Greek primordial gods

The ancient Greeks proposed many different ideas about the primordial gods in their mythology. The many theogonies constructed by Greek poets each give a different account of which gods came first.

  • In Homer, Ocean and Tethys are the parents of all the gods.
  • In Hesiod, Chaos ("void", "gap") stands at the beginning, followed by Aether, Night and Eros; and then Uranos and Gaia.
  • Orphic poetry made Night the first principle.
  • Night is also the first deity in Aristophanes's Birds, producing Eros from an egg.
  • Alcman made the water-nymph Thetis the first goddess, producing poros "path", tekmor "marker" and skotos "darkness" on the pathless, featureless void.

Greek philosphers and thinkers also constructed their own cosmogonies, with their own primordial gods:





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