Which got here first: the rooster or the egg? If God created the universe, then who created God? If nothing existed earlier than the Massive Bang, then what created the cataclysm? The legal guidelines of the universe dictate that one thing can’t come from nothing. As a species, now we have at all times struggled to elucidate how the universe as we all know it originated. Religions have at all times tried to fill this hole in our information, with blended outcomes. A chief instance is the traditional Greek creation delusion, which begins with Chaos. Chaos was an extremely fluid and complicated idea in historic Greece – generally a spot, generally a goddess, and generally fairly actually nothing.

Who, or What, was Chaos in Greek Mythology?

In Greek cosmology, first there was nothing, after which there was Chaos. What was Chaos? Effectively, that modified over time. Generally Chaos was described as a spot, and different instances Chaos was described as a deity. Through the years and centuries, Greek representations of Chaos stored evolving.

Within the widespread custom, Chaos was the progenitor of every thing that adopted, the unique entity of creation that sparked every thing. This stayed true, whether or not or not Chaos was portrayed as a spot, deity, or each.

Wooden-inlay picture representing chaos magnum, the “nice gulf”, circa 1524 ( Public Domain )

Chaos as a Place in Greek Mythology

Chaos is most frequently described as a spot, though its description modified considerably over time. Chaos was first talked about within the textual content Theogony, by Hesiod, a Greek poet from round 750 BC. Nevertheless. Hesiod didn’t try to offer the place a bodily description.  Fortunately, the etymology of Chaos offers us all the outline we would want.

It’s believed that the phrase Chaos comes from the Greek verbs cháskō and chaínō which imply to “gape vast open”. As such, the very best translation to English is often deemed to be an abyss, chasm, or hole. We are able to take this to imply that Hesiod believed Chaos to be a terrific, empty chasm in existence, devoid of something.

Hesiod additionally made little effort to explain Chaos’s location post-creation. The Theogony appears to position it someplace beneath the heavens and the earth, however above Tartarus, the bottom stage of Greek cosmology. Throughout Zeus’s battle with the Titans, Hesiod acknowledged that Chaos was struck by Zeus’s thunderbolt, inflicting Chaos to be “seized by an astounding warmth”. On the finish of the Theogony, when Zeus is triumphant over the Titans, it’s stated Zeus banished the Titans to Chaos.

Different writers, nevertheless, positioned Chaos between the earth and the heavens, not beneath the earth. In line with these interpretations, Chaos was the void or chasm between the earth and the heavens. This may make it the sky.

Later writers made additional changes to Chaos. Slightly than a terrific vacancy, Chaos was portrayed as a chaotic, unruly combination of parts that got here earlier than existence. The Greek poet Ovid’s Metamorphoses, written within the first century AD, described Chaos as, “somewhat a crude and indigested mass, a dull lump, unfashioned and unframed, of jarring seeds and justly Chaos was named.” That is the place the fashionable English phrase chaos will get its which means – a jumbled combination of parts, somewhat than a terrific vacancy.

In a single model of the creation delusion, the Greek god Chaos was struck by certainly one of Zeus’s thunderbolts. Bronze figurine of Zeus Casting Thunderbolts, Sanctuary of Zeus at Dodona, circa 470 BC. (ZDE / CC BY SA 4.0 )

The Greek God Chaos because the First Deity

Chaos was additionally generally described as an early deity. In contrast to different gods and goddesses, as a deity Chaos was often described as formless. Chaos bore no resemblance to humanity and was by no means proven to be in communication with different deities or mortals.

Chaos as a deity is often regarded as feminine, however this isn’t wholly correct. Chaos produced its youngsters asexually, and in Greek the phrase Chaos is grammatically impartial, which means it’s neither male nor feminine.

Chaos was generally proven as a goddess of the air and birds, very like Gaia was a goddess of the earth. Chaos’s family tree meant she was additionally generally proven to be a goddess of destiny, due to her household connection to Nyx and the Moirae.

The Household of Chaos in Greek Mythology

Chaos will not be usually portrayed as having had dad and mom. Both it had sprouted from nothingness or had at all times existed. Quickly after Chaos appeared, it was stated that Gaia and Eros additionally appeared. Though they had been generally stated to have come from Chaos, historically they had been by no means stated to be its youngsters.

This doesn’t imply Chaos by no means had youngsters. In line with Hesiod, Chaos had two youngsters: Nyx, the goddess of the evening, and Erebus, the god of darkness. Chaos was stated to have achieved this on her personal. Nyx and Erebus then went on to change into the dad and mom of assorted different primordial deities and entities, comparable to Aether and Hemera.

For essentially the most half, Hesiod’s family tree was the accepted account in antiquity, however there have been exceptions. The Orphics rearranged the primordial deities to make Chaos the daughter of Chronos (time) and Ananke (Necessity).

The Latin creator Hyginus, then again, claimed Chaos was a toddler of Caligo (Mist) and that collectively that they had Nyx and Erebus. Different authors claimed Eros and the Moirae (the three personifications of destiny) had been the kids of Chaos.

Simply as Chaos birthed Nyx and Erebus, Gaia and Eros additionally had youngsters. These youngsters had been the Titans, who later gave beginning to the gods. Curiously, the 2 households by no means actually intermingled and remained genealogically separate. The youngsters of Chaos and Gaia had been by no means proven to have youngsters collectively.

Chaos’s function in Greek mythology was simply that of a progenitor. She, or it, was given no persona and other than the creation myth , only a few myths point out Chaos. When Chaos is talked about, it’s extra usually as a spot, somewhat than as a deity. 

Nyx, the Goddess of the Night time, was stated to be the daughter of Chaos in Greek mythology. Portray of Nyx, Night time Goddess by Gustave Moreau, 1880 ( Public Domain )

Conclusion

All in all and maybe aptly, it’s surprisingly troublesome to lock down an correct description or rationalization of what Chaos is. Each side of Chaos appears to have modified or been rewritten sooner or later. Generally Chaos is a goddess, generally it is a spot. Generally it’s each. Generally it is neither, only a nice swirling mass of parts.

It is not uncommon for anybody fascinated with Greek mythology to have this downside. The outdated myths continually advanced, with varied authors and poets giving the outdated tales their spin. But even for Greek mythology, Chaos is especially exhausting to pin down.

It’s maybe vital to not get too laden with labels when interested by Chaos within the context of Greek mythology. All through its completely different depictions, Chaos at all times existed to serve one operate – to elucidate what got here earlier than.

Prime Picture: The god of Chaos in Greek mythology was depicted as each a goddess and a spot. Supply: RolffImages / Adobe Inventory

By Robbie Mitchell