The Immortals

The Immortals
Their powers were legendary and seemingly limitless. But how did the ancient Greeks perceive the Immortals? What were the Immortals like?

• The Immortals lived forever - they were vulnerable, they could be wounded but they could not be killed
• They lived in beautiful golden palaces, golden chariots drawn by fabulous creatures.
• They had mechanical servants similar to robots but who could talk and think
• They had fabulous weapons such as the thunderbolts hurled by Zeus
• They could control the weather
• They had the magical power of transformation - the gods and goddesses could transform themselves into animals or inanimate objects. They also had the power to transform others in terrible monsters or objects such as trees
• Their blood was a bright unearthly fluid called Ichor that had the power of producing new life
• The Immortal gods were perceived as resembling mortals, but they were superior in every way
  • They were more beautiful
  • They were taller
  • They were stronger
  • They had superior mental capabilities

Immortal Gods

• The Immortal gods married and had families
• The Immortal gods needed food, drink and sleep to nourish their bodies
• The Immortal gods wore the same styles of clothes to mortals but were made of finer materials
• The Immortal gods used similar styles of weapons as humans
• The Immortal gods had the same emotions as mortals and displayed feelings of love, gratitude, jealousy, hate and revenge
• In Ancient Greek mythology the Immortal gods and deities visited humans. fell in love and their children were called 'demigods' or 'Heroes' who were famous for their courage and great strength

Picture of Apollo riding his golden chariot

The Immortals in Greek Mythology
The Immortals in Greek mythology were the primeval deities, gods and goddesses who were initially born out of Chaos. The hierarchy of the Immortals can be classified in ancient Greek mythology as:

Chaos
The First Immortals
The Titans
The Olympians

Immortals family tree and Genealogy
The Immortals family tree provides an instant overview of the genealogy of the ancient Greek gods and goddesses - a 'who's who' of the famous names, family connections, genealogy and relationships between the main characters who feature in the legends and mythology of the Immortal gods and deities.

The Immortals in Greek Mythology - Chaos
Chaos was the first of all gods or divinities, a careless deity who ruled over confusion which was defined as the void of emptiness, within the universe. Chaos provided an explanation of the nature and genesis of the universe.

The Immortals were born out of Chaos

The Immortals in Greek Mythology - The First Immortals
The first Immortals came from Chaos and Nyx and emerged self-formed at the beginning of the creation of Earth who would create 'Order out of Chaos'. The names of the first Immortals were Gaia (Earth), Tartarus (Hell) and Eros (Love) and Erebus (Darkness). The first Immortals included Earth, Air, Sea, Sky, Darkness, Night, Light, Day, Fresh Water, Underworld, Procreation and Time. These primeval, immortal gods were inseparable from their native elements but also had genders and domains assigned to them.

The race of giants

The most famous of these primeval gods, the first of the Immortals, were Uranus, Gaia, Erebos, Tartarus, Pontus and Eros (not to be confused with the later god Eros who was the son of Aphrodite)

Immortals in Greek Mythology - The Titans
The first immortals were overthrown by their offspring, led by Cronus, who became known as the Titans. The names of the Immortals referred to as the Titans were:

• Male Titans: Oceanus, Hyperion, Coeus, Cronus, Crius and Iapetus
• Female Titanides: Mnemosyne, Tethys, Theia, Phoebe, Rhea and Themis

The Children of the Titans - Immortals
Each of the first generation of males joined with one of his sisters (the Titanides) to produce children. The second generation of Immortals consisted of:

• Eos, Helios, and Selene, Leto, Asteria, Atlas, Prometheus, Epimetheus, Menoetius, Metis, Astraeus, Pallas, Perses, Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Hades, Poseidon and Zeus

The Immortals - The Olympians
Some of the children of the Titans rebelled against the first Immortals starting a ten year conflict called the Battle of the Titans (the Titanomachy). In Greek mythology the first generation of the Immortals, the Titans, used Mount Othrys as their base. This was was assaulted by the younger Immortals, led by Zeus, who used Mount Olympus as their base. The younger immortals were victorious and became known as the Olympians. The names of the principle Olympian gods, who were also Immortals, were:

• Zeus, Hera, Athena, Hestia or Dionysus, Apollo, Ares, Aphrodite, Poseidon, Demeter, Artemis, Hephaestus and Hermes

The Titanomachy - The Battle of the Titans against the Olympians

Other Immortals
There were many other lesser deities who were also classed as Immortals such as the Nymphs, Dryads and Sirens. The children of unions between the gods and mortals were called Demigods and many of these were also considered as Immortal.

Mythical World of the Immortals for kids
We hope that you have enjoyed discovering interesting information about the Immortals. A fast educational resource for homework help containing interesting facts about the Immortal gods who feature in the mythology of Ancient Greece. Fascinating information to increase your knowledge about the World of the Immortal gods.

Immortals

• Interesting information about the Immortal gods and deities
• Legends and mythology about the World of the Immortal deities for kids
• Fast information and interesting about Immortal gods for kids
• Educational resource for teachers, homework help for children and kids
• Interesting mythical facts about primeval gods for kids
• The Immortal gods in ancient Greek Mythology