Tartarus
Tartarus was both a primordial deity and the deepest pit of the cosmos — as far below Hades as earth is below heaven, the prison of the Titans and place of ultimate punishment.
The Myth of Tartarus
Hesiod describes Tartarus as so deep that a bronze anvil dropped from earth would fall nine days before reaching it. It was both a being and a place. As a deity, Tartarus fathered Typhon with Gaia. As a place, it served as the prison of the defeated Titans, guarded by the Hecatoncheires, and the site of the worst punishments: Sisyphus's boulder, Tantalus's torment, Ixion's wheel. It was surrounded by a bronze fence and triple night.
Parents
Born from Chaos
Symbols
Fun Fact
Dante modelled the deepest circles of his Inferno on Tartarus — the Greek concept directly shaped the Western imagining of Hell.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Tartarus
🏔 titanthe deep abyss, primal darkness below
A primordial deity personifying the deep abyss below Hades, one of the first beings to emerge from Chaos.
Tartarus
🏛 placeThe deepest pit of the underworld
The deepest abyss beneath the earth, as far below Hades as heaven is above earth. Tartarus was the prison of the Titans and the ultimate place of punishment.
Erebus
🌀 primordialPrimordial darkness
Erebus was the personification of deep darkness, born from Chaos — his name became the word for the dark region of the underworld through which the dead pass.
Uranus
🌀 primordialPersonification of the Sky
Uranus was the primordial sky god, born from and consort of Gaia, whose castration by Kronos separated heaven from earth.
Gaia
🌀 primordialPersonification of the Earth
Gaia was the primordial Earth goddess, the first being to emerge after Chaos — mother of the Titans, the Giants, and virtually all life in Greek cosmology.
Hemera
🌀 primordialPersonification of Day
Hemera was the primordial goddess of daytime, who each morning scattered the darkness to fill the world with light.
Chronos
🌀 primordialPersonification of Time
Chronos was the primordial personification of Time itself — not the Titan Kronos, though they were often merged in later tradition.
Ananke
🌀 primordialPersonification of Necessity
Ananke was the primordial goddess of necessity, compulsion, and inevitability — the force even the gods could not resist.
Phanes
🌀 primordialFirst-born god of creation
Phanes was the Orphic god of creation, the first being to emerge from the cosmic egg — a radiant, winged, hermaphroditic deity.
Thesis
🌀 primordialcreation, cosmic ordering
A primordial goddess of creation in Orphic cosmogony, representing the active principle of placement and ordering that gave structure to the cosmos.
Eros
🌀 primordialPrimordial force of desire and creation
In Hesiod's Theogony, Eros was one of the first beings to emerge from Chaos — a primordial force of attraction that drove all creation.
Pontus
🌀 primordialPersonification of the Sea
Pontus was the primordial sea god, born from Gaia without a father — the first embodiment of the deep waters.