Dysfunctional Divine Families
The mean streak seen in Greek gods’ lore is understandable if we consider their origins. Had they been mortals, we would describe them as the products of traumatic childhoods and dysfunctional families. The dysfunction began with their father Cronus, leader of the Titans who preceded the Olympian gods as masters of the world. Cronus envied the power of his father Uranus, Father Sky, the primal Greek god who ruled the universe. So he plotted with his mother, Gaia, Mother Earth, who was angry at her hubby for some slight.
Gaia gave Cronus a sickle, with which he castrated his father Uranus, then threw away the testicles. An understandably upset Uranus vowed vengeance upon his son, and cursed him – probably in high soprano. He prophesied that just like he had overthrown his own father, Cronus would someday be overthrown by his own children. As seen below, Cronus went to extraordinary lengths of divine child abuse to ensure that his kids did not do to him what he had done to his own Dear Papa.
