Ancient Greeks believed that heaven is elevated from earth, by four great pillars. Each of these pillars, are guarded, by four great titan gods. Coeus, Crius, Iapetus and Hyperion are believed to be these guardians. In my previous videos, we discussed three of these titans. On this video, I plan to talk about the titan god Coeus. Coeus, is the guardian of the northern pillar, and is considered to be the lord of north. He is the second son born to Uranus and Gaia. Of the four brothers, that helped Cronus to cut off Uranus’s testicles, Coeus happens to be the oldest.
Of all the titans, Coeus, is the most intelligent. His name itself means “query”, or “questioning”. There are even stories, saying that his titan siblings often consulted Coeus, when in need of advice. With his intellect, he is believed to create celestial axis around which the heavens revolve. Along with the gift of intelligence, he was also able to foresee the future. He is often portrayed holding a sword, which signifies his warrior spirit. So Coeus himself had a greater potential, both with the sword, and rational intelligence.
He took his sister Phoebe to be his wife. Phoebe, was not only beautiful, but was the titan goddess of prophetic wisdom. So she added a significant amount of value to her husband, through her involvement in decisions to better benefits. Together they gave birth to Leto, the Titaness Protector of the Young, Asteria, the Titaness of Prophetic Dreams, and Lelantos, the Titan of Air and Hunting Skills. The children fairly inherited the gifts of their parents and was viewed as one of the prominent Titaness’s of Greek believes.
Even after Uranus’s downfall, Uranus consulted with Coeus. Despite with such wondrous abilities, Coeus was unable to save his titan sibling, from the ill-fate they met before Zeus. There are several arguments for this inability. First been, it was Uranus who prophesized Cronus’s downfall. Coeus’s abilities were no match for his father’s powers. So he knew that no power rest among them that could break his prophecy. Others say, that Coeus did warn Cronus of the ill-fated future, but the titan possessed so much arrogance, that he didn’t bother to consider his brother’s wits. Instead, he devoured his children, only to seal the prophecy. Even after knowing what is yet to come, Coeus decided to side with his brother, since he was loyal to his rule. He embraced their misery, than to watch his siblings suffer alone. So after the Titanomachy, he shared the same fate in Tartarus, along with his other siblings.
Given the titan’s capabilities and the influence of his wife, there’s more to Coeus than what the history records. Titans were believed to gift humans with abilities. It is not even mentioned what Coeus offered to humans along with other titans. The legends of Coeus would’ve be much interesting, considering his potential, both with wits and warrior skills. But since much focus is given to the Olympian gods, titans such as Coeus were long forgotten. It would actually be much better if the history manages to keep track of him.
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