Ouranos is the Greek protogenos personifying the sky. Ouranos is the Greek word for sky, and his Roman counterpart is Uranus. The Greeks imagined the sky as a solid dome of brass whose edges descended to rest on the outermost edges of the earth. He was the husband and son of Gaea, and he fathered the Titans with her before being conquered by his son, Kronos.
History
Ouranos and Gaea were the protogenoi of the sky and the earth respectively. They became consorts and brought forth their children: the Cyclopes, the Hekatonkheires, and the Titans.
Ouranos didn't care for his children. In fact, he hated them. He hated those of his children that did not look normal most of all, such as the Hekatonkheire and Cyclopes. They were unsightly in his opinion and he wanted them gone. But he couldn't kill them because they were immortal.
Tyson, a Cyclops
So instead, Ouranos threw the Hekatonkhires and Cyclopes into Tartarus and positioned Kampê to guard them. This caused Gaea great grief. She was also furious because they were her children, and Ouranos cared nothing for them. She asked her children, the Titans, to get rid of Ouranos so she could save the Cyclopes and the Hecatonkhires. Only her youngest son Kronos was brave enough to do it. Because the first betrayal hadn't occured yet, Ouranos was oblivious to his wife's plans. Kronos then took a flint scythe Gaea made and castrated his father before cutting him to pieces. Kronos then threw his remains into the sea as a gesture of disgrace to Oceanus, who had refused to help take down their father. From the froth rose Aphrodite. Ouranos then cursed Kronos, stating that his child would come to overthrow him, just as he had. Nothing was mentioned about Ouranos afterwards.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians
The Lightning Thief
Poseidon mentioned Ouranos to his son Percy Jackson, while discussing his father Kronos.
The Titan's Curse
Ouranos does not formally appear but he is mentioned by the General. It is said that a Titan must hold up the Sky because Ouranos is gone and the Sky still longs to embrace the Earth. Atlas, a Titan, is assigned this torment as of the First Olympian War.
The Battle of the Labyrinth
Ouranos and Gaea are mentioned by Annabeth and a naiad.
Gaea, his wife and mother
The Heroes of Olympus
The Lost Hero
Coach Hedge mentioned him when he was telling the story of Gaea and how she convinced Kronos to take a scythe and kill Ouranos. When he said that, Piper McLean looked at the sky, as if seeing if it had eyes and a mouth. Maybe wondering of Ouranos, her grandfather.
The House of Hades
He was mentioned when Bob and Krios talked about holding him down while Kronos cut him into little pieces.
The Blood of Olympus
Ouranos was mentioned when trying to find a way to defeat Gaea. The demigods ultimately use the same technique used to defeat Ouranos (taking them away from their place of power) to defeat Gaea.
Personality
Ouranos was a terrible father, and he did not care for his children at all. He was a terrible husband too, because it didn't bother him that Gaea was so sad about the loss of her children. Though it is possible that Ouranos loves or desires her somewhat, although it is unclear where he is or what he is doing, as stated in the The Titan's Curse by Atlas, who said, "The sky still yearns to embrace the earth." In Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, it is stated that his son Kronos inherited Ouranos' cruelty.
Appearance
In Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, Ouranos is described as looking tall and muscular, with longish dark hair. He only wore a loincloth, and his skin changed colour - sometimes blue with cloudy patterns (during the day), sometimes dark with glimmering stars (during the night).
Abilities
He presumably has a god powers, but he is extremely powerful, being one of the Protogenoi.
- Atmokinesis: As protogenos of the Sky, he has absolute control and divine authority over the weather.
- Aerokinesis: As protogenos of the Sky, he has absolute control and divine authority over the air.
- He has superior power to the Olympians and Titans (except for the most powerful), seeing as he is an ancient elder deity and was able to chain up and throw many of his powerful children (the elder Cyclopes for example) into Tartarus.
- Tongue of the Old Times fluency: According to Tyson in The Battle of the Labyrinth, this is the ancient language that Gaea spoke to the Titans, Elder Cyclops and Hekatonkheires before the birth of the Olympian gods. Ouranos and Gaea must have communicated in this language as well.
Trivia
- Ouranos' first and only appearance was in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods.
- The 7th planet from the sun, Uranus, is named after his Roman form.
- It is mentioned that Gaea cannot be defeated and can only be kept asleep; however, it is unknown why Ouranos actually died when Kronos cut him to pieces. However, because of Atlas saying "the sky still longs to embrace the earth", Ouranos may still be alive in some form.
- In the actual Greek mythology, it is mentioned that Ouranos is not chopped up entirely to pieces but only his private parts were.
- It has also been speculated by some scholars of Greek mythology that after Kronos cut his private parts, he fled away back to his domain in fear of the scythe. It could be that Gaea had crafted the scythe specifically to harm Ouranos.
- It's also possible that Ouranos faded when his youngest grandchild Zeus became Lord of the Sky.
- Ouranos is the father of Kronos, who is father of Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, making Ouranos the great-grandfather of Percy Jackson, Thalia Grace, and Bianca and Nico di Angelo.
- Uranus is the father of Saturn, who is therefore grandfather of Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto, thus making Uranus the great-grandfather to Jason Grace and Hazel Levesque.
- He is the father of the Titans through his wife and mother Gaea, making him the father and half-brother to the Titans.
- He's the grandfather of the Big Three.
- The periodic element Uranium is named after him.
- Aphrodite was formed out of the sea foam from the pieces of Ouranos thrown into the sea by Kronos, therefore technically making him her father and the grandfather of the members of the Aphrodite Cabin.
- Ouranophobia (also known as Uranophobia, which is named after Ouranos' Roman counterpart, Uranus) is the fear of heaven, which is named after Ouranos.
- It is implied that since Kronos destroyed his mortal form, Ouranos is unable to return to earth.