The structure of Greek mythology a major key to the decoding process, and is mostly made up of the information given in genealogical trees. Some of the genealogical branches have already been examined in the preceding chapter on the origin and development of life. This chapter therefore only discusses the descendants of the Titans, with the exception of a few sub-branches which remain unlinked either because the initiates of ancient times did not give any indications, or because they developed transversally to the main branches.
To fully understand this web page, it is recommended to follow the progression given in the tab Greek myths interpretation. This progression follows the spiritual journey.
The method to navigate in the site is given in the Home tab.
See following Family trees
Family trees – General Synthesis
Family tree of Japet – Ascent of planes of consciousness
Family tree of Oceanus – Purification and liberation
This structure includes a number of complexities and difficulties which must be taken into account during the decoding process.
The most common challenge results from the differences between the various versions handed down to us. This was and still is the main argument of those who deny that there are hidden meanings encoded in mythology. As we have said, the ancient poets are the most trustworthy sources in this domain. For in the domain of written texts, poetry received at the heights of the mind through inspiration has always been the privileged mode of expression of initiates. Approaches concerning other aspects of mythology, such as the historical, sociological, archaeological, literary or artistic, fall outside the frame of this study. However, the variations handed down by historians and mythologists, which are often compilations of lost texts offering contrasting points of view, must not be too hastily put aside. Over the course of centuries, with the growth of humanism and especially since the great tragedians, there was an increased interest in psychological movements with a concern for moral edification. Then as the wish for entertainment came to the forefront, odes and rhapsodies ceased to hold eternal truths.
Only a familiarity with primary texts can allow seekers to progressively discern which ones carry a truth resulting from experience.
The genealogies given by Homer and Hesiod, those in the ‘Catalogue of Women’ attributed to the latter and those given by other poets such as Pindar and Moschus best describe the most advanced stages of the quest. For myths recorded later on which complete the teachings meant for less advanced seekers, such as the myth of the Minotaur, we have principally retained the Library of Apollodorus as well as the excellent compilations of Robin Hard and Timothy Grantz.
To establish coherence between the genealogical trees and in order to avoid confusion between the teachings or experiences related by the different branches, homonymous heroes must be carefully differentiated: although their symbolism is similar, they represent different degrees of intensity.
For the ease of this reading we have however not differentiated them here, for instance through numbering, neither in the lexicon of interpretations of proper names nor within the text. But a familiarity with primary mythological texts allows one to easily identify them. (On this subject see Carlos Parada’s book Genealogical Guide to Greek Mythology , Jonsered: Paul Astroms Forlag, 1993).
The birth order of children from the same family is not always made explicit in mythology, especially in the children of Aeolus and those of Atlas, the Pleiades, who are key elements in the yogic progression. Different indications have been used to situate them in relation to each other, including the provinces and cities in which they dwell, the rivers associated with them and their descendants, etc.
The latter elements also allow one to link certain heroes or fragments of genealogical branches to precise stages of the quest, for instance in the case of Orpheus, the king of Thrace who initiated the Argonauts to the mysteries of Samothrace.
It is also necessary to note that many myths address extended periods of time if not the totality of the quest, a myth illustrating the final realisation of a particular progression. For instance, the victory over fear extending till the depths of the vital, illustrated by the myth of Perseus, can only be partly addressed to seekers at the beginning of the quest, although this hero was the great grandfather of Heracles, situating his famous Labours to a much later time. One must therefore consider that the work on the fears continue through the successive Labours, the fears having to be progressively eliminated from the mind, from the vital and finally from the body.
Genealogical lineages are always established according to the patriarchal order. When a god plays a role in the conception of a child as a ‘divine father’, there is often also a ‘human father’ who allows us to link the corresponding work with the aim illustrated by the heroine. In the opposite case, which occurs only rarely, the genealogical tree remains nonetheless uninterrupted and the line of descent is carried out through the women over a generation.
Mythological heroines will therefore be studied at the same time as the male characters with which they united. They generally represent the direction of the work to be carried out, the task to be accomplished or that has been already partly accomplished, and at times the evolutionary means for this.
Let us remember too the complexity of the concepts of masculine and feminine, which in the manner in which they are to be understood in this study depend on the plane being considered. Depending on her rank, a female character can represent either a force which counteracts the masculine in a dynamic way, a limiting power, a state or a perfection to be attained, or a power of realisation which for its perfected fulfillment requires a quality of receptivity.
The number of generations within each genealogical branch constitutes a complex problem for mythologists. By adding intermediary characters, they sometimes strove to