So it all starts with chaos. Not what it sounds like, but literally Chaos, the very first being in creation.  He sat there for millions of years just being…there. Pretty lonely, I know. Also the Greeks assume that the void called Chaos is represented, as a human being is simply how they would understand it. Anyway, he was bored of just existing all alone in the universe and preceded to get a little creative.
He created Erebus, the god (some will say) or titan of darkness. Really fun at parties, I’m sure. Hooray, Chaos has someone to talk to.
Soon after, Chaos went creation- happy. After Erebus, he created the titan of Night, Nyx. Later Hemera of love and light had emerged from the Nyx. Nyx had produced a lot of others including Doom, Fate, Death, Sleep, Dreams and Nemesis. They must be really sweet. Though, Hemera and Nyx hated each other; they were complete opposites, like night and day.
From Hemera appeared Gaea, the earth, had appeared. Gaea gave birth to Ouranos, the sky. Ouranos became Gaea’s husband “covering her from all sides”. Gross. Together they produced twelve perfect little titans: Oceanus, Crius, Mnemosyne, Theia, Cronos, Themis Coeus, Rhea, Atlas, Epimetheus, and Prometheus, Iapetus, and Hyperion. Later they made more less-than-perfect offspring (if twelve wasn’t enough), the Cyclopes and the three Hecatoncheries, giant creatures with 100 arms and hands and 50 heads.
Gaea loved her children dearly, Ouranos …not so much. He hated the Hecatoncheries he threw them in the hidden pit of the earth, Tartarus. #1 Dad, right? This angered Gaea (as if it wouldn’t). She used the resources deep within the earth and forged them together to make the first weapon, the stone sickle. She urged one of her twelve titan children to slay Ouranos. If he or she succeeded he or she will get a pat on the back and become the next ruler of Greece. This is beyond the help of the god of marriage counseling. However, all of them were too afraid to do it, except the runt of the litter, Cronus, the titan of time. You may have heard of him in Greek mythology of also being a great father to his children (sarcasm fully intended).
Gaea and Cronus spent some quality mother/child time planning and preparing the ambush and murder for Ouranos. The plan was: when Ouranos lays with Gaea for the night (or goes to bed) Cronus will grab him and kill him. The complexity of the plan was mastermind.
Cronus succeeds and throws the severed pieces of his father in the ocean. Poor Oceanus has to deal with the pieces now. However, since Ouranos is a divine being he cannot technically die, at least for forever. In different versions of the myth, it is said that Ouranos simply became dormant, withdrew from the earth or exiled himself.
Ouranos didn’t leave without saying a few words goodbye, of course. In his parting words he said Cronus and the Titans would be punished and with that, his split blood made a few new mythical species (some not so nice).
Cronus became the next ruler. He married his sister Rhea (gross) and they made more offspring (even more gross). He ruled for many ages (still keeping the Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheries in Tartarus). All was going well when suddenly Gaea had remembered she had seen a prophecy Cronus would be overthrown by a son (like a certain Ouranos we know).
Cronus freaked because he liked his position and didn’t want to give it up much like a child not wanting to give up a toy because he or she likes it too much. Cronus panicked and to quell the dilemma, he made the logical decision to EAT every child when they were born.
Mama Rhea was obviously a little ticked off because of this. She plotted against him. Sabotaging husbands must be a natural mother’s instinct.
By child #6, Rhea hid herself and had the baby and gave up the child to some nymphs (woodland spirits) to raise him. What she gave to Cronus was a rock swaddled in some blankets. What is even more bizarre was that he believed it and ate it. Delicious.
On the other hand, that child was, you guessed it, Zeus. He grew up to be a handsome boy. He consulted Metis (the titan of wisdom) on how to defeat Cronus. Metis whipped up a drink that would make Cronus vomit.
Zeus and Rhea managed to pull some strings and get Zeus into Mount Olympus (home of the gods). Zeus was a cupbearer for Cronus and put the poison in.
In result, Cronus barfed up Zeus’s five siblings safe and sound. They made him the new ruler as thanks for freeing them from their father’s bowels. It would have been quite difficult to find that on a Hallmark card.
Cronus was not defeated just yet. Zeus and his freshly vomited brothers joined forces to fight. It took awhile and nothing is working. Zeus is smart so he went down to Tartarus and freed the Cyclopes and the Hecatoncheries (remember them?). The Cyclopes made lightning bolts as weapons for Zeus and the Hecatoncheries rained down hundreds and hundreds of boulders down on the Titans.
Zeus won the war and took his place as ruler (and stayed their). Over time more mythical creatures, titans, monsters, and gods and goddesses were coming into existence. For instance, the discarded pieces of Ouranos created sea foam from which Aphrodite, the goddess of love, emerged. I know, there is no correlation. Anyway, the web of figures in Greek mythology becomes more and more complicated and intricate. One could only imagine the problems that arise when all of these hundreds of divine beings live in one universe. One could say it would be…chaos.