The Titans were the children of which two primal beings?

• A. Zeus and Hera
• B. Nyx and Erebus
• C. Gaia and Uranus
• D. Cronus and Rhea

Answer: (C)

Think of the Titans as the first generation of Greek gods born from the very first powers of the world: Gaia, the Earth, and Uranus, the Sky. In Hesiod’s telling, Gaia and Uranus pair to produce the twelve Titans (along with the Cyclopes and Hecatoncheires as part of that early birth). This places Gaia and Uranus as the parents of the Titans, before the Olympian gods come on the scene. Nyx and Erebus are primordial beings of night and darkness with their own lineage, not the parents of the Titans. Cronus and Rhea are themselves Titans, children of Gaia and Uranus, who later beget the Olympian gods with Rhea. Zeus and Hera are Olympians, not the parents of the Titans.