Cosmology


Initially, all the matter in the cosmos drifted around in a gloomy, soupy mist called Chaos, the first of the Protogenoi. Gaea was the first of the Protogenoi to emerge from Chaos, born when some of its matter collected to form the Earth. She was initially alone in the universe, as described by Hesiod in his Theogony: "In the beginning there was only Chaos, the Abyss/But then Gaia, the Earth, came into being/Her broad bosom the ever-firm foundation of all", until she asked for company. Soon after, Eros (the Desire), Erebus (the Darkness), and Nyx (the Night) was born,.  This resulted in the birth of the sky (Ouranos), who was formed above the Earth. By this time, Gaea gave birth to the rustic domains and the mountains (Ourea). From the union of his children Erebos and Nyx, it was born Aither, the Upper Air and Light. Without the aid of a consort, she gave birth to Elpis, the Spirit of Hope, and Hemera, who ironically was the Day. Two more Protogenoi were born from Chaos: Pontus (the sea), and Tartarus (the Pit). Both of them harbored feelings for Gaea, but she ultimately chose Ouranos as her husband. 


Eventually, Gaea and Ouranos had three sets of children together, namely the Titans, the Elder Cyclopes, and the Hekatonkheires. Although Gaea loved all her children, Ouranos became distant from their family and resented their children, particularly the two younger races, as they were hideously ugly. Despite Gaea's protests, Ouranos seized the Elder Cyclopes and the Hekatonkheires, chained them and cast them to the depths of Tartarus.

Angry at her husband's actions, Gaea called forth her remaining (and then favorite) children, the Titans, and presented to them her newly forged scythe. She requested one of them to step forward and take the scythe so as to kill Ouranos and free their brothers from Tartarus. All of the Titans were ambivalent at the prospect of killing their father even though they all hated him, but the youngest and most power-hungry - Kronos - agreed to the deed. He accepted the scythe from Gaea and convinced his mother to lure Ouranos down to Earth into attending a romantic dinner, so that he and his brothers - with the exception of Oceanus - could ambush him.


When Ouranos showed up to meet with Gaea, Krios, Koios, Hyperion, and Iapetus all sprang from their hiding places and ambushed their father. While the four brothers held Ouranos down, Kronos used the scythe to castrate Ouranos and then cut his body into pieces, flinging Ouranos' severed genitals into the ocean. However, Ouranos cursed Kronos and said that he would one day be overthrown by his own children, just as Kronos had done to him. Her children laughed but this was later revealed to be true. Gaea then proclaimed Kronos as lord of the universe and after the Elder Cyclopes and the Hekatonkheires were released, she sank into a deep slumber for a millennium.


Definition:

The Protogenoi (sing. Protogenos, also known as the primordial gods) are the first race of immortals to come into existence and were born directly from the void of Chaos. As they are the very elements that make up the universe, Protogenoi have complete control of the domain they represent, which can rival or even exceed that of gods or titans who preside over them. In addition, all the Protogenoi wield enormous power, rendering them the most powerful beings in the universe. Protogenoi appear to be capable of manifesting in physical form to interact with lesser beings. Despite their great power, Protogenoi are still susceptible to being weakened to the point of dormancy. If separated from their domain, Protogenoi are relatively less powerful than they would be if they were in their element.


Known Protogenoi:

  • Chaos: Protogenos of the Void and Creation
  • Ouranos: Protogenos of the Sky and Heavens
  • Gaea: Protogenos of the Earth and Nature
  • Tartarus: Protogenos of the Pit
  • Pontos: Protogenos of the Sea
  • Erebos: Protogenos of Darkness and Mist
  • Nyx: Protogenos of Night
  • Akhlys: Protogenos of Misery and Poison 
  • Elpis: Protogenos of Hope
  • Hemera: Protogenos of Day
  • Aither: Protogenos of Upper Air and Light
  • Eros: Protogenos of Desire
  • Ourae: Protogenoi of Mountains
  • Thalassa: Protogenos of the Sea
  • Chronos - Aeon: Protogenos of Time and Eternity
  • Ananke: Protogenos of Inevitability and Fate
  • Phanes: Protogenos of Creation, Procreation and Generation of New Life
  • Nesoi: Protogenoi of Islands
  • Physis: Protogenos of Nature
  • Hydros: Protogenos of Fresh Water 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Egyptian Big Bang

Image
The Egyptians had more than one version of their creation myth, but one stand out. In one ancient Egyptian creation myth, the world and all of creation came into existence through nothing other than an act of masturbation. It starts sort of like the Bible but with a little extra detail that will probably never show up in a middle school curriculum: In the beginning, the story says, there was nothing, until the first god, Atum, was created. Atum was both genders, with a “female part” in his hand. He created the first gods and then declared to the universe, in graphic detail, exactly how he did it. “I had union with my hand,” Atum announced. “I poured seed into my own mouth, and I sent forth from myself issue [meaning he spat out his seed] in the form of the gods Shu and Tefnut.” And so, the universe began. Thus, the first act of creation was performed. This myth laid the groundwork for what would be a uniquely strange culture in the way of sex, and it would actually be present in other ...
Read more

Interviews from Eye of Ra

Image
The Eye of Ra serves an important function as a representative of Ra and reporter of information to him, she also becomes a warrior and champion of Ra at some point and destroy his enemies.  Sekhmet - this is par for the course, but Hathor is so firmly associated with ideas of joy, beauty and feminine gentleness that the story of her rampage across the world is a surprising one that doesn't match up with most of her other stories. In that myth, humanity begins to disrespect Ra and plot to overthrow his worship, so he sends Hathor to lay waste to the offenders. Hathor asked her sister Sekhmet to do the deed. Sekhmet does so thoroughly that the world is in danger of being entirely depopulated, and the gods are forced to then corral her and prevent her from overzealously wiping all of humanity off the face of the earth in her desire to please the sun god. Wadjet is the daughter of Atum (Ra) who had sent her as his "eye" to find Tefnut and Shu when they were lost in the wat...
Read more

Bring in Good Luck

Image
 2020 was hell of a year. I say we pray to Lady Luck for some good luck this year. One of the aliases for Lady Luck is Tyche, the Greek Goddess of Fortune. Tyche is the Goddess of Fortune and Fate. She is known as Tyche of the Greeks and Fortuna of the Romans. Her name Tyche comes from the word tynchano which means “made to happen”. She is from the time of the Titans who ruled long before the Olympians came to be power. Her parents Tethys and Oceanus, she is an Oceanid and she draw upon the wisdom of the waters. She is all three of the Fates, Klotho, Atropos, and Lachesis, for all three make her, Tyche. It is funny for compared to most Goddesses of mythology she has not great story, no myth, but yet had one of the largest cult followings among the Greeks, Romans, and gamblers. For her existence is based upon a concept. A concept that is both intrigued and inspired the ancient Greek poets and philosophers. It’s statement that represented not only fortune, but also luck, success an...
Read more