

But for a moment in time when the Titans ruled, everything was seemingly perfect. With every subsequent Age of Man, poets recounted how humanity sunk deeper and deeper into the pains of evil. It was a bucolic scene of rustic innocence and universal peace.
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Humanity was free of sorrow and suffering, and there was no crime. Before the creation of arts, the planet produced so much food that there was no need for agriculture. According to Hesiod, this was a time of great prosperity. The Titans ruled during the Golden Age of Man. They acted as four corners of the Earth, and Iapetus represented the West. Thanks to their part in helping Cronus remove Uranus from power, Iapetus and his three brothers went on to personify the pillars that separated the Earth and the Heavens. With their plan victorious, Cronus rose to the throne. Iapetus, Crius, Coeus, and Hyperion held their father down while Cronus used the sickle to castrate him. The young Titan ambushed Uranus, and his brothers swiftly jumped into action. Gaia created a sickle out of adamantine and gave it to her youngest son, Cronus. Frustrated with her consort, Gaia hatched a plan that Iapetus would participate. The Titans trapped in Tartarus were Iapetus, Oceanus, Tethys, Hyperion, Theia, Crius, Coeus, Rhea, Phoebe, Mnemosyne, Themis, and Cronus. Because the primordial gods didn’t take on human-like forms, some scholars believe that Cronus housed them in Gaia’s womb. In some versions of the tale, he hid his children deep within Gaia. In reality, he was setting the stage for the famed succession myth. In doing so, he thought that he was protecting his place on the throne. Fearing a succession of power, he cast 12 Titans, the three Cyclops, and the three Hecatoncheires into the depths of Tartarus. Iapetus was just one of the Titan gods hidden in Tartarus by Uranus.

According to “The Illiad” by Homer, he almost didn’t exist at all. His parents were some of the first two beings to exist. Iapetus is an elder Titan born from the primordial gods Uranus and Gaia. While most stories of Iapetus are lost to the sands of time, his lineage would have a significant impact on Greek mythology. For many scholars and Greek mythology experts, he’s considered the father of the human race. Also known as Iepetos or Japetus, this Titan god represented mortality and craftsmanship. One lesser-known Titan who contributed heavily to the mythology is Iapetus. Their stories shaped Ancient Greece, offering explanations for many foundations of the physical world. While most are familiar with the later parts of Greek mythology, the earlier Titans played a valuable role in the mythos. Before the familiar Olympic gods of the Greek Pantheon rose to power, a generation of deities ruled during the Golden Age of man.
