existence of indefinable horror and deathly silence. Watching Cyclopes being tortured in Tartarus fumed Gaia's rage. She chartered a plot to overthrow Uranus. From the stone of heavenly wisdom Gaia made a sickle for the Titans to attack Uranus. However no other Titan had the courage to carry out the plan except Cronus. He was the youngest of the Titans. Cronus assured Gaia to release the Cyclopes upon becoming the king. So, one morning as Uranus was going to meet Gaia at her chamber, Cronus ambushed him and castrated him with his sickle. He ordered the execution of injured Uranus to Tartarus and was crowned as the new king. However, he broke his promise to his mother. Like his father, Cronus also considered the Cyclopes as a threat against his throne. He did not release them. It left Gaia heartbroken. It was then when she uttered the prophecy in words.

It was the sixth year of the prodigious Titanomachy. Titans and gods had been fighting the bloodcurdling war ever since Zeus claimed his right on the throne of heaven. Since then many a monster and angel have died to refuge the thirst of power. Cronus was seated on his throne on Mount Othrys. His reign introduced heaven and earth to the legendary Golden Age. It was so much in harmony and peace that laws became abundant in it. Until six years ago when his realm was challenged by the gods of Mount Olympus led by Zeus. In that precise moment his brother Oceanus was kneeled down before him. Oceanus was the titan of the oceans and protector of the one sea that bounds the world. He was one of the few titans who persisted to join the battle of Titanomachy for the sake of a poisonous throne. Cronus looked him in the eye and asked,

"Is it true that Prometheus is helping Zeus and the other gods to defeat me?"
"I believe so!" Oceanus sounded very calm.
Cronus seemed a little forlorn. "What is the reason of my misfortune Oceanus? One brother refuses to join me in my battle and another join hands with my enemy!" He said after a deep breath
Oceanus kept silent looking at the ground.
"Brother, if you don't answer my questions, I would have no choice but to lock you up in Tarturus!" Cronus said.
Oceanus faked a subtle smile and replied, "This will not be your first time to put a brother in Tarturus."
Cronus got up from his throne and came down on his knees before Oceanus, holding both of his arms Cronus said, "Join me in the battle Oceanus? This is your fight too!"
"Your war is not righteous, Cronus!" Oceanus said.
"You know very well whom it is they revolt against! Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, all of them!" Cronus shouted out loud enough to shake the earth.
Oceanus smiled again and said, "Were you so different?"
Cronus stared at him with a wrathful rage. He then ordered his execution to Tarturus.

Mount Othrys looked very serene from the peak of Mount Olympus. Zeus was looking at it as his eyes met the horizon. He was thinking about the rebel Titan Prometheus who united with the gods of Olympia to defeat Cronus. Prometheus was the Titan of light who could not bear the sight of the cruelty Cronus did to his brothers. He was the bravest of the Titans. Inclusion of him in his army had made Zeus a lot stronger. With Prometheus joining Zeus there was only one Titan left to be feared upon. His name was Atlas. Legends used to say that Atlas could carry the sky on his shoulders. With Atlas guarding the gates of Mount Othrys, Titans became rather invincible. As he was sunk in his thoughts Zeus saw both of his elder brothers Poseidon and Hades inflowing the chamber. They had been leading the holy battle from the beginning alongside Zeus. And it was from them that Zeus heard one of the most protuberant news in the history of Titanomachy. The Olympian gods had a new weapon designer to make weapons and shields for them. Their mother Rhea convinced him to do so. During the initial period of the battle Zeus freed the Cyclopes from Tartarus. With the help of the Cyclopes he promised Rhea to create weapons more furious than death itself. This weapon maker was the illustrious Haphastesous, the designer of Tartarus.

Oceanus was being escorted to Tartarus by another Titan named Hyperion. Hyperion was the Titan of crops who had the possession of an invincible bow and arrow. It was said that the Hyperion bow could kill any living being of this universe. There were hundreds of ways to enter Tartarus but only one of them led to the center of it. All the other ways were parts of a complex maze with death guarding every corner of it. Hyperion locked up Oceanus at a cell beside the cave of Uranus. And that is how after a long time Oceanus saw his father again.

Years went by with the speed of a wind chariot. To Uranus it felt like an immortality being trapped in Tartarus. Sometimes his wife Gaia would come to visit him. She used to tell him stories of the reign of Cronus and how her prophecy came true. Gaia foretold that Cronus would have to embrace the same fate as Uranus. He would be overthrown by one of his sons too. To prevent episode of the prophecy, Cronus killed all of his children at birth. But his wife Rhea could not stay still as she watched her children being killed one after another. So, when Zeus was born she hid him and gave him to the nymphs. Zeus kept running and hiding from the rage of Cronus throughout his childhood. As he grew up, Zeus vowed to take over the reign of heaven. Zeus revived all of his brothers from the dead to help him in the war. Then he freed the Cyclopes from Tartarus. In return the Cyclopes build him the weapon of lightening. Lastly the realm of Cronus was challenged by his youngest son Zeus.

It was the tenth year of the battle. It seemed like the warfare will go on till immortality. Weapons created by the greatest Hephastesous or Prometheus fighting alongside them; nothing seemed to have worked. Zeus was sitting in his chamber with his brothers Poseidon and Hades. Apollo was standing alongside. He was the son of Zeus and the God of the sun. There was an inhuman silence in the room. It was Hades who spoke first.

"Brother, Does Hyperion still possesses his bow and arrow?" he asked Zeus.
"Yes!" Zeus replied.
"Can we separate the bow from him in any way?"  Hades asked Zeus again.
"Why? Do you have a plan?" Zeus asked him.
With a mysterious smile on his face Hades said, "Yes!"

Then from the wicked mind of Hades was incepted a sly strategy to defeat the Titans. Apollo was sent to steal the Hyperion Bow. Apollo ordered the sun to shine bright enough to blind even gods. So, one morning when Hyperion woke up from sleep, he was struck by the rising sun. The rays were too bright for him to see. In the meantime with the help of the rising sun Apollo stole the Bow. He gave it to a nymph to hide it. Upon hiding the bow, he killed the nymph so that no living soul can ever find out where it was. Followed was the darkest part of the plan. From his own flesh and blood Hades gave birth to an unspeakable horror, a monstrous beast named Kraken. It had one hundred and fifty five legs and one hundred and fifty five hands with a body big enough to cover the depth of seas. Legends said that Kraken was the child of the underworld and it was fed the souls of sinners. No god or no Titan could stand a chance in front the unholy creature. With the Hyperion Bow gone, there was nothing left to stop the Kraken. So, after seven days of blood cuddling battle Kraken defeated the Titans in the one sea that bounded the world.

After ten blood thirsty years the battle of Titanomachy ended. Oceanus was freed from Tartarus. All the Titans who fought alongside Cronus were thrown into Tartarus except Atlas. He was punished to carry the sky on his shoulders till immortality. Fate is a cruel sinner; it never remains the same for anybody. The indomitable Cronus was imprisoned in Tartarus. Kraken returned to the underworld. The gods of Mount Olympia divided the world among themselves. Zeus got the possession of the sky while Poseidon got the sea. And Hades tricked by Zeus was left with the Underworld. Cronus, the youngest son of Uranus, was caged up by his youngest son Zeus in the same cave he once built for his father. Even a god was deprived of the power to outlive the consequence of his measures.


The author is a network engineer & freelance fiction writer