Steps of Creation in Greek Mythology -- Mythology by Edith Hamilton

The creation of the Primordial Beings

1 CE

In the beginning, there was the void and the being Chaos, however out of nothingness three primordial beings; Gaea; (the Earth) Eros; (Love) and Tartarus; (The Underworld) emerged to accompany Chaos.

Gaea and Chaos Bare Children

2

With the creation of Eros, Gaea and Chaos are able to procreate and bare children. Chaos had Erebus (Darkness) and Nyx (Night) while Gaea had Uranus (The Night Sky)

Erebus and Nyx Bare Children

3

Erebus sleeps with Nyx and she bares two children, Aether and Hermera (the Day.)
Erebus and Nyx continue to have children, some of note are: Moros; (Fate) Thanatos; (Death) Hypnos; (Sleep) and Geras (Old Age)

The Union of Gaea and Uranus

4

With the birth of Uranus, Gaea became wed to him and they had 21 children; The three Cyclops, the three Hecatoncheires, and the twelve Titans.

Gaea and Cronus betray Uranus

5

Cronus hated and mistreated his children, and sealed them within Gaea to ensure they would never see the day. Gaea resented Uranus for this, and planned with her children to betray him. Only one of the Titans chose to defy his father, and Cronus agreed to betray Uranus with Gaea.

Uranus is Castrated by Cronus

6

Gaea creates a harpe, a sickle for Cronus to castrate Uranus with, and the next time Uranus went to lay with Gaea, Cronus castrated him and the blood Uranus spilt created the Giants, Meliae, and the Furies. The foam from where his genitals fell into the ocean created the Goddess of Beauty, Aphrodite.

Cronus Replaces Uranus as the Ruler of the Universe.

7

After Castrating Uranus, Cronus becomes the Ruler and chooses his Titan sister Rhea as his wife. They bare 6 children: Demeter, Hera, Hades, Hestia, Poseidon, and Zeus. Like Uranus, Cronus feared and hated his children because of a prophecy given to him by Uranus and Gaea that one of his sons would defeat him. Cronus chose to swallow each child as they were born, and Rhea and Gaea devise a way to save at least on of the children.

Zeus is Born

8

Rhea, under the advice of Gaea, runs from Cronus to the isle of Crete before she gives birth to Zeus, and when Cronus finds Rhea and demands to swallow the child, Rhea wraps a rock in blankets, and gives it to the unsuspecting Cronus, who swallows it. Allowing Zeus to survive being eaten. He goes to live with two nymphs and a she-goat, where he is raised.

Zeus Returns for His Siblings

9

After some time passes, Zeus leaves Crete and travels to the Titan of Wisdom Metis to learn how to retrieve his siblings. Metis creates a drink for Cronus which would make him vomit, and Zeus - under disguise - is able to replace Cronus' wine with Metis' poison, and Cronus releases Zeus' five siblings who recognize him as king of the Gods.

The Titanomachy and Rise of Olympus

10

After freeing his siblings, Zeus proceeds to wage a war known as the Titanomachy against Cronus and the Titans. Cronus enlisted Atlas to lead his armies, but Zeus, with the help of Gaea, the Hecatoncheires, the Cyclops (who create his thunderbolt) and Prometheus are able to defeat and banish all of the titans to Tartarus. Except for Atlas, who was punished for leading the Titans by being forced to hold the whole Universe on his shoulders. Then, Zeus was declared the King of the Universe.