Greek Mythology

The Beginning of Greek Mythology

In the beginning, there was only Chaos. According to Greek mythology, the universe began as a void. There was no matter, no light, no life or consciousness outside of this primordial chasm.

Yet it was out of this very void, known as Chaos (or Khaos) that not only the Titans and later the Gods of Olympus were sprung, but existence itself.

It was from Chaos that Gaia (or Gaea, “mother earth”) was formed. Along with Gaia, Tartarus (the abyss, often described as a vast cave-like space beneath the Earth.

Comparable to hell in Judeo- Christianbelief), Eros (desire/biological imperative; some myths include him as a primordial god, while others claim him as a child of Aphrodite) Erebus (darkness) and Nyx (the night) were also spawned of Chaos.

While other beings that would represent other necessary factors for life as we know it were later formed by Gaia and her ilk, the initial building blocks of reality were spawned directly from Chaos.

The Chaos mythos in ancient Greek religion is an interesting one. Although the myths were around long before them, two poets were the earliest sources of known, written accounts dealing with the religion of ancient Greece.

Those two men were Homer and Hesiod.
At the earliest times within the Greek creation myth, there was, as yet, no male presence.

Gaia took it upon herself to rectify this by birthing Uranus. Gaia produced other children asexually, they were: Ourea (mountains) and Pontus (sea). Thus completes the basic structure of the planet as the Greeks would view it.

Gaia bore many other children however. With her son Uranus, she bore the Hecatonchires (indomitable giants with a hundred hands), the Titans (a powerful race of deities with whom the next chapter is primarily concerned), the Cyclopes (more commonly Cyclops; one-eyed giants) and Echidna (often known as the mother of all monsters).

With Tartarus, she conceived and gave birth to her final son Typhon. Typhon was a dragon with a hundred heads, considered the most deadly of all monsters, and in some traditions, considered the father of all monsters.

Other primordial gods produced their own offspring which covered much of life’s experience. Erebus and Nyx generated Aether (the heavens, also the air which the gods breathed) and Hemera (day).

On her own, Nyx generated many descendants.
These were
Apate (deception),
Eris (discord),
Geras (maturation, or aging),
Hypnos (sleep),
Keres (eaters of the dead or wounded on the battlefield),
Moirai (the fates),
Momus (blame or denunciation),
Moros (doom),
Nemesis (revenge or retribution),
Oizys (suffering),
Oneiroi (Dreams),
Philotes (affection) and
Thanatos (death).

Uranus also produced his own children, although this was not by choice. His children were purportedly spawned when Cronos {one of the principle Titans} castrated Uranus.

The blood that had spilled would go on to create the
Erinyes (the furies, female deities of vengeance),
Giants (aggressive and strong beings, although not necessarily larger than human),
Meliae (ash tree nymphs).

Also, when the severed genitals of Uranus washed ashore, Aphrodite (the goddess of love among other things) came into being among the sea foam.

Credits:
All About Mythology

Link: https://www.facebook.com/476695146420541/posts/477101443046578/

Please, like and follow their page, thank you!