InGreek mythology,theprimordial deitiesare the first generation ofgodsandgoddesses.These deities represented the fundamental forces and physical foundations of the world and were generally not actively worshipped, as they, for the most part, were not given human characteristics; they were insteadpersonificationsof places orabstractconcepts.
Hesiod,in hisTheogony,considers the first beings (afterChaos) to beErebus,Gaia,Tartarus,ErosandNyx.Gaia andUranusin turn gave birth to theTitans,and theCyclopes.The TitansCronusandRheathen gave birth to the generation of theOlympians:Zeus,Poseidon,Hades,Hestia,HeraandDemeter.Theyoverthrowthe Titans, with thereign of Zeusmarking the end of the period of warfare and usurpation among the gods.
Hesiod's primordial genealogy
editHesiod'sTheogony,(c. 700 BC) which could be considered the "standard" creation myth of Greek mythology,[1]tells the story of the genesis of the gods. After invoking theMuses(II.1–116), Hesiod says the world began with the spontaneous generation of four beings: first aroseChaos(Chasm); then cameGaia(the Earth), "the ever-sure foundation of all"; "dim"Tartarus(the Underworld), in the depths of the Earth; andEros(Love) "fairest among the deathless gods".[2](Although in other myths, Eros was the name ofAphrodite's andAres's son.)
From Chaos cameErebus(Darkness) andNyx(Night). And Nyx "from union in love" with Erebus producedAether(Light) andHemera(Day).[3]From Gaia cameUranus(Sky), theOurea(Mountains), andPontus(Sea).[4]
Chaos
editInHesiod'screation myth,Chaosis the first being to ever exist. Chaos is both seen as a deity and a thing, with some sources seeing chaos as an endless void of nothingness in which the universe sprang from.[5]In some accounts Chaos existed first alongside Eros and Nyx,[5]while in othersChaosis the first and only thing in the universe. In some stories, Chaos is seen as existing beneathTartarus.[5]Chaos is the parent toNightandDarkness.[6]
Gaia
editGaia was the second being to be formed, right after Chaos, inHesiod'stheogony, and parthenogenetically gave birth toUranus,who would later become her husband and her equal, theSea,and to the highMountains.[7]
Gaia is amother earthfigure and is the mother of the titans, while also being the seat on which they exist.[5]Gaia is the Greek Equivalent to the Roman goddess,Tellus / Terra.The story of Uranus' castration at the hands ofCronusdue to Gaia's involvement is seen as the explanation for why the Sky and Earth are separated.[8]In Hesiod's story, Earth seeks revenge against Sky for hiding her children theCyclopesdeep within Tartarus. Gaia then goes to her other children and asks for their help to get revenge against their cruel father; of her children, only Cronus, the youngest and "most dreadful" of them all, agrees to do this. Gaia plans an ambush against Uranus where she hides Cronus and gives him thesickleto castrate Uranus. In the spots where his blood hit the earth, monsters and creatures grew including theFuries,theGiants,and theMelian nymphs.[9]Cronusgoes on to have six children with his sister,Rhea;who become theOlympians.Cronus is later overthrown by his son,Zeus,much in the same way he overthrew his father. Gaia is the mother to the twelveTitans;Oceanus,Coeus,Crius,Hyperion,Iapetus,Theia,Rhea,Themis,Mnemosyne,Phoebe,Tethys,andCronus.[6]
Later in the myth, after his succession, Uranus curses Cronus so that his own son (Zeus) will overthrow him, just as Cronus did to Uranus. To try to prevent this, Cronus swallows all of his children as soon as they are born. Rhea seeks out help in hiding her youngest son, Zeus, Gaia hears her distress and gives her a perfectly infant shaped rock that weights and looks the same as a baby to give to Cronus. Zeus later goes on to defeat his father and become the leader of theOlympians.
After Zeus's succession to the throne, Gaia bears another son withTartarus,Typhon,a monster who would be the last to challenge Zeus's throne.[9]
Uranus and Gaia have three sets of children: theTitans,theCyclopes,and theHecatoncheires.
Tartarus
editTartarusis described byHesiodas both a primordial deity[10]and also a great abyss where theTitansare imprisoned. Tartarus is seen as a prison, but is also whereDay,Night,Sleep,andDeathdwell, and also imagined as a great gorge that is a distinct part of the underworld. Hesiod tells that it took nine days for the Titans to fall to the bottom of Tartarus, describing how deep the abyss is.[11]In some versions Tartarus is described as a "misty darkness"[8]where Death, Styx, and Erebus reside.
Eros
editErosis the god of love in Greek mythology, and in some versions is one of the primordial beings that first came to be parentlessly. In Hesiod's version, Eros was the "fairest among the immortal gods... who conquers the mind and sensible thoughts of all gods and men."[6]
Nyx
editIn some variations of Hesiod's Theogony,Nyx(Night) is told as having black wings; and in one tale she laid an egg inErebusfrom whichErossprang out.[12]One version of Hesiod's tale tells that Night shares her house with Day in Tartarus, but that the two are never home at the same time.[11]However, in some versions Nyx's home is whereChaosandTartarusmeet, suggesting to the idea that Chaos resides beneath Tartarus.[8]
Many of Nyx's children were also personifications of abstract concepts. A list of them, which varies by source:
| Greek Name | Roman Equivalent | Description | Hesiod[13] | Cicero[14] | Hyginus[15] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aether | Aether | Light | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Apate | Fraus | Deceit | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Deimos | Metus | Fear | ✓ | ||
| Dolos? | Dolus | Guile | ✓ | ||
| Eleos | Misericordia | Compassion | ✓ | ||
| Epiphron | Epiphron | Prudence | ✓ | ||
| Eris | Discordia | Discord | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Eros | Cupid | Love | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Euphrosyne | Euphrosyne | Good Cheer | ✓ | ||
| Geras | Senectus | Old Age | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Hemera | Dies | Day | ✓ | ✓ | |
| TheHesperides | Hesperides | Nymphs of the evening | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Hybris | Petulantia | Wantonness | ✓ | ||
| Hypnos | Somnus | Sleep | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Ker | Letum | Destiny | ✓ | ✓ | |
| TheKeres | Tenebrae | Violent Death | ✓ | ✓ | |
| TheMoirai | Parcae | Fates | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Momus | Querella | Blame | ✓ | ✓ | |
| Moros | Fatum | Doom | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Nemesis | Invidentia | Retribution | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Oizys | Miseria | Pain | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Oneiroi | Somnia | Dreams | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Philotes | Amicitia/Gratia | Love | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Ponos | Labor | Hardship | ✓ | ||
| Sophrosyne | Continentia | Moderation | ✓ | ||
| Styx | Styx | Hatred | ✓ | ||
| Thanatos | Mors | Death | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Hyginus also includes Epaphus and Porphyrion among Nyx's children. Some accounts also includeHecate(Crossroads and Magic) among Nyx's children.[16][17]
Aether, Hemera, and Eros are Nyx's only children who are among the primordial gods. Hesiod says Nyx and Erebus together had Aether and Hemera, but Nyx had the other children on her own. Cicero and Hyginus say Nyx had all her children with Erebus.
InVirgil'sAeneid,Nox is said to be the mother of theFuriesbyHades.[18]
Some authors made Nyx the mother ofEos,thedawn goddess,who was often conflated with Nyx's daughter Hemera.[19]When Eos' sonMemnonwas killed during theTrojan War,Eos madeHelios(thesun god) downcast, and asked Nyx to come out earlier so that she would collect her son's dead body undetected by the Greek and the Trojan armies.[20]
Eris
editNyx's daughter Eris went on to have many children of her own who were also personifications of abstract concepts:[21]
| Greek Name | Roman Equivalent | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Algos | Dolor | Pains |
| Amphillogiai | Altercatio | Disputes |
| Androktasiai | Androktasiai | Manslaughters |
| Atë | Atë | Ruin |
| Dysnomia | Dysnomia | Anarchy |
| Horkos | Jusjurandum | Oath |
| Hysminai | Pugnae | Battles |
| Lethe | Oblivio | Forgetfulness |
| Limos | Fames | Starvation |
| Logoi | Logoi | Stories |
| Machai | Machai | Wars |
| Neikea | Altercatio | Quarrels |
| Phonoi | Phonoi | Murders |
| Ponos | Labor | Hardship |
| Pseudea | Pseudea | Lies |
Non-Hesiodic theogonies
editTheancient Greeksentertained different versions of the origin ofprimordial deities.Some of these stories were possibly inherited from the pre-Greek Aegean cultures.[22]
Homeric primordial theogony
editTheIliad,anepic poemattributed toHomerabout theTrojan War(an oral tradition ofc.700–600 BC), states thatOceanus(and possiblyTethys,too) is the parent of all the deities.[23]
Other Greek theogonies
edit- Alcman(fl. 7th century BC) calledThetisthe first goddess, producingporos(path),tekmor(marker), andskotos(darkness) on the pathless, featureless void.[24][25]
- Orphicpoetry (c.530 BC) madeNyxthe first principle,Night,and her offspring were many. Also, in the Orphic tradition,Phanes,a mystic Orphic deity of light and procreation, sometimes identified withEros,is the original ruler of the universe, who hatched from the cosmic egg.[26]The Orphic tradition also includesAnanke"Compulsion" andChronos"Time" among the primordial deities.
- Aristophanes(c.446–386 BC) wrote in his playThe Birdsthat Nyx was the first deity also, and that she produced Eros from an egg.
Philosophical theogonies
editPhilosophers ofClassical Greecealso constructed their ownmetaphysical cosmogonies,with their own primordial deities:
- Pherecydes of Syros,(c.600–550 BC) in hisHeptamychia,wrote that there were three divine principles, who came before all things, and who have always existed:Zas(Ζάς,Zeus),Cthonie(Χθονίη,Earth), andChronos(Χρόνος,Time).[27][28][29][30]
- Empedocles(c.490–430 BC) wrote that there werefour elementswhich ultimately make up everything:fire,air,water,andearth.[31]He said that there were two divine powers,Philotes(Love) andNeikos(Strife),[32]who wove the universe out of these elements.
- Plato(c.428–347 BC) introduced (inTimaeus) the concept of thedemiurge,who had modeled the universe on theIdeas.
Interpretation of primordial deities
editScholars dispute the meaning of the primordial deities in the poems of Homer and Hesiod.[33]Since the primordials give birth to the Titans, and the Titans give birth to the Olympians, one way of interpreting the primordial gods is as the deepest and most fundamental nature of the cosmos.
For example,Jenny Strauss Clayargues that Homer's poetic vision centers on the reign of Zeus, but that Hesiod's vision of the primordials put Zeus and the Olympians in context.[22]Likewise, Vernant argues that the Olympic pantheon is a "system of classification, a particular way of ordering and conceptualizing the universe by distinguishing within it various types of powers and forces."[34]But even before the Olympic pantheon were the Titans and primordial gods. Homer alludes to a more tumultuous past before Zeus was the undisputed King and Father.[35]
Mitchell Millerargues that the first four primordial deities arise in a highly significant relationship. He argues that Chaos representsdifferentiation,since Chaos differentiates (separates, divides) Tartarus and Earth.[36]Even though Chaos is "first of all" for Hesiod, Miller argues that Tartarus represents the primacy of theundifferentiated,or theunlimited.Since undifferentiation is unthinkable, Chaos is the "first of all" in that he is the firstthinkablebeing. In this way, Chaos (the principle of division) is the natural opposite of Eros (the principle of unification). Earth (light, day, waking, life) is the natural opposite of Tartarus (darkness, night, sleep, death). These four are the parents of all the other Titans.
See also
edit
Notes
edit- ^Hard,p. 21.
- ^Theogony116–122 (Most,pp. 12, 13). West 1966, p. 192 line 116Χάος,"best translated Chasm"; Most,p. 13,translatesΧάοςas "Chasm", and notes: (n. 7): "Usually translated as 'Chaos'; but that suggests to us, misleadingly, a jumble of disordered matter, whereas Hesiod's term indicates instead a gap or opening". Other translations given in this section follow those given by Caldwell, pp. 5–6.
- ^Theogony123–125 (Most,pp. 12, 13).
- ^Theogony126–132 (Most,pp. 12, 13).
- ^abcdBussanich, John (July 1983). "A Theoretical Interpretation of Hesiod's Chaos".Classical Philology.78(3):212–219.doi:10.1086/366783.JSTOR269431.S2CID161498892.
- ^abcVan Kooten, George (2005).Creation of Heaven and Earth.Brill. pp.77–89.
- ^Gotshalk, Richard (2000).Homer and Hesiod, Myth and Philosophy.Lanham, Maryland: University Press of America. p. 196.
- ^abcSale, William (Winter 1965). "The Dual Vision of" Theogony "".Arion: A Journal of Humanities and the Classics.4(4):668–699.JSTOR20162994.
- ^abLeftkowitz, Mary R. (September 1989). "The Powers of the Primeval Goddess".American Scholar– via EBSCOhost.
- ^Hesiod,Theogony,119
- ^abJohnson, David (Spring–Summer 1999). "Hesiod's Description of Tartarus (" Theogony "721-819)".Phoenix.53(1/2):8–28.doi:10.2307/1088120.JSTOR1088120.
- ^Dietrich, B.C. (1997). "Aspects of Myth and Religion".Classical Association of South Africa.20:59–71.JSTOR24591525.
- ^Hesiod Theogony 221
- ^Cicero De Natura Deorum 3.17
- ^Hyginus Preface
- ^Bacchylides Frag 1B
- ^ScholiastonApollonius of Rhodes,Argonautica3.467 with theOrphic hymnsas the authority.
- ^Virgil,Aeneid6.250(mother of the "Eumenides" another name for the Furies),7.323–330(Allecto a daughter of Pluto and Night),12.845–846(Night mother of the Furies).
- ^Quintus Smyrnaeus,2.625–26;cf.Aeschylus,Agamemnon265
- ^Philostratus of Lemnos,Imagines1.7.2
- ^Hesiod Theogony 226
- ^abClay, Jenny Strauss (26 May 2006).The Politics of Olympus: Form and Meaning in the Major Homeric Hymns(2 ed.). London, UK: Bristol Classical Press. p. 9.ISBN9781853996924.
- ^Homer.Iliad.Book 14.
- ^Alcman, Fragment 5 (from Scholia) =Oxyrhynchus Papyrus2390.
- ^Campbell, D. A. (1989).Greek Lyric II: Anacreon, Anacreontea, Choral Lyric from Olympis to Alcman.Cambridge: Harvard University Press. pp.388–395.ISBN0-674-99158-3.
- ^"Phanes".Theoi.Protogenos.
- ^Kirk, G. S.; F.B.A, Regius Professor of Greek G. S. Kirk; Raven, J. E.; Schofield, M. (1983-12-29).The Presocratic Philosophers: A Critical History with a Selection of Texts.Cambridge University Press. pp.56.ISBN978-0-521-27455-5.
- ^
Laërtius, Diogenes(1925),,Lives of the Eminent Philosophers,vol. 1:1, translated byHicks, Robert Drew(Two volume ed.), Loeb Classical Library, § 119
- ^Smith, William (1870).Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology.Robarts - University of Toronto. Boston, Little. p. 258.
- ^Damascius.Difficulties and Solutions Regarding First Principles.214.
- ^Wallace, William(1911)..InChisholm, Hugh(ed.).Encyclopædia Britannica.Vol. 09 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp.344–345, see third para, lines four to six.
...There are, according to Empedocles, four ultimate elements, four primal divinities, of which are made all structures in the world—fire, air, water, earth.
- ^Reynolds, Frank; Tracy, David (1990-10-30).Myth and Philosophy.SUNY Press.ISBN978-0-7914-0418-8.
- ^Nagy, Gregory (1992-01-01).Greek Mythology and Poetics.Cornell University Press.ISBN978-0801480485.
- ^Vernant, Jean Pierre (1980-01-01).Myth and Society in Ancient Greece.Harvester Press.ISBN9780855279837.
- ^"The Internet Classics Archive | The Iliad by Homer".classics.mit.edu.pp. Book I (396–406), Book VIII (477–83). Archived fromthe originalon 2011-07-14.Retrieved2016-01-21.
- ^Miller, Mitchell (October 2001)."'First of all': On the Semantics and Ethics of Hesiod's Cosmogony - Mitchell Miller - Ancient Philosophy (Philosophy Documentation Center) ".Ancient Philosophy.21(2):251–276.doi:10.5840/ancientphil200121244.Retrieved2016-01-21.
References
edit- Hard, Robin,The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology: Based on H.J. Rose's "Handbook of Greek Mythology",Psychology Press, 2004,ISBN9780415186360.Google Books.
- Hesiod,Theogony,inThe Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White,Cambridge, Massachusetts,Harvard University Press;London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914.Online version at the Perseus Digital Library.
External links
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Media related toGreek primordial deitiesat Wikimedia Commons- Greek Primeval Deities
