The Story of Iapetus
Iapetus was one of the twelve Titans, the children of Uranus and Gaia. He was linked with mortality, craftsmanship and the west. With the Oceanid Clymene, or in some tellings Asia, he fathered four famous sons: Atlas, Prometheus, Epimetheus and Menoetius.
Iapetus has few stories of his own, and he is known mainly through his children. Through Prometheus, who in many tellings shaped the first humans, and through Prometheus's son Deucalion, the Greeks saw him as a distant ancestor of humankind. His sons inherited a mix of strength, cleverness, foolishness and pride, and their fates were often tragic.
After the Olympians won the war against the Titans, Iapetus was imprisoned in Tartarus with his brother Cronus. In the Iliad, Homer names the two of them together, sitting in the deep darkness far from the sun and the wind. The Greeks remembered him as a figure from the oldest age of the world, before Zeus took power.
Iapetus's Family Tree
Parents of Iapetus
Partners of Iapetus
Frequently Asked Questions About Iapetus
Who is Iapetus in Greek mythology?
Iapetus is a Titan linked with mortality, craftsmanship and the west, and one of the twelve children of Uranus and Gaia.
Who are Iapetus's children?
With the Oceanid Clymene, Iapetus fathered Atlas, Prometheus, Epimetheus and Menoetius.
What happened to Iapetus after the Titan war?
After the Olympians defeated the Titans, Iapetus was imprisoned in Tartarus alongside his brother Cronus.
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