Titans

2005

Zelko Wiener (AT)
Ursula Hentschläger (AT)
Zeitgenossen (AT)

A creation myth from Antiquity enters the Digital Age—the Titans of Greek mythology now populate the façade of the Ars Electronica Center as hybrid creatures and an artistic bridge between the epochs.

In the beginning, there was chaos. Out of this emerged the earth mother Gaea and from her, in turn, Uranus. Together they engendered a race of giant deities known as the Titans, who ruled the world until Zeus, the son of the Titan Cronus, overthrew them and banished them to the Tartarus.

Oceanos, the god of the sea, emerged as the first Titan. He was followed by Coeus; then came Hyperion as the god of light and the sun; and finally Crius. Iapetus is best known as the father of Atlas, who supports the Earth on his shoulders, and of Prometheus, who gave mankind the gift of fire. Cronus attained importance in the struggle against his own father, Uranus, and then against his own children including Zeus.

Tethys is the first of the six female Titans. Rhea is considered the embodiment of the great goddess, the mother of the gods. Themis was the goddess of justice and order. Mnemosyne became the mother of the nine Muses. Phoebe was celebrated as the goddess of the moon, as was Thea.

Creation myths have lost none of their relevance in the Digital Age, since the phenomena behind them—the elaboration of a myth, the establishment of a religion and the linkup of fictional value-ascription models with real political interests—is timeless.