Iapetos the Titan god of the west, mortality and craftmanship? Lazy and unfounded. Now, Iapetos the fundamental force of gravity personified? Sourced and sexy.
[and Koios]: The Aeolians use ‘K’ instead of ‘P’: he means Poios, as in ‘quality’ [poiótēs]. Kreios is that which is royal and ruling [as if derived from kreíōn: ruler], Hyperion is the motion of everything above [hypér] the earth, and Iapetos is derived from ‘to go’ [ĭénai]; for since by nature all things heavy, when released, fall down [píptein] from above, he calls this tendency Iapetos. And these, according to Akousilaos (BNJ 2 fr. 7), are called Titans and Titanides. Zeno (SVF I fr. 100 Arnim), relating more to physics, says that they are called ‘Titans’ because the elements are arranged [diatáttesthai] throughout the whole cosmos. But otherwise they allegorize Koios as being quality [poiótēs], Kreios as being differentiation [diákrisis]; Hyperion as the sky which above us [hyperánō] moves on [iónta]; and Iapetos as its motion, from ‘going’ [íesthai] and ‘flying’ [pétesthai], for the sky is ever-moving.
— Schol. Theogony 134.
