XPost: sac.politics, can.politics, alt.atheism   
   XPost: alt.politics.homosexuality, alt.religion.christian   
   From: gods@gods.net   
      
   In the beginning there was only Chaos. Then out of the void appeared   
   Erebus, the unknowable place where death dwells, and Night. All else   
   was empty, silent, endless, dark. Then, Love was born bringing along   
   the beginning of order. From Love emerged Light, followed by Gaea, the   
   earth.   
      
   Erebus slept with Night, eventually giving birth to Ether, the heavenly   
   light, and to Day, the earthly light. Then, Night alone created Doom,   
   Fate, Death, Sleep, Dreams, Nemesis, and all things that dwell in the   
   darkness haunting mankind.   
      
   Meanwhile, Gaea alone gave birth to Uranus, the sky. Uranus became   
   Gaea's husband, surrounding her on all sides. Together, they produced   
   the three Cyclopes, the three Hecatoncheires, and twelve Titans.   
      
   However, Uranus was a cruel father and husband. He hated the   
   Hecatoncheires and imprisoned them by pushing them into the hidden   
   places of the earth, Gaea's womb. This angered Gaea and she plotted   
   against Uranus. She made a flint sickle and tried to get her children   
   to attack Uranus. All were too afraid, except the youngest Titan,   
   Cronus.   
      
   Gaea and Cronus set up an ambush of Uranus as he lay with Gaea at   
   night. Cronus grabbed his father and castrated him with the sickle,   
   throwing the severed genitals into the ocean. It is unclear as to what   
   happened to Uranus afterwards; he either died, withdrew from the earth,   
   or exiled himself to Italy. As he departed, he promised that Cronus and   
   the Titans would be punished. From the blood that was spilled on the   
   earth due to his castration, emerged the Giants, the Ash Tree Nymphs,   
   and the Erinnyes. From the sea foam that was produced when his genitals   
   fell in the ocean, emerged Aphrodite.   
      
   Cronus became the next ruler. He imprisoned the Cyclopes and the   
   Hecatoncheires in Tartarus. He married his sister Rhea, and had many   
   children. He ruled for many ages; however, Gaea and Uranus both had   
   prophesied that Cronus would be eventually overthrown by a son. To   
   avoid this, Cronus swallowed all of his children as they were born.   
   Rhea was angry at the treatment of the children and plotted against   
   Cronus. When it was time to give birth to her sixth child, Rhea hid   
   herself, then she left the child to be raised by nymphs. To conceal her   
   act she wrapped a stone in swaddling cloths and passed it off as the   
   baby to Cronus, who swallowed it.   
      
   This child was Zeus. He grew into a handsome youth at the island of   
   Crete. He consulted Metis on how to defeat Cronus. She prepared a drink   
   for Cronus designed to make him vomit the other children. Rhea   
   convinced Cronus to accept his son and Zeus was allowed to return to   
   Mount Olympus as Cronus's cupbearer, giving him the opportunity to   
   serve Metis' potion to Cronus. The plan work perfectly and the other   
   five children emerged out of Cronus. As gods, they were unharmed and   
   thankful to their youngest brother, they made him their leader.   
      
   Cronus was yet to be defeated though. He and the Titans, except   
   Prometheus, Epimetheus, and Oceanus, fought to retain their power; this   
   led to the War between the Titans and the Olympians called Titanomachy.   
   Atlas became their leader in battle and it looked for some time as   
   though they would win and put the young gods down. However, Zeus was   
   cunning; he went to Tartarus and freed the Cyclopes and the   
   Hecatoncheires. Prometheus joined Zeus as well. He returned to battle   
   with his new allies; the Cyclopes provided Zeus with lightning bolts   
   for weapons; the Hecatoncheires were armed with boulders, waiting in an   
   ambush. At the right time, Zeus retreated drawing the Titans into the   
   Hecatoncheires's ambush, who rained down hundreds of boulders with such   
   a fury that the Titans thought the mountains were falling on them. They   
   ran away, leaving Zeus victorious.   
      
   Zeus exiled the Titans who had fought against him into Tartarus, with   
   the exception of Atlas, who being the leader of the opposing force, was   
   punished to hold the universe on his shoulders.   
      
   However, even after this victory, Zeus was not safe. Gaea, angry that   
   her children had been imprisoned, gave birth to her last child, Typhon.   
   Typhon was the deadliest monster in Greek mythology and was known as   
   the "Father of All Monsters". He was so fearsome that most of the gods   
   fled; however, Zeus faced the monster and flinging his lighting bolts   
   was able to kill it. Typhon was buried under Mount Etna in Sicily.   
      
   Much later, Zeus faced a final challenge set by the Giants. They went   
   so far as to attempt to invade Mount Olympus, piling mountain upon   
   mountain in an effort to reach the top. Nevertheless, the gods had   
   already grown strong, and with the help of Heracles, the Giants were   
   subdued and killed.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)