Phanes: Shedding Light to ‘New Life’

I hope I got it right Phanes Protogonus.

To Protogonos [i.e. Phanes]

Fumigation from Myrrh.

O mighty Protogonos (First-Begotten), hear my prayer,

twofold, egg-born, and wandering through the air;

bull-roarer, glorying in thy golden wings,

from whom the race of Gods and mortal springs.

Ericapaeus, celebrated power,

ineffable, occult, all-shining flower.

‘Tis thine from darksome mists to pure the sight,

all-spreading splendour, pure and holy light;

hence, Phanes, called the glory of the sky,

on waving pinions through the world you fly.

Priepos, dark-eyed splendour, thee I sing,

genial, all-prudent, ever blessed king.

With joyful aspect on these rites divine

and holy consecration (telete) propitious shine."

- Orphic Hymn to Phanes (Source)

This one is among my most favorite gods in underground Greek mythology. Like most of the other Protogenoi, Phanes did not quite reach the mainstream celebrity status of the much younger gods at these present times. Nevertheless, it did not stop him from being one of the most important deities. Just so you know, Phanes’ awesomeness was enough to create order in the early chaotic universe… from a broken egg shell, literally.

Before anything else: the Orphic ‘mystery’. The myths of Phanes came from a set of beliefs known to us as Orphic Mysteries. However, whether this was just a sect of the Hellenismos (the belief in the Olympian Gods) or a different religion entirely, I am not so sure. The mysteries were said to have been named after the mythical bard, Orpheus, who was said to have established them himself.

According to Timeless Myths:

Behind the myth, is the religion of salvation for the human soul.

(Beautiful! I am a Catholic, and I’ve always believed in salvation, too!)

Birth of the 'First-Born'

Phanes was a divinity representing the first principle of life. He was generally received by the people and the gods alike as Protogonus, meaning “the first-born.” However, since there are so many conflicting stories about creation, there also so many different stories of how Phanes was… well… born first (Seriously, being the obsessive compulsive person that I am, the thought of so many conflicts makes my head ache).

And so, I had to settle to that one version that I had read from a blog called The Mirror Palace (which is also an attempt to reconcile varying myths. Thank you for making my work so much easier!). It goes like this:

… In the beginning, and for unknowable eons, all that existed was Chaos; the deep mists of the void. Chaos existed, and nothing else: she did not breathe, she did not think, she did not live. And yet stirring in her misty womb—perhaps over hundreds of thousands of years; perhaps for even longer—were the Protogenos gods Ananke and Khronos-Aeon. Nature, of course, abhors a vacuum; and so it was the eternal pull of inevitability that pulsed together in the barely-there body of Chaos until, finally, the moment arose and Ananke and Khronos-Aeon were born, tangled together.

From Khronos-Aeon and Ananke’s violent, and yet utterly sexless, embrace, Phanes’ egg was produced; it grew in Ananke’s womb until the time came for it to emerge. And yet there was, truly, no way for the egg to emerge: there was yet no Phanes, no Protogenos pull to reproduce – and so they could not, did not, reproduce. It was only when Phanes hatched from his egg, deep in Ananke’s body, that they became truly, sexually formed: and at that moment, Ananke was torn apart by the immense pressure of generation, life, sex – the immense pressure that was Phanes. Thus, now, Ananke’s divinity rested with Khronos’ still, but she was utterly formless—more so, even, than Chaos.

I imagined Gundam Seed's Seed Mode just by reading this. Yay! 

Phanes’ arrival—his necessary arrival—into the cosmos kicked everything into action. The other Protogenos offspring that had been stirring within Chaos were instantly born – Erebus, Nyx, Tartarus and Gaea; darkness, night, the stormy pit beneath the earth and the earth itself, respectively. Phanes pulsed, everywhere: the Protogenos gods crashed together and life exploded in the far-reaching darkness of the cosmos.

Smooth and easy, eh?

A Fan's Guide to Phanes

It was not only the Orphics who venerated Phanes so much. The Romans also honored him as the FABRICATOR MUNDI (World’s Creator). Considering his importance in the mythological history, it was just natural for this guy to have quite a huge fan base.

I'M THE KING OF THE WORLD!!!

I’m the king of the world! (The line stayed with me since the first time I watched Titanic. Teehee. Sorry.)

As the creator god, Phanes crowned himself as the first king of the universe (Well, without anyone else in the cosmos, who was there to disagree?). I have also read somewhere that he started the evolutionary progression of the dynasties of the Vasilei (“Kings”), which must have included Nyx, then Uranus, then Cronus and finally, Zeus.

He possessed cosmic powers that brought light into the darkness and order out of chaos. It is believed that by his centuries-old battle with Chaos, the creation of birds took place as the result.

The power of love. Phanes was virtually the same as Hesiod’s Elder Eros, and different from the Younger Eros that people are more aware of. Believe me, there are so many discussions whether they’re one and the same or altogether different. For the purpose of this article, let’s just consider them as different entities, okay (read: please)?

Whereas the Younger Eros presided over desire, Phanes (as Eros, oh I’m getting tired) was the primeval god of procreation and generation of new life. It was basically what his main role in mythology was – to be the driving force behind reproduction in the early cosmos. We might as well consider him the god of love, sex, and magic:

(It was a Justin Timberlake original but this version seemed more wholesome for me and my blog. Still a catchy song isn’t it?)

With his power, he ignited passion between the gods Erebus and Nyx; which led to the universe’s first sexual intercourse, and hence, to the universe’s first child. Although Phanes had no child directly from his own seed, he still considered Nyx his own daughter. Even more so, he deemed himself to be the father of all the gods, and the creator of men and animals.

Brighter than the sun. (I swear I would have put Colbie Caillat’s song here had I not been afraid I’m exploiting YouTube already.)

Aside from being the god of the lovey-dovey thingies, Phanes also appeared as the uroboric (whatever that means) male-female deity of light and goodness. Well, it makes real sense especially when your name literally means “bringer of light.”

He was the great force which both conceals and reveals all the forms that exist in the natural world. He sometimes manifests himself as a blaze of limitless light. Figuratively speaking, he:

makes visible, gives light to, the rest of creation.  He is sometimes called light itself.

(Thanks Hellenic Gods for that one!)

His light was so powerful and encompassing that it makes Aether’s light just a camera flash and Helios’ flicker of a firefly.

The dude Phanes must have been a very private god, too. As the most reliable ancient sources claim, he uses his light to make himself invisible even through the eyes of the other gods. And so the gods started to call him Antauge or “reflecting light.”

Debating the Deity?

Discussing Phanes’ disputable nature could be a pain in a**. Seriously, the dude could have also been the god of identity crisis.

A tale of two sexes. Phanes was always being described as a beautiful bi-gendered god; not as a gay man or a gay woman or a transgender (Don’t worry, I have nothing against you); but a being literally having two sexes: a male and a female. A more proper term would be hermaphroditic (See, Phanes was a hermaphrodite even before the term was coined. He was even older than Hermes and Aphrodite themselves. Remember, Phanes is ancient stuff, guys).

Stephanie Goodart, SRC mentioned in her article Shedding Light on Some Orphic Gods:

Phanes as a hermaphroditic being represents his role as the definitive creator god. He has within him “the seed of all the gods.”

As a male, he was also called Ericapaeus, meaning power, which makes so much sense in him. Also as a male, the Orphics equated Phanes with the Elder Eros (not to be confused with Younger Eros, Aphrodite’s minion) of Hesiod's Theogony, who emerged at the beginning of time alongside Chaos and Gaea.

On the other hand, Phanes also had quite a handful of aliases as a woman. First among these was Metis (“thought”). The Titans Oceanus and Tethys must have gotten the inspiration for the name of one of their daughters from her (or him?). Under the name Thesis, Phanes became known as the primordial GODDESS of creation (I’m quite thinking of the days when Phanes had to choose whether he/she wanted to be the Phanes, the god, or Thesis the goddess, when it comes to creation). As if that’s not enough, he as her mated with another Protogenos Hydros, the 100% pure god of fresh water.

Lastly, Phanes also manifested himself as Physis, the goddess who presided over the origin and the ordering of nature. She, among all the other deities, deserved to be called MOTHER NATURE. What’s more, Physis reached the much-coveted fame in Rome as Natura, the goddess of nature.

A Trip to Persia and Rome to the world. Recent studies show a relative connection between our god Phanes and the much more popular Persian idol, Mithras.

For the benefit of every one, Mithras was a god of a mystery religion (see?) known as the Mithraic Mysteries which a quite a fascination to everyone in ancient Rome (I’m dreading that Candy Crush will reach this status in the near future. Creepy).  He was another cosmic deity who rules over light and goodness. However, owing to the cult's secrecy, modern researches possess almost no literary evidence about the beliefs of Mithraism.

According to Tertullian, there is evidence that the cult of Mithras in Rome was influenced by the Orphics’ belief in the creator god. Modern people might understand this if I say that Mithras’s story could have been a remake of Phanes’ (oh, don’t get me started in movie remakes).

In the Mithraic cult, Mithras was believed to have been born inside a rock from which all the cosmos had sprung. Mysterium (a mystery website – not a specialty store; also not a theme park attraction) says:

… the rock from which Mithras is born does indeed represent the cosmos is proven by the snake that entwines it: for this image evokes unmistakably the famous Orphic myth of the snake-entwined "cosmic egg" out of which the universe was formed when the creator-god Phanes emerged from it at the beginning of time. Indeed, the Mithraists themselves explicitly identified Mithras with Phanes, as we know from an inscription found in Rome and from the iconography of a Mithraic monument located in England.

Now, look at the sculptures:

What do you think?

Just to end this part, let’s just say that Phanes, like most of the other gods’ (whose own aspect conflictions are a theme in Rick Riordan’s Heroes of Olympus series), can alter certain aspects of his persona depending on the culture of the people which worshipped him. Phanes was a supreme god after all; it shouldn’t be that hard for him. Right, eh?

And I guess that settles it.

Phanes in the Later Years: First 'Love' Never Dies

I know, I know, the title for this part’s already a cliché. But then it became very applicable for Phanes who remained an active, unseen power even after the Titanomachy.

One of the first things that Zeus did when he became boss was to secure his ultimate rule of the cosmos. He sought out Phanes to the edges of creation. This was, of course, no small feat since the creator god was invisible even through the eyes of the gods. Regardless, Zeus still found him, and devoured his Essence (really, how different is he from his father?) in order to assume his primal cosmic power and redistribute it amongst a new generation of gods--the Olympians which he sired.

I did a little extension to this story (Beware: no reliable sources, just me):

Sitting on Zeus’ belly, Phanes’ Essence as the Creator remained a sentient force. In retaliation, it put a curse on Zeus causing him the insatiable desire to create, create, and create. And hence, his multitude of children from multitude of women.

After that, it was said that Phanes’ Essence was reincarnated with Dionysus’ birth by Zeus (another looong story). In order to save the godling from getting killed by the furious Hera, Hermes snatched Dionysus from his nurse Ino. As if fate was playing a game with them, Hermes with Dionysus ran into Hera during their escape (Oh my god, this reminds me of an intense scene in a soap opera).

In a fleeting moment, Hermes disguised himself as Phanes. Not knowing about the fraudulence, Hera regarded him courteously and let him go on his way. It was also in this form that Hermes gave Dionysus in the care of Rhea in her palace on Mount Dindymene, until the boy was ready to become a full-on god.

No wonder, even the gods are Phanes aficionados.

Pontus: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

Pontus, the Sea,  by me.

I dived deep into the caverns of libraries and the internet, but didn't find much to say about this god. (Sad truth is that there are certain gods who were not very popular, you won’t find anything written about them aside from their names. Imagination becomes the key, my dears.)

BTW, thanks to Jules Verne for the inspiration of the title. Bless your soul.

Back to Pontus, he was not the most famous of the sea gods; but that does not mean that he is not a deity worth taking note of.

The Biggest Fish in the Pond

If you’re thinking that Pontus is just some old fishy god indistinguishable from other mermen of myths and folk tales, well, think again.

He was actually pretty much exactly the one referred to in this song:

Yes. Although it might not seem very much like it, Pontus was the most powerful of all the Sea Lords, since he was LITERALLY the spirit or the Essence of the actual sea, rather than just being another briny deity.

In addition to that, the old chap was said to have the Black Sea as his home. There he warmly received his guests and often hosted pool parties. The place was then called by the Greeks as Euxeinos Pontos, literally the “Hospitable Sea.” You may read about the country called Pontus which grew in its shores later.

Ichthyologic genealogy. Disclaimer: This part is about Pontus’ family; not the Aquatic Ape Theory.

Pontus was one of the earliest figures in the Greek’s version of creation. We might as well call him the ‘Early Fish’ of mythology, as early bird might sound offensive to him. He was the first (or second, I’m not really sure) son of Mother Gaea, the ever fecund goddess of the Earth.

By her (this is considered VERY scandalous in modern times), Pontus sired a whole host of marine deities. This account is beautifully told in Hesiod’s Theogony:

And Pontus begat Nereus, the eldest of his children, who is true and lies not: and men call him the Old Man because he is trusty and gentle and does not forget the laws of righteousness, but thinks just and kindly thoughts. And yet again he got great Thaumas and proud Phorcys, being mated with Earth, and fair-cheeked Ceto and Eurybia who has a heart of flint within her.

Thanks Theoi Project for that one!

Now THESE are his babies (!?). Thanks Source!

Yet again, being his mother’s lover did not seem right for Pontus. So he got a mate of his own, the oh-so-cool mermaid goddess, Thalassa. Joined together in wedlock, they became the very first rulers of the Sea. The two became the parents of all the fishes and other creatures of the sea (which are a whole lot of creatures!).

Among their children, the most notable were the Telchines – nine dog-headed, flipper-handed daemons whose existence is a great mystery to many. (I’m really interested with this bunch, and I’m planning to put an article about them. But they’re not one of the top priorities right now).

Undersea Politics. As I was researching about Pontus, I was struck by this title given to him by a website called That’s Greece. There, he was called:

The forsaken master of the oceans* 

*Oceans here are used to refer to all the world’s largest bodies of salt water. It does not refer to MY invented realm of Ocean, the kingdom of freshwater.

Unfortunately, not much was said as to why he was called such. I was a little disappointed because the title Forsaken Master could have said much in itself but needed a lot backing up to support its point. And so, as the storyteller that I consider myself to be, I came up with a story explaining this title.

BEWARE: The following story is PURELY MADE UP STORY by me. I’ve got no classical reference for this one.

In the creation of the universe, each of the Protogenoi represented a specific element or realm that make up a part of the entire cosmos. In this guise, Pontus embodied the seawater, whereas Hydros, an older Protogenoi, represented freshwater. They existed independently from each other.

Early on, Pontus ruled the Sea (the saltwater kingdom) from his palace in the Black Sea with his counterpart, the goddess Thalassa, and his children with Gaea: Nereus, Thaumas, Phorcys, Ceto and Eurybia. They exercised autonomous power over all the sea life; until Cronus ascended the throne of Othrys. Peace-loving (or a coward, I must say) as he had always been, Pontus decided not to anger Cronus and readily agreed for the Sea to become one of Cronus’ tributary kingdoms. This had earned him the favor of the Titan king, who let him govern the entire briny territory in his behalf. The two eventually became good friends. Pontus even helped Cronus imprison his young son Poseidon within his dominion.

As it turned out, Pontus was also one of those old men who always looked forward to having grandchildren. And so, he betrothed his eldest son, Nereus, to the Ocean nymph Doris; promising a share of his territory (read: his Essence!) to Doris’ parents, Oceanus and Tethys. Unknown to him, the Titan couple was not in good terms with Cronus. This predicament had earned him the king’s wrath at the start of the Titanomachy. Cronus seized his remaining Essence and used it as a weapon – his body melting away with sea water. 

Triumph of Neptune and Amphitrite
by Frans Francken

After the Titanomachy, Pontus (or his Essence) became the power and domain of Poseidon; just as Aether and Uranus became Zeus’s.

The Land of the 'Sea': Pontus in History

On being the “Hospitable Sea,” Pontus even allowed for the establishment of overseas colonies by the Greeks. Hence, the founding of the country of Pontus. According to Wikipedia:

Pontus (Greek: PontoV, “sea”, Turkish: Pontus) is a historical designation for a region on the southern coast of the Black Sea, located in modern-day northeastern Turkey. The name was applied to the coastal region in antiquity by the Greeks who colonized the area… Having originally no specific name, the region east of the river Halys was spoken of as the country en Pontoi en Pontoi, “on the [Euxeinos] Pontos”, and hence acquired the name of Pontus…

(For more info regarding Pontus the country, click here.)

Rumors even had it that Amasia, the capital city of the Amazons – that all-female tribe of warlike chicks who gave us Wonder Woman – was located in this country. Oh yes, c’mon.

Thalassa: Diving Deep with the Dragon Queen

Thalassa, badass mermaid.

People from across the globe have always been fascinated by stories of beautiful humanlike female beings living in an enchanting world under the sea. Likewise, the ancient Greeks worshiped a vast host of these deities. But before there were the sea celebrities Tethys, Doris, Amphitrite, and even the redhead Ariel, there was this all-powerful chick who dominated the rule of the deep.

Yes, she is Thalassa. And yes, she is not your typical little mermaid.

Birth waters. According to various ancient sources, Thalassa was the unica hija (meaning only daughter… just testing my little existent Spanish XD) of the Protogenoi Aether and Hemera. 

And although I believe that the Greek creation myth was a reasonable story which can be explained by logic and science, I still don’t understand how Light and Day together begot the Sea. I’ll really appreciate it if somebody enlightens me about this.

Anyhow, she was also called Thalatta or Thalath by her closest friends. (Source)

'Sea' the sign

The goddess Thalassa was of particular importance, in contrast with the other merfolk of myths and legends. She was the primordial female Essence of the Sea. She was waaayyyy more primitive and inhuman power than other sea goddesses we know. As such, she was often represented as having a body made of water itself.

(Science has already proven that the common mundane body is composed of 75% water. But Thalassa’s case was different. Hers was actually 100% saltwater!)

The Romans had good reason to call the Mediterranean their
sea as shown in this map of the Roman Empire, obtained here.

Her male counterpart was Pontus, the King of the Sea, son of Gaea by herself (Yes). As his wife, Thalassa was honored as the first Queen of the Sea. She must have been a very regal and stern ruler that people later nicknamed her, “the Dragon Queen.” (Or she could really transform herself into a dragon)

This title had further established her connection with the primeval Mesopotamian figure Tiamat, which I’ll be discussing later.

Anyway, she was referred to by the Romans as MARE, the female personification of the Sea. They even named the Mediterranean Sea as Mare Nostrum, meaning Our Sea (Not a very possessive lot, eh?). BTW, I read that bit in the glossary of The Heroes of Olympus: The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan.

Motherf***er. Before you report me for using obscene language in this blog, let me clarify that the title of this section meant MOTHER FISHER, a title I personally gave to Thalassa as the creator of all sea life. So no worries. No swearing.

Moving on, Thalassa got all ‘wet’ and ‘wild’ with her mate, the equally ‘wet’ and ‘wild’ sea spirit Pontus. From their union came the tribes of fish and all the sea mammals.

We now know who to thank for THE PLENTY OF FISH IN THE SEA. (I just don't know about that online dating site). Thalassa’s the name, babies.

Aside from the fishy children that they've had, they also spawned the nine sea daemons called the Telchines. What they really are is not totally definite. Some say that they were priestly wizards; others they were demonic spirits. Either way, they were said to know a lot about forbidden magic, and even use Stygian water for their crops. The fact that they had dog heads and flipper hands would probably making you think twice about messing with them. (They’re really interesting, and I’m planning to put an article about them. In the distant future, maybe.)

Rumors had it that she was also the mother of Aphrodite. (Although, I personally believe it was Dione who was the goddess’ real mother. Read about her here.)

Thalasa is Tiamat is Thalassa

For us to understand this part, we’ll have to first identify who this Tiamat was. The name might ring a bell to Dungeons and Dragons players out there, but for everybody’s benefit, I got this brief description from the most accessible website we call Wikipedia:

Tiamat was a chaos monster, a primordial goddess of the ocean, mating with Abzû (the god of fresh water) to produce younger gods. It is suggested that there are two parts to the Tiamat mythos, the first in which Tiamat is 'creatrix', through a "Sacred marriage" between salt and fresh water, peacefully creating the cosmos through successive generations. In the second "Chaoskampf" Tiamat is considered the monstrous embodiment of primordial chaos.

In trying to compare and reconcile various mythologies (an effort I really admire), researchers were able to find out a connection between the awesome Thalassa and the awful Tiamat. The Order ofTiamat says:

Tiamat was also known as Thalattē (as a variant of thalassa, the Greek word for “sea”) in the Hellenistic Babylonian Berossus’ first volume of universal history. It is thought that the name of Tiamat was dropped in secondary translations of the original religious texts (written in the East Semitic Akkadian language) because some Akkadian copyists of Enûma Elish substituted the ordinary word for “sea” for Tiamat, since the two names had become essentially the same, due to association.

However, whereas the Greeks saw Thalassa as a beautiful sea formed woman, Tiamat was represented as:

• 300 miles long, circumference of 100 ft, and a mouth that opens 10 ft.
• Undulates 6 miles high. Huge scaled body, legs, forked tongue, head and forelegs of a lion, feathered wings and eagle's hind quarters. Her skin was immune to all weapons.
• Tiamat was the female water spirit of chaos
• Primordial mother of all that is living and not and was
• Occasionally referred to as a monster of Air. (As Thalassa, this could have been plausible, being a daughter of Aether)
• In some sources she is given the ability to shapeshift.
• Symbolic of salt water, in which she lived
• Marduk himself is occasionally represented with a horned dragon at his feet. Particularly on a Babylonian cylinder seal.
• Alexander Heidel in Babylonian Genesis questions the popular view of Tiamat as a dragon.

(Source: http://www.theserenedragon.net/Tales/babylon-tiamat.html)

Thalassa may not have been very fond of the Babylonians that she appeared in that form. Or Tiamat may have been Thalassa’s early form before coming to the Greeks and starting life anew. Or mood swings cause her to change in either form. Or they may not have been connected at all.

Possibilities are endless, my dears.

The 'ebbing' sea

After a long time serving as the female sovereign of the Sea (and being identified with a female chaos monster), Thalassa retired almost in obscurity.

I made up a story (read it here) where Cronus seized Pontus’ Essence to use as his weapon during the Titanomachy. Thalassa must have been very grief-stricken back then. Thus, she was not anymore seen with the other marine deities. According to the Gods and Goddesses Blog:

While many of the sea deities were very social in their chaos, Thalassa became far more isolated.

And thus, she represented the vast, lonely sea on unpopulated coasts. As time passed by, she was mostly remembered only as the goddess of lonely shores. She slowly dissipated, and her body and her womb became one with the sea itself.

Would you forgive me if I insert this song at this point?

Teehee.

Thalassocracy, the sea goddess legacy

thal·as·soc·ra·cy

n.pl. thal·as·soc·ra·cies

Naval or commercial supremacy on the seas.

Now this is a very fitting legacy from the Dragon Queen of the Sea.

Examples of thalassocracies are the ancient powerful mercantile kingdoms of Phoenicia and Carthage, as well as the early modern empires of Portugal and Spain having the greatest navies of their time. Thanks The Free Dictionary and Wikipedia!

Thalassa also made it to our science (astronomy, geology, medicine, etc.) books and journals as:

• Thalassa, or Neptune IV, the second innermost satellite of planet Neptune (the salty connection between the names);
• Panthalassa was the vast global ocean that surrounded the supercontinent Pangaea, during the late Paleozoic and the early Mesozoic years (It’s interesting to note the Gaea’s name was also used in the name Pangaea. Go primeval goddesses in science!); and
• Thalassemia, a form of inherited blood disorder that originated in the Mediterranean region (Yes! From Mare Nostrum itself!).

So much for being a low-profile sea queen, eh?

My Apology and Alibis About This Blog... Plus an Important Announcement

As you may notice, I had not posted a thing in here for the last couple of months. This may not be a big deal to a lot of people, but I got to know a few who had been looking forward but, alas, found nothing. I'm sorry to have disappointed you.

Truth be told, I'm quite disappointed, too.

I started this blog with so much promise. I used to post at least 2 new articles almost every 12 hours. I was overflowing with the creative juices that kept me writing incessantly. It was never easy to compose one article, but it made me inexplicably happy and fulfilled. But then, a realization came over me. I could do this forever, but it's not the only thing that I should do. And so, I had to push this 'hobby' on the sides and try to find a real financially beneficial job.

Thank God, I found one. It was not very hard and was averagely paying. I really like working for a tour company. It was one of my biggest dreams in life. I became so engrossed in being good at my work that I slowly forgot to update this site. I know there's nobody to be blamed for this, but I still felt robbed. Of my time. Of my hobby. Of my spark. Of a part of my Essence.

 I've been planning to write this post for weeks. It's only know that I found the chance, the courage and the drive to do so. I finally resolved to not let this little special flame inside of me get extinguished by the flow of my 'other life'. Now, I'm finally claiming it, I'm already Greek god in my own right. And I won't let common mundane happenings get the best of what I ought and what I want to do.

No, no, no. I'm not saying that I'm gonna quit my job just to write full time. I just wanna tell everyone that from now on, you may expect one to two articles per week in this simple blog.

So as to make up for the lost times, I revised ALL my already posted articles for a better Greek mythology experience. Some of them I have changed a lot, but most have just had their formats altered.
- Get to know WHAT MAKES GODS GODS
- Be present in the CLASH OF THE TITANIDES, and once again, meet: Theia, Mnemosyne, Phoebe, Tethys, Themis and Rhea. Plus the goddess Dione.
- Go BACK TO BASICS and meet some of the gods who started it all: Aether, Hemera and Erebus.

Starting next week, I'll be posting articles about the other gods... including those you haven't heard of. Also....

ANNOUNCEMENT: NOW ACCEPTING CONTRIBUTIONS

The world of mythology is a VAST and COMPLICATED world, and I know that I can't record every godly happenings alone. So, from now on... I'LL BE ACCEPTING contributions from you my chosen few readers. Here's what you just have to write about:
-Your choice god/goddess/mythical being (Pls. be aware that we don't post about mortals here, except those who have been apotheosized)

In your article, please include their:
- Name (of course)
- Family
- Realms or powers
- Major stories
- Comparative mythology (that is, comparison to other pantheons)
-Whatever you think has happened to them
- And, their modern relevance

Just one warning, please make sure that what you'll submit will be your own original composition. Of course, no one wants to get to the bad side of things.

Also, please be informed that the articles you'll submit will be edited before getting posted here to make sure of its content.

If you are interested, just e-mail me your contributions, lordaphaius28@gmail.com with the title of the article written in the subject line.

This blog is not only about me now. I believe in you demigods and gifted mortals. I am looking forward to your write ups. TOGETHER, WE CAN MAKE IT BETTER.

Erebus: Walking Through the Valley of the ‘Shadow’ of Death

Darkness is Erebus.

(I got the title from my favorite psalm in the Bible, Psalm 23. Congratulations to those who recognized it. Peace to those who didn’t.)

I have not found many references for this particular god. From my point of view, Erebus so wanted to live a very private life; he left many details about him... well... in the dark.

The Murky Past. Almost all ancient sources agree that our boy Erebus was one of the early birds of Greek mythology. Hence, he belonged to the class of the Protogenoi. Erebus, together with his sister-wife Nyx, was born in the beginning of time from Chaos, the shapeless nothingness who, ironically, was also the mixture of everything (I know I got you confused with that one. I myself am confused, too. It’s a tie.)

Anyway, Chaos must have gotten his/her (I’m not really sure) son’s name from that book quite popular among first time parents (called A Thousand Baby Names or something). According to Greek Gods Info:

The name Erebus is believed to come from Proto-Indo-European language, *h1regwos, cognate to Old Norse rœkkr, Gothic riqis "darkness", Sanskrit rajani "night", Tocharian orkäm "darkness". Some also believe that Erebus could be from Semitic, c.f. Hebrew erebh and Akkadian erebu "sunset, evening" ("darkness").

Pretty name for a baby god, actually.

More than Fifty Shades of Gray

Blackout. Like all the first-born gods, Erebus also represented a fundamental element of the universe. He was the god of shadows and was DARKNESS himself. It would be interesting for us to mention that her consort Nyx was also a deity of darkness, and the goddess of night on that note.

His dark mists enveloped the edges of the world, and filled the deep hollows of the earth. His wife Nyx drew these mists across the heavens to bring night to the world, while his daughter Hemera scattered them bringing day: one blocking out the light of Aether (shining, blue heaven) and the other revealing it (Source).

Obscurity Agency. You might think that being always in the dark is all depressingly boring; but not for Erebus. In fact, there are a couple of things (spell P-O-W-E-R-S) that makes Erebus enjoy his job.

Rumor has it that the guy had complete mastery over the manipulation of Shadows and Darkness (well, duh). That means Erebus can manipulate and control things by their shadows; can make shadows become three-dimensional, tangible, even living beings; can use darkness and shadows as portals from one another (Source).

(The Disney kid in me imagines Peter Pan chasing his shadow. The Otaku in me sees Shikamaru and his ninja techniques. Whichever is cooler. Thanks to Google images for the two BTW. XD)

Furthermore, he can bless one with some of his powers. According to a website interestingly called Superpower List:

“His blessing gives you powers over the dark. For one, you can control shadows as living things. They are your faithful servants. You can make them do whatever you want. They can reshape themselves and store things within themselves. However, you cannot become a shadow or shadow travel.”

The good: Control shadows The shadows can reshape and store things within themselves. Shadows can spy on things for you and can "communicate" with you

The bad: Can only summon so many shadows to help you at once No shadow mimicry or travel

(It’s a really fun website especially I you’re into superhero thingies like me. You can even choose the powers you’d want to have there. Visit the site here. Super awesome.)

Seriously Black Family. (Bad pun, I know. My apologies to all the Potterheads out there.)

Like many of the Protogenoi (and the gods in general), Erebus also possessed the virility some men could only wish for. Unlike most of the gods, though, he remained faithful to his wife, Nyx. As Godchecker puts it:

“Even with the lights turned out he managed to father CHARON, THANATOS, HYPNOS, EROS and the FATES.”

(Wait up; I have more interesting references for Eros and the Fates’ parentage which I’ll be posting in this blog. Soon.)

Just so you know, Erebus and Nyx were more hard-working than that. Actually, here’s the full list of their children I got from our favorite Wikipedia:

• Aether (Brightness)
• Charon (of keen gaze)
• Epiphron (Prudence, shrewdness, thoughtfulness and carefulness)
• Hemera (Day)
• Hypnos (Sleep): father, with Pasithea, of Phantasos (dreams)
• Moros (Doom)
• Nemesis (Indignation, Retribution)
• Sophrosyne (temperance, balance, moderation)
• Thanatos (Death)
• Morpheus (Dreams)

There are quite a few individuals here whom I think have different parents. I’ll just be discussing them at some other times, though.

Nyx also bore several children without the help of any man. I have no idea how she did that, but Erebus still treated them as his own, though. What a loving husband!

The god is a governor

*****ALERT: This is in relation to Erebus also being one of the Infernal Regions. I just wanted to make up a story of how he came to be one. Not much references here. Enjoy but consider yourself warned.*****

Unlike the other Protogenoi, Erebus did not fade nor become transformed into a thing with the coming of the younger generation of gods. To add to that, he continued to play an important role in the cycles of night and day. However, while the other gods kept coming and going and bickering against each other, Erebus had always kept his mouth shut and in the dark.

This had earned him the favor of the newly crowned King Cronus. Along with being the god of darkness and shadows, the Titan lord also appointed him the governor of the infernal region where the dead had to pass immediately after dying. It was:

A world below where no ray of sunshine, no gleam of daylight or vestige of health-giving terrestrial life ever appeared.

In this guise, Erebus became associated with his fellow Protogenoi and governor of hell, Tartarus. They were both put under the dominion of the Titan Iapetus who ruled the Underworld, much to Erebus’ displeasure. It is said that the god Hades was brought up in either his or Tartarus’ realm.

When the Titanomachy came, Erebus still did not take sides. As a result, he did not become affected by it. He still retained his power as governor when Hades ascended the throne of the Underworld.

Not much was heard about him after that. (As if people heard so much from him before that. Tsss.)

Mount Erebus: Here comes Hell

Fortunately for us modern humans, we don't have to die to get to Erebus. On my research, I found a real actual place on earth named Erebus! Yes, Mount Erebus is an active volcano located on the icy territory of Antarctica. And please let me quote this from National Geographic:

We’ve come to one of the coldest spots on Earth to search for beings that thrive in blistering heat. In a place with full daylight for four months, we’re seeking life that dwells in utter darkness. Welcome to the topsy-turvy world of Antarctica’s Mt. Erebus.

However, I wouldn't recommend visiting this one (Unless you're a real expert on volcanology, and you can pay the money to go to Antarctica).

As it shows, Erebus, like its namesake, is also no fit for living beings. Like its mythical counterpart, visiting Mount Erebus unarmed would only lead you to one destination – the land of the DEAD.