fter Zeus did this the Cyclopes displayed their gratitude by giving Zeus the thunderbolts, Poseidon the trident, and Hades the magic helmet of darkness. The three hundred handed Cyclopes heaved boulders at the stronghold of Cronos and the three brothers made use of their gifts in order to win the battle. All of the Titans, excluding Prometheus and Epimetheus, who had aided them, were punished. Gaea then gave birth to the horrible monster Typhon, who possessed hundreds of heads and fire spouting eyes. Zeus defeated it with his thunderbolts. Zeus and his two brothers then drew lots to see which one of them would become the ruler of the new gods because they wanted to avoid becoming evil and corrupt like their father. Zeus won the sky, becoming king of heaven and ruler of the gods. Hades won the underworld and all of its riches, and Poseidon won the sea. Throughout the ancient Greek myths the connotation of the gods as a younger race pervades. They are portrayed almost as new as the human beings who worship them. The myths also indicate that there are older forces in the earth that even the gods of Mount Olympus do not understand. ...
