The Titans are the race of immortals who ruled the universe after the Protogenoi, and before the rise of the Olympians. Kronos was their king, with Rhea as his queen.
History
The Titans were one of three sets of beings born to Gaea and Ouranos, the personifications of the Earth and sky, respectively. Ouranos had earlier imprisoned his elder children, the Cyclops and the Hekatonkheires, in Tartarus because of his respective contempt and fear of them. While Ouranos no doubt took delight in his wicked works, Gaea was outraged by the treatment of her sons and conspired with her remaining children to overthrow Ouranos. She presented them a new weapon she had forged (a large and jagged scythe), urging them to take it in order to rise up and take action against their father. All of them refused to do so out of fear of their father — except Kronos, the youngest and most terrible of the Titans, who agreed to kill his father and punish him for his cruelty. Taking the scythe, Kronos convinced his four brothers, Hyperion, Krios, Koios and Iapetus to help him. Gaea lured Ouranos down to the earth to meet her for a romantic dinner while Kronos and his brothers lied in wait to ambush their father. Hyperion, Krios, Koios and Iapetus leaped forth from their hiding places and grabbed Ouranos by each of his arms and legs, pinning him to the ground. Kronos then sprung out and attacked, taking the scythe in his hands and cutting off his father's genitals. He soon chopped Ouranos up into a thousand pieces and threw his severed genitals into the sea so as to insult to his brother Oceanus for refusing to participate in the conspiracy. Fresh from his victory, Kronos seized supremacy amongst the Titans and became their king.
Kronos took his sister Rhea as his queen and ruled for countless eons. Mankind was first created in his reign though they were unsophisticated and simple — this time later came to be known as the "Golden Age". Like his father before him, Kronos grew into a corrupt tyrant along with many of the other Titans.
Shortly after releasing his brothers, the Elder Cyclopes and Hekatonkheires, Kronos became disgusted by their awful smell and the noise they made and summoned the other two most powerful Titans, Hyperion and Atlas, to reimprision them. He also hired Kampê, the most terrifying monster in Tartarus, to guard them.
Eventually, Kronos learned that he was destined to be overthrown by his own offspring just as he had usurped his father. To evade his fate, Kronos would devour his five elder children before a desperate Rhea saved her sixth and last child, Zeus by substituting a stone for his father to consume as advised by Gaea. Raised in secrecy, Zeus would grow to adulthood and free his siblings to wage war against Kronos and the other Titans.
The Titans originally had the upper hand against the gods in battle as they were more experienced and skilled but with the help of the Elder Cyclopes and Hekatonkheires and their extremely powerful newly crafted weapons, the gods quickly gained the upper hand. After eleven years of battle, the younger immortals emerged victorious; Zeus used Kronos' scythe to slice him into thousands of pieces just as he had done to his father, scattering his remains into Tartarus. Kronos' brothers were also cast into Tartarus, while Atlas was condemned to hold up the sky as punishment for leading the Titans' forces. With the Titans defeated, Zeus and his siblings assumed power as the the new rulers of the cosmos.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians
With the help of Luke Castellan, Kronos began working on reforming and bringing the Titans back to power. He successfully returns by possessing Luke and leads the Titan army against the gods. However, the Titans are defeated once more in the Battle of Manhattan and Kronos' essence is scattered so much when Luke sacrifices himself to defeat him that he will hopefully never form a consciousness again let alone a body. The remaining Titans either fled afterwards or were defeated and reimprisoned.
The Heroes of Olympus
The Lost Hero
It's revealed that during the Second Titan War, the Twelfth Legion destroyed the Titan stronghold on Mount Othrys. Jason Grace states that he had destroyed Krios himself.
The House of Hades
The Titan Iapetus, now known as Bob after having his memory wiped, comes to the aid of Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase in Tartarus, helping to guide the two demigods through the realm.
Later, Krios and Hyperion are guarding the Doors of Death when the trio arrives. Enraged by Hyperion's insults, Tartarus himself appears and consumes the two Titans. Bob is apparently destroyed as well while holding Tartarus off with the help of the Gigantes Damasen so that Percy and Annabeth can escape through the Doors of Death.
The Trials of Apollo
The Tower of Nero
Apollo recalls the final battle with Kronos and his forces, comparing it to a possible battle with Nero.
After hearing a voice calling out to him for help from Tartarus, Nico di Angelo becomes convinced that Bob is still alive and decides to travel into Tartarus to try to find out what happened to Bob and to rescue him if he can. Apollo is surprised that Nico wants to help a Titan, but Nico explains how Bob had helped them out before.
The Nico di Angelo Adventures
The Sun and the Star: A Nico di Angelo Adventure
Two months after the defeat of Nero and Python, Nico di Angelo and Will Solace embark upon their quest into Tartarus to rescue Bob. The two succeed in rescuing both the Titan and Small Bob from Nyx and, upon returning to the mortal world, Bob decides to head west, not sure of where he's going, but excited at the possibilities before him now. In addition, it's revealed that Hades had sent the prophecy to his son as Hades had wanted Nico to rescue Bob from Tartarus.
First Generation
Hyperion, one of the elder Titans
The original Titans were the children of Gaea and Ouranos.
- Oceanus: Father of the Waters and Titan of the Oceans and Water.
- Hyperion: Lord of the East and Titan of the Light, Watching and Observation.
- Iapetus: Lord of the West and Titan of Mortality and Pain.
- Koios: Lord of the North and Titan of Intellect and the Axis of Heaven.
- Krios: Lord of the South and Titan of the Heavenly Constellations.
- Theia: Consort of Hyperion and Titaness of Sight and Splendor.
- Themis: Lady of Conduct and Titaness of Divine Law, Natural Order, and Tradition.
- Tethys: Wife of Oceanus and Titaness of the Seas, Freshwater and Nursing.
- Phoebe: Wife of Koios and Titaness of Intellect and the Oracle of Delphi.
- Mnemosyne: Lady of Remembrance and Titaness of Memory, Words and Language.
- Rhea: Queen of Mount Othrys and Titaness of Motherhood, Fertility and Generation.
- Kronos: King of Mount Othrys and Titan of Time and Agriculture.
Second Generation
Children of Hyperion and Theia
- Eos: Titaness of the Dawn, Morning Red, Dew and Frost, Consort of Astraeus, Mother of wind gods and who sided with the Olympians.
- Helios: Lord of Sight and Titan of the Sun, Heat and Measurement of Time, who sided with the Olympians.
- Selene: Titaness of the Moon, Night, Lunacy and Radiance. Consort of Endymion, who sided with the Olympians.
Children of Iapetus and Klymene
- Atlas: Titan of Endurance, Consort of Pleione, Father of the Hesperides, the Pleiades, the Hyades, Calypso, Maera and Hyas, and Bearer of Heaven.
- Menoetius: Titan of Anger, Rash Action and Violent Rage.
- Prometheus: Titan of Forethought and Crafty Counsel, Consort of Pronoea, Father of Deucalion and Aidos and "Benefactor" of Mankind.
- Epimetheus: Titan of Afterthought and Excuse, Consort of Pandora and Father of Pyrrha.
Children of Koios and Phoebe
- Asteria: Titaness of Starry Night and Prophetic Dreams, Consort of Perses. Mother of Hecate.
- Leto: Titaness of Demurity and Protector of the Young. Mother of Artemis and Apollo.
- Lelantos: Titan of Air, Hunt, Unseen Movement and the Hunter's Skill of Stalking Prey, Consort of Periboea and Father of Aura.
Children of Krios and Eurybia
- Astraeus: Titan of the Dusk and Astrology, Consort of Eos, Father of Wind Gods Anemoi.
- Perses: Titan of Destruction and Consort of Asteria, Father of Hecate.
- Pallas: Titan of Warcraft and Consort of Styx.
Children of Oceanus and Tethys
- Oceanids: Daughters of the Ocean. Important Oceanides:
- Styx: Goddess of the River Styx, Oaths, Hatred, and the eldest child.
- Klymene: Goddess of Fame and Renown, Consort of Iapetus, and mother of Atlas, Prometheus, Epimetheus and Menoetius.
- Metis: Goddess of Wise Counsel, and mother of Athena.
- Dione: Goddess of the Oracle of Dodona.
- Doris: Goddess of Pure Water and Rich Fishing-Grounds, Consort of Nereus and mother of the Nereids.
- Periboea: Goddess of Pastureland and Small-streams, Consort of Lelantos and Mother of Aura.
- Electra: Nephelae-Goddess of the amber storm-clouds, Consort of Thaumas.
- Pleione: Goddess of Plenty, Consort of Atlas, Mother of the Pleiades, the Hesperides, the Hyades and Hyas.
- Hesione: Minor Goddess of Foresight, Consort of Prometheus and Mother of Deucalion.
- Potamoi: Gods of the Rivers.
- Achelous: God of the River Achelous.
- Peneus: God of the River Peneus/Pineios.
- Scamander (or amongst the gods, Xanthos/Xanthus): God of the River Scamander.
- The East River Spirit
- The Hudson River Spirit
- Tiberinus, god of the Tiber
- Acheron, god of River Acheron
- Cocytus, god of River Cocytus
- Phlegethon, god of River Phlegethon
Third Generation
Children of Styx and Pallas
- Zelus: God of Dedication, Jealously, Envy, Zeal.
- Nike: Goddess of Victory.
- Cratos: God of Strength, Might and Sovereign Rule.
- Bia: Goddess of Force, Might, and Power.
Children of Atlas and Pleione
- The Hesperides: Goddesses of Evening and Sunset.
- The Pleiades: Ladies of Plenty.
- The Hyades: Goddesses of Seasonal Rains.
- Hyas: God of Seasonal Rains.
Children of Atlas and Tethys
Children of Perses and Asteria
- Hecate: Goddess of Magic.
Children of Eos and Astraeus
- Anemoi: The Four Seasonal Wind Gods
- Astra Planeta: Gods of the Planets
- Eosphorus & Hesperus: Gods of the Planet Venus. Eosphorus, the God of the Morning Star Venus, and Hesperus, God of the Evening Star Venus.
- Pyroeis: God of the Planet Mars.
- Phaenon: God of the Planet Saturn.
- Phaethon: God of the Planet Jupiter.
- Stilbon: God of the Planet Mercury.
- Astraea: Virgin Goddess of Purity, Innocence, and Justice.
Children of Lelantos and Periboea
- Aura: Titaness of Breezes.
Abilities
- The power of the Titans is arguably equal to that of the gods, as Kronos stated that the Olympians would fade soon after the destruction of their thrones. The Titans, however, had their entire mountain fortress on Mount Othrys destroyed millennia ago, yet they have retained enough strength to lead a war against the Olympian gods. However, this is disputable as the Titans ultimately lost their first war to the gods, although not all the Titans fought Olympus (such as Oceanus or Prometheus) and the gods had the aid of the Hekatonkhieres, the Elder Cyclopes, and other Titans who joined their side (such as Styx, Selene, and others). Also, the defeat of Kronos and the destruction of Mount Othrys left them extremely weak for thousands of years and only with the pledging of loyalty by many demigods were the Titans able to rise again. It is also worth noting that by the onset of the Second Titan War, Mount Othrys was fully restored and it was a major target for the Olympians during the war.
- Essentially all Titans possess vast supernatural strength, speed, and durability, possibly more so than the gods. Kronos is stated to be physically extremely powerful since he is essentially the most powerful and dangerous of all the Titans, but since Atlas is the Titan of Endurance and Strength, he is possibly narrowly as powerful as Kronos; Percy found it impossible to go blow-for-blow with Atlas (this may have been due to the curse Ares inflicted on him so that his sword would fail him in the fight with the Titan), and both Artemis and Zoë Nightshade found it extremely difficult to combat Atlas.
- According to Dionysus, Kronos' true divine form is so violent that mortals are incinerated by simply being in its presence, and it also empowers the other Titans. As he is the Titan King it is unknown if it applies for all Titans or just him.
- The Titans had complete dominion over the very elements and most likely 'gave birth' to the things they preside over (e.g. Selene and Helios being the Moon and Sun instead of a deity of the moon and sun like Artemis and Apollo).
- Titans possess the ability to release an incredible wave of force, usually accompanied by a yell or flick of the hand.
- With the help of two demigods, Iapetus was capable of taking on the protogenos Nyx for a brief period of time. Similarly, he held off Tartarus with the help of Damasen long enough for Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase to reach the mortal world through the Doors of Death, although he died in the process and was sent to reform.
- Even without his memories, Iapetus retained an instinctual knowledge of both Tartarus and the Underworld and was able to guide Percy and Annabeth through Tartarus and get himself, Small Bob, the cacodemons, Nico and Will out of the Underworld in Gorgyra's Canoe and into Long Island Sound through an unknown exit rather than having to use the Door of Orpheus.
Trivia
- Titan is a moon of Saturn, named after this species. It is the second-largest moon in the Solar System. Appropriately, Saturn is also the Roman name/aspect of Kronos.
- The element Titanium is named after the Titans.
- Titans can be expelled and scattered. An example of this is how Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, and Grover Underwood let Luke Castellan stab his Achilles´ Heel to expel Kronos.