Greek Mythology · primordial

Chaos

Χάος
also: Chaos
primordialoriginthe void

The first 'gap' or 'yawn' of existence in Hesiod's Theogony — the void from which all else, including Night and Eros, first emerged.

CH
The account

Who they are

In Hesiod's Theogony, the very first thing is Chaos — a yawning gap, not a god in the anthropomorphic sense but the primordial void from which the earliest beings spring [S1]S1 · Hesiod, Theogonyc. 700 BCEtextOpen source ↗. From Chaos come Gaia (Earth), Tartarus (the deep abyss), Eros (attraction/love), and Nyx (Night) [S1]S1 · Hesiod, Theogonyc. 700 BCEtextOpen source ↗. Chaos is best understood as a cosmogonic principle — the empty space that makes differentiation possible — rather than a character. Later Orphic tradition recasts the origin differently (a cosmic egg, Phanes), a genuine variant we present alongside the Hesiodic account [S1]S1 · Hesiod, Theogonyc. 700 BCEtextOpen source ↗[S5]S5 · Pseudo-Apollodorus, Library (Bibliotheca)c. 1st–2nd c. CE (transmits earlier)text.
Worth knowing
  • In Hesiod, Chaos is not 'evil' — the word's later connotation is a modern development [S1]S1 · Hesiod, Theogonyc. 700 BCEtextOpen source ↗.
  • Orphic cosmogony replaces Chaos-at-first with a golden cosmic egg and the god Phanes [S5]S5 · Pseudo-Apollodorus, Library (Bibliotheca)c. 1st–2nd c. CE (transmits earlier)text.
Uncertainties & variants
  • The precise 'nature' of Chaos (void vs. a personified entity) is interpretive; Hesiod only says it came first [S1]S1 · Hesiod, Theogonyc. 700 BCEtextOpen source ↗.
Relationships (2)

Connections

Creation

CREATEDGaia — Chaos gives rise to Gaia (Earth).[S1]
CREATEDUranus — Chaos gives rise to Ouranos (Sky) — actually Ouranos is Gaia's child; Chaos begets the first beings including Gaia.[S1]
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Their corner of the divine world

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GREEK · 41variantvariant♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥AegisHelmet of HadesCaduceus of Her…Trident of Pose…Thunderbolt of …Alcmenamortalthe mortal mother of Heracles1 relationsAndromedamortalthe rescued princess2 relationsAphroditedeitylove7 relationsAtlasdeitythe sky (bore)1 relationsChaosprimordialorigin2 relationsDanaemortalthe mortal mother of Perseus1 relationsDemeterdeityharvest6 relationsEchidnamonsterthe monster-mother2 relationsGaiadeityearth6 relationsHadesdeitythe dead7 relationsHeradeitymarriage8 relationsHestiadeityhearth1 relationsLetodeitymotherhood (as mother of Apollo/Artemis)2 relationsMedusamonsterthe Gorgon3 relationsMetisdeitycounsel2 relationsOceanusdeitythe great world-river1 relationsOdysseusherocunning2 relationsPenelopemortalthe faithful wife of Odysseus2 relationsPoseidondeitythe sea6 relationsRheadeitymotherhood2 relationsSemelemortalthe mortal mother of Dionysus1 relationsTethysdeitythe primordial sea1 relationsTyphonmonsterthe great monster7 relationsCerberusmonsterthe guardian of the underworld3 relationsErosdeitylove2 relationsHebedeityyouth2 relationsHephaestusdeityfire6 relationsMaiadeitythe nymph2 relationsUranusprimordialsky6 relationsPersephonedeitythe underworld2 relationsTelemachusmortalthe son of Odysseus2 relationsCronusdeitytime (later association)9 relationsZeusdeitysky29 relationsApollodeitysun (later)4 relationsAresdeitywar (violence, bloodshed)3 relationsArtemisdeitythe hunt3 relationsAthenadeitywisdom4 relationsDionysusdeitywine3 relationsHeraclesherostrength7 relationsHermesdeitymessengers5 relationsPerseusheroheroism8 relations
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Myths featuring Chaos

1 story

The Hesiodic Creation (Cosmogony)

In the Theogony, the first thing is Chaos, from which come Gaia (Earth), Tartarus, Eros, and Nyx. Gaia bears Ouranos (Sky), and the union of Gaia and Ouranos produces the Titans, the Cyclopes, and the Hecatoncheires [S1]S1 · Hesiod, Theogonyc. 700 BCEtextOpen source ↗.

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