[Illustration]
Uranus, however, as time passed, began to fear lest the offspring, which
rose to such gigantic strength, should dethrone him; and by his power he
threw them down an abyss, into which the light of day could never
penetrate. This tyranny, however, only ripened the spirit of rebellion
which he feared, and their frightful confinement but urged them to greater
efforts to escape. They all arose against him, but were compelled to yield
after a desperate struggle {8} for supremacy; while rebellion brought its
accustomed curse in heavier chains and more rigorous captivity, to all save
Saturn, who, led by ambition and vengeance, and assisted by his mother in
his schemes, dethroned his sire, usurped his empire, and delivered his
brethren.
The defeated monarch fell beneath his son's parricidal hand; and from the
blood thus shed sprang the Giants and the Furies, rendering fruitful also
the foam of the sea, of which was born Venus Aphrodite.
[Illustration]
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