if you ask the ancient Greeks who their divine ancestors were, you might
expect them to look to the gods however
that's probably not the answer you'd
receive ancient Greeks may have seen the 
Titans ancient and powerful deities as
more directly responsible for the
creation of humanity. While there are
many stories here a lot of them start
with the Iapetus. Iapetus was a Titan
of Greek mythology who played a major  role in shaping the cosmos
through his own actions and in shaping
the fate of humanity through the actions
of his sons. In fact, Iapetus is so
connected to humanity that his role in
Greek religion was as the deity of mortality.
Yes the span of human life had a
deified personification as a living unit
of time the implication in Greek
mythology is intriguing the humanity's
story can only begin with the creation
of mortality. Iapetus is a god from
Greek mythology a Titan God and
therefore a god of the preceding
generation to Zeus and other Olympians
as one of the twelve Titans Iapetus 
was the son of Uranus and Gaia two
primordial deities being a son of Gaia
the also meant that Iapetus had
numerous other siblings including the
Cyclops the Hecatonchires and the
Gigantes. The name Iapetus can be
translated as piercing with spear
Iapetus "the piercer" was probably also the
Titan God symbolizing mortality and the
mortal lifespan as his sons Prometheus and
Epimetheus were the creators of mankind
and all other mortal creatures
Iapetus  is arguably most famous for,
for by the Oceanid Clymene (or Asia),  the titan god was father to
Atlas Prometheus Epimetheus and
Menoetios four, second generation Titans
all four sons would in their own way
make Zeus angry and were punished to a lesser
or greater degree
just like Iapetus. For fighting against
Zeus, Menoetios was imprisoned in
Tartarus whilst Atlas would forever hold
up the heavens replacing the pillar role
of his father and
uncles. Prometheus and Epimetheus did not
fight against Zeus and were even tasked
with bringing forth life but Prometheus
gave too much in his role as benefactor
of man and would spend years chained in
the Caucasus Mountains. Epimetheus was
given a present by Zeus Pandora a woman
created to be his wife but it was
Pandora who released all of the evils
into the world. Iapetus' sons were thought
to have been the ancestors of humans and
that they had some detrimental qualities
that not only led to their own demise
but they also passed them down to humans
so although Prometheus was clever he
bequeathed his scheming to mankind.
Epimetheus guileless as he was passed
down stupidity Atlas being powerful and
patient gave excessive daring and
finally Menoetius, an arrogant personality
bequeathed violence. Another
occasionally named child of Iapteus is
Anchiale, a Titan goddess of the warming
heat of fire this child is only named by
Stephen of Byzantium in the 6th century
AD and even then the work only survives
in fragmentary form. Iapetus was also
considered the personification of one of
the four pillars that hold the heavens
and the earth apart a role that he later
bequeathed to his son Atlas.He represented
the pillar of the West the other three
being represented by his brothers Crius, Coeus and Hyperion. The four brothers
actively played a role in the dethroning 
of their father Uranus as they were all
in the four corners of the earth,
they held Uranus firmly in place while
their brother Cronus castrated him with
an adamantine sickle.
the Golden Age of Greek mythology would
come to an end when Zeus came of age and
rose up against his father Cronus and
other Titans
Zeus assembled a fighting force based
upon Mount Olympus
whilst the Titans and their allies
defended Mount Othrys.
Iapetus was considered one of the most
destructive Titans and one of the
greatest fighters unfortunately there
are no surviving texts from antiquity
that details events in the Titanomachy the ten-year war
between Titans and Olympians. Fragments
suggest though that at some point Zeus
and Iapetus did fight one to one and
Zeus victory in the fight might have
proved the turning point in the war
Zeus of course emerged victorious in the
Titanomachy and subsequently his enemies
were punished and it was generally said
that the defeated Titans were sent to
Tartarus the hellhole of the underworld
and imprisoned there. Certainly Iapetus 
and Cronus were there
although occasionally it was said that
Iapetus was imprisoned beneath the
volcanic island of Inarmie (Ischia). The
Titans imprisoned in Tartarus were said
to reside their for eternity
although a few surviving sources do
tell of Zeus releasing them in an act of
clemency years later. THANKS FOR WATCHING!
