| “ | If you do this, Kronos, I will curse you! Someday your own children will destroy you and take your throne, just as you are doing to me! | ” |
–Ouranos to his son Kronos, in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods | ||
Ouranos (also spelled Uranus) is the Greek protogenos personifying the sky. Ouranos is the Greek word for sky, and his Roman counterpart is Caelus [1]. The Greeks imagined the sky as a solid dome of brass whose edges descended to rest on the outermost edges of the earth. He was the husband of Gaea, and he fathered the Titans with her before being conquered by his son, Kronos.
History
Ouranos and Gaea were the protogenoi of the sky and the earth respectively. They became consorts and brought forth their children: the Cyclopes, the Hekatonkheires, and the Titans.
Ouranos didn't care for his children. In fact, he hated them. He hated those of his children that did not look normal most of all, such as the Hekatonkheire and Elder Cyclopes. They were unsightly in his opinion and he wanted them gone. But he couldn't kill them because they were immortal, like him.
So instead, Ouranos chained all six of them up with extremely durable black chains (forged from the darkness of the night sky) and subsequently hurled them into Tartarus. This caused Gaea great grief. She was also furious because they were her children, and Ouranos cared nothing for them. She asked her children, the Titans, to get rid of Ouranos so she could save the Cyclopes and the Hecatonkhires. Only her youngest son Kronos was brave enough to do it. Because the first betrayal hadn't occured yet, Ouranos was oblivious to his wife's plans. Kronos then took a flint scythe Gaea made and castrated his father before cutting him to pieces. Kronos then threw his remains into the sea as a gesture of disgrace to Oceanus, who had refused to help take down their father. From the froth rose Aphrodite. Ouranos then cursed Kronos, stating that his child would come to overthrow him, just as he had. Nothing was mentioned about Ouranos afterwards, since his form was spread so thin that was never able to form a consciousness again.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians
The Lightning Thief
Poseidon mentioned Ouranos to his son Percy Jackson, while discussing his father Kronos.
The Titan's Curse
Ouranos does not formally appear but he is mentioned by the General. It is said that a Titan must hold up the Sky because Ouranos is gone and the Sky still longs to embrace the Earth. Atlas, a Titan, is assigned this torment as of the First Olympian War.
The Battle of the Labyrinth
Ouranos and Gaea are mentioned by Annabeth and a naiad.
Gaea, his wife and mother
The Heroes of Olympus
The Lost Hero
Coach Hedge mentioned him when he was telling the story of Gaea and how she convinced Kronos to take a scythe and kill Ouranos. When he said that, Piper McLean looked at the sky, as if seeing if it had eyes and a mouth. Maybe wondering of Ouranos, her grandfather.
The House of Hades
He was mentioned when Bob and Krios talked about holding him down while Kronos cut him into little pieces.
The Blood of Olympus
While searching for a way to defeat Gaea, Jason Grace asks Kymopoleia for advice and she reminds him of Ouranos' defeat as it proves that a primordial god can be defeated. Taking inspiration from the Titans' defeat of Ouranos, Leo Valdez comes up with a plan that Apollo confirms could work but would kill any mortal nearby. After the rise of Gaea, Leo, Festus, Jason and Piper McLean carry Gaea high into the sky, cutting her off from the source of her power as the Titans did Ouranos which is the weakness Kymopoleia hinted at by reminding Jason of Ouranos' defeat. Gaea's essence ends up scattered by Leo and Octavian and its later stated that like the sky after Ouranos' defeat, the Earth continues to exist without Gaea and continue on as normal.
Personality
Ouranos was a terrible father, and he did not care for his children at all. He was a terrible husband too, because it didn't bother him that Gaea was so sad about the loss of her children. However, it is possible that Ouranos loves or desires her somewhat, although it is unclear where he is or what he is doing, as stated in the The Titan's Curse by Atlas, who said, "The Sky still yearns to embrace the Earth." In Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, it is stated that his son Kronos had inherited his infamous cruelty and bad temper from Ouranos.
Appearance
In Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Ouranos is described as looking tall and muscular, with long dark hair. He only wore a loincloth, and his skin changed color - sometimes blue with cloudy patterns (during the day), sometimes dark with glimmering stars (during the night).
Abilities
He presumably has a god's powers, but he is extremely powerful, being one of the Protogenoi.
- Atmokinesis: As protogenos of the Sky, he has absolute control and divine authority over the weather.
- Aerokinesis: As protogenos of the Sky, he has absolute control and divine authority over the air.
- Chains of Darkness: As seen in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Ouranos could use the darkness of the night sky to generate extremely durable black chains, with which he bound his Elder Cyclopes and Hekatonkheire children before flinging them into Tartarus.
- Supreme Power: Ouranos has power superior to that of most of the Olympians, Giants, and Titans, seeing as he is an ancient High God and was able to chain up and throw many of his powerful children into Tartarus single-handedly (a feat that required Kronos, Atlas, and Hyperion working together to later replicate).
- Tongue of the Old Times fluency: According to Tyson in The Battle of the Labyrinth, this is the ancient language that Gaea spoke to the Titans, Elder Cyclops and Hekatonkheires before the birth of the Olympian gods. Ouranos and Gaea must have communicated in this language as well.
Trivia
- Ouranos' first and only appearance was in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods.
- The 7th planet from the sun, Uranus, is named after him.
- In some myths, Ouranos was born as a son of Gaea before he became her consort.
- It is mentioned that Gaea cannot be defeated and can only be kept asleep; however, it is unknown why Ouranos actually died when Kronos cut him to pieces. However, since Atlas said that "the sky still longs to embrace the earth", Ouranos may still be alive in some form.
- Kronos, like Ouranos, was cut to pieces with the scythe but his essence continued existing, albeit imprisoned within Tartarus. This could mean that Ouranos himself is still alive, existing without a physical body.
- It has also been speculated by some scholars of Greek mythology that after Kronos cut his private parts, he fled away back to his domain in fear of the scythe. It could be that Gaea had crafted the scythe specifically to harm Ouranos.
- It's also possible that Ouranos faded when his youngest grandchild Zeus became Lord of the Sky.
- Ouranos may have been scattered like Kronos and Gaea ultimately were. It was shown with the defeat of Gaea that even the primordial gods could be beaten in this way and mention was made of Gaea now being like Ouranos suggesting he too was scattered.
- Ouranos is the father of Kronos, who is father of Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, making Ouranos the great-grandfather of Percy Jackson, Thalia Grace, and Bianca and Nico di Angelo.
- He's the grandfather of the Big Three.
- The periodic element Uranium is named after him.
- Aphrodite was formed out of the sea foam from the pieces of Ouranos thrown into the sea by Kronos, therefore technically making him her father and the grandfather of the members of the Aphrodite Cabin.
- Ouranophobia (also known as Uranophobia) is the fear of heaven, which is named after Ouranos.
- The Romans simply Latinized his name as "Uranus", with which they call him most of the time. However, they do have an non-Greek Latin name for Uranus, and it is "Caelus".
- The French word Ciel which means "Sky" is derived from his Latin name, Caelus.
- It is implied that since Kronos destroyed his mortal form, Ouranos is unable to return to earth.
- The Seven used inspiration from Ouranos' defeat to defeat his wife Gaea.
- His Egyptian equivalent is Nut.