Uranus or Ouranos (Ancient Greek: Οὐρᾰνός, Ourănós meaning "sky", "space", “celestial sphere”, “Universe”) was the primordial Greek godpersonifying the sky and one of the Greek primordial deities. Uranus is associated with the Roman god Caelus. In Ancient Greek literature, Uranus or Father Sky was the son and husband of Gaia, Mother Earth. According to Hesiod's Theogony, Uranus was conceived by Gaia alone, but Roman sources cite Ether as his father (as Caelus).
Uranus and Gaia were the parents of the first generation of Titans, and the ancestors of most of the Greek gods, but no cult addressed directly to Uranus survived into Classical times, and Uranus does not appear among the usual themes of Greek painted pottery. Elemental Earth, Sky, and Styx might be joined, however, in a solemn invocation in Homeric epic.
Etymology[]
The most probable etymology traces the name to a Proto-Greek form *Worsănós (Ϝορσᾰνός) enlarged from *worsó- (also found in Greek ouréō 'to urinate', Sanskrit varṣá 'rain', Hittite warša- 'fog, mist'). The basic Indo-European root is *ṷérs- 'to rain, moisten' (also found in Greek eérsē 'dew', Sanskrit várṣati 'to rain', Avestan aiβi.varəšta 'it rained on'), making Ouranos the 'rainmaker'.
A less likely etymology is a derivative with meaning 'the one standing on high' from PIE *wérso- (cf. Sanskrit várṣman 'height, top', Lithuanian viršùs 'upper, highest seat', Russian verx 'height, top'). Of some importance in the comparative study of Indo-European mythology is the identification by Georges Dumézil (1934) of Uranus with the Vedic deity Váruṇa (Mitanni Aruna), god of the sky and waters, but the etymological equation is considered untenable.
The Mutilation of Uranus by Saturn: fresco by Giorgio Vasari and Cristofano Gherardi, c. 1560 (Sala di Cosimo I, Palazzo Vecchio)
Genealogy[]
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| Preceded by: Chaos |
King of the Greek Gods Mythic |
Succeeded by Cronus (Contested with Ophion) |
Gallery[]
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| Titans | |
|---|---|
| Parents | Ouranós • Gaîa |
| Elder Titans | Coeus • Crius • Cronus • Hyperion • Iapetus • Oceanus |
| Elder Titanesses | Phoebe • Mnemosyne • Rhea • Theia • Themis • Tethys |
| Coeonides | Asteria • Leto |
| Crionides | Astraeus • Pallas • Perses |
| Hyperionides | Eos • Hḗlios • Selene |
| Iapetonides | Atlas • Epimetheus • Menoetius • Prometheus |
| Oceanides | Oceanids (Clymene • Metis • Styx • Rhode) • Potamoi |
| Third Generation | Hecate • Astraea • Anemoi • Astra Planeta • Kratos • Nike • Bia • Zelus |
| Miscellaneous Titans | Dione • Anytos • Ophion • Eurynome (wife of Ophion) • Lelantos • Melisseus • Titan (brother of Helios) • Olymbros • Syceus • Titanic Muses |
| Topics | Overthrowing of Ouranós • Titanomachy |
| Protogenoi | |
|---|---|
| Hesiodic Theogony | Kháos • Gaîa • Tártaros • Eros • Nyx • Erebus • Ouranós • Ourea • Póntos • Aether • Hemera |
| Orphic Theogony | Hydros • Thesis • Physis • Phanes • Ananke • Chronos |
| Miscellaneous Accounts | Thalassa • Oceanus • Tethys • Thetis • Achlys • Caligo |