I’m Moving Out… I’m Starting Anew

To everyone who cared,

First off, I would like to say a big and hearty THANK YOU to the chosen few who have fought their way to the caverns of the cyber world and found this humble blog of mine. I am really glad that I got to share with you a part of me which most people I know could not have appreciated as much as you do. And so, I really cherished your taking time to read and understand this ‘seeming nonsense.’ You have no idea how much difference you’ve brought to the past few months of my life.

But, alas, for the longest time I wasn’t able to put a thing in here. And here I’ll go justifying my negligence again because of stress, work, blah… blah… blah… which is kind of tiring and unacceptable. Truth be told, in a sense, I feel that I have failed big time in being the Divine Archivist for my dear few readers and of course myself. And I would like to apologize for that.

Musing about these thoughts, I realized a few things about managing an info (?) site like this: a) you should at least have a plan or a rough time frame for the stuffs you’re going to write (which, unfortunately, I don’t have); and b) you have to stay focused if you really want something accomplished (which, unfortunately, I often lose). The decision to move out and start anew dawned upon me when a relative unconsciously coined an interesting spelling for my name. And so, from now on, I’ll go under the title Lord (because I’m a trying hard elitist) and Professor (because I’m a college instructor now) Viege. Better, brighter, and most importantly, more motivated… by the desire to share EVERYTHING I know about mythology.

After all that’s been said and done, promises made and having them broken, I am now going to ask you for a second chance. Coming with my new moniker is my brand new blog named LORD AND PROFESSOR VIEGE’S GREEK MYTH-O-MANIA (link), your unofficial and fully unauthorized guide to the famous and infamous immortals of Classical Mythology. The purpose of this blog is basically the same as The Olympian Archives. The difference, however, is that I’ll be trying very hard to follow a tight schedule week per week with a steady flow of articles (I’m more confident know, I already have the articles for the next few months). Also, I know that there’re people out there who are very much of a Greek geek like me so I’ll be more open to comments, suggestions and most of all, article contributions! For everyone interested, you may reach me through:

Deviantart: lordaphaius28.deviantart.com

Facebook: VeeJay Cuenca Dalisay

Gmail:        lordaphaius28@gmail.com

Google+:   Vee Jay Dalisay

Twitter:     @mahalnakonde

The Olympian Archives may not be open for business from now, but I’m still hoping to share with you the magic of myth through Greek Myth-o-Mania. So long… see you!

Sincerely,

Lord and Professor Viege

Divine Archivist, Myth-o-maniac

Nyx: Darkness before Dawn

The darkness that is Nyx.

To Nyx (Night)

Fumigation with Torches.

Nyx, parent goddess,

Source of sweet repose from whom at first both Gods and men arose.

Hear, blessed Kypris [Aphrodite], decked with starry light,

In sleep’s deep silence dwelling ebon night!

Dreams (oneiroi) and soft ease attend thy dusky train,

Pleased with the lengthened gloom and feastful strain,

Dissolving anxious care, the friend of mirth,

With darkling coursers riding round the earth.

Goddess of phantoms and of shadowy play,

Whose drowsy power divides the natural day;

By Fate’s decree you constant send

the light to deepest hell, remote from mortal sight;

For dire necessity (ananke), which nought withstands,

invests the world with adamantine bands.

Be present, Goddess, to thy suppliant’s prayer,

desired by all, whom all alike revere,

blessed, benevolent, with friendly aid

dispel the fears of twilight’s dreadful shade.

–Orphic Hymn 3 to Nyx (Source)

Unlike the other Hellenic goddesses who are all bright and cheery and clad in radiant gowns, Nyx was a dark figure so awesome even the greatest of the gods made a run for his money. As Wiki puts it:

Her appearances in mythology are sparse, but reveal her as a figure of exceptional power and beauty. 

Tsk, tsk. So much badassness.

Nocturnal Relations

In the ancient cosmogonies, Nyx (Roman Nox) was one of the very first created beings emerging from the void; a daughter of Chaos, and a sister of Erebus, Gaea and Tartarus. Sometimes, she was even represented as the mother, sister or daughter of the creator god Phanes (T’was hard to tell – no one else was present during the time!). Three generations before Zeus ‘n the gang, two before the Titans came on the scene; Nyx is ancient stuff, guys.

Following the custom of those times (or she didn’t really had much choice), Nyx married her brother, the equally dark Erebus. Together, they parented quite a handful of children:

• Aether (Brightness);
• Hemera (Day);
• Charon (Ferryman of the Dead);
• Eleos (Mercy);
• Epiphron (Sagacity); and
• Sophrosyne (Temperance)

However, Nyx did not seem satisfied with just making love with her husband. And so, without the help of any man, she spawned a brood of other kids. Most of her later children, though, seemed to have represented the ‘darker’ aspects of humanity (Really, the adjectives used to describe them were not particularly morale boosters). They were:

• Achlys (Death Mist);
• Apate (Deceit);
• Dolos (Deceit);
• “Hard-hearted” Eris (Strife);
• “Hateful” Geras (Old Age);
• Hybris (Insolence);
•  Hypnos (Sleep);
• “Black” Keres (Violent Deaths);
• Lyssa (Madness);
• Momus (Mockery);
• “Hateful” Morus (Doom);
• “Painful” Oizys (Misery);
• Philotes (Friendship);
• Ponus (Toil); and
• Thanatos (Death);

(The lists I had in hand were so varying I had to settle with my own list. There are a few who I believe have more reputable parents, so I didn’t put them here. Please let me know what you think!)

Mama knows best. That’s already a lot of children to keep track of; but Nyx still proved to be a protective mother to her children, though.

Love this photo? See more here.

One incident in the Iliad talks of Hypnos having offended Zeus for making him fall asleep in the middle of a war (Not a very wise move, man). Zeus was furious and would have smitten Hypnos into the sea had he not fled to Nyx, his mother, in fear. Zeus, fearing to anger Nyx, held his fury at bay, and in this way Hypnos escaped his wrath.

This badass mother may be one of the few, if not the only god Zeus would defer to, especially after a little show of her power.

Dark Matriarch

Then again, we cannot blame Zeus for being afraid of this goddess. Most of the oldest accounts say more about her than being just a goddess under the weather. And so, I thought this part could use this song:

The ancients considered Nyx as one of the most powerful divine beings. She was a first principle entity, and she was believed to be omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent, and drives all things to their ends (Ooh, creepy).

What’s more? She was the second in the evolutionary progression of the dynasties of the Vasilei (“Kings”) to whom the first ruler of the cosmos, Phanes, gave his royal scepter. As a queen,  Nyx was said to be very unpredictable and tended to display an aura of tranquility and threat at the same time. Homer even called her

the subduer of gods and men

and related that Zeus himself stood in awe of her.

Lastly, like any other queen, Her Imperial Majesty was a bit narcissistic and enjoyed wearing jewelry (especially those made of moonstone and agate, she said), and was rarely found without any form of precious stone adornment.

The 'Night Shift'

Nyx herself was the primeval substance of darkness; the power that stood in the beginning of creation, a dark veil of mist drawn forth from the underworld which blotted out the light of Aether (shining upper atmosphere).

Simply said, she was the goddess of the night and the mistress of darkness.

I made this myself and named it Tag Ein Nacht (Day and Night)...
even though I don't speak German, Lieblings.

According to God Checker:

Every evening she coaxes him [Erebus, her husband] out to spread his gloomy darkness, which obscures the shining AETHER and lets the stars come out to play. It's up to daughter HEMERA to waft away the darkness every morning to let the sun shine.

As days could not be counted if dark-robed Nyx would not come between them, night and day become, in a certain way, equals. Records showed that the two goddesses live in one mansion (which I’ll be touring you later), although they did nothing together but greet each other every day (and night). According to the Greek-Gods:

Nyx used to reside in her home all day long, taking care of her dark spirited children. But when the evening set in, Nyx was leaving her home to set off for her nightly journey. Just as Hemera entered it, Nyx left.

When one, either night or day, crosses the earth, the other will wait at home. They will greet each other only at the threshold where Atlas holds up heaven. Wiki says that this mirrors the portrayal of Ratri (night) in the Rigveda, where she works in close cooperation but also tension with her sister Ushas (dawn). Hmm. Tension. Nice choice of words.

House of Night. First off, I would like to apologize for ripping off the title of P.C. Cast’s vampire series. I have never actually read the books, but I heard they’re quite good.

(For the information of us all, Nyx had a part in the series as the goddess of vampyres and night honored through the Full Moon Ritual and had the ability to bless vampires with the gift of ‘affinity,’ whatever that is. Thanks House of Night Wiki!)

Back to Nyx’s home:

“There also stands the gloomy house of Night;

ghastly clouds shroud it in darkness.

Before it Atlas stands erect and on his head

and unwearying arms firmly supports the broad sky,

where Night and Day cross a bronze threshold

and then come close and greet each other.”

(Hesiod, Theogony, 744 ff.) 

So, yeah, the goddess owned a gloomy but very HUGE manor house in the far west of Tartarus. Her whole estate spread around the pit in triple line like a necklace. Maicar’s Greek Mythology Link also said that at her gates and above it are the sources and ends of heaven, earth and sea, and it is told that if a man should find himself inside the gates, he would not reach the bottom for one year, being carried by blasts in all directions.

(Her home could have been a nice feature for magazines featuring celebrity homes. Too bad, she doesn’t seem to be a very hospitable host!)

Anyway, her Palace was made of the most exquisite black marble, with white marble streaks through. Central columns run the lobby towards the main reception hall, with black cat statues lining the outer walls.

Inside the main reception hall, a solid black ivory throne padded with blackened silk sits on a raised dais. A table with ambrosia and wine sits next to it within arm's reach. Set into the wall behind and coming out to form a roof over the throne is a blackened knurled branch upon which owls perch during audiences, while black cats can rest on a thick wool rug laid out at the base of the throne. (Very detailed, eh? Special thanks to this!)

Night’s unlit abilities. Being a sinister goddess could not have been all that bad for Nyx. With this office also came her divine authority and absolute control over darkness, so-called Umbrakinesis. With this power, she gained the ability to create both extreme darkness and light. But it doesn’t just refer to a typical power shortage we sometimes experience – her darkness can enshroud souls of her choice, leading them to catatonia in an instant. She can easily hypnotize both mortals and immortals by just the sight of her eyes and her voice.

Bringing her twin sons Thanatos and Hypnos along during her night time strolls (she rides her own celestial chariot, BTW), Nyx gave either sleep or death to the un/luckiest recipients. Her kiss was said to be fatal to men. Also, she can manipulate dreams to a limited extent, but she tried not to abuse that power.

Now this is one accurate pie chart!
Thanks Cheezburger!

The goddess was also said to brew a powerful sleep mixture that causes mortals to fall unconscious for 8 hours at a time within moments of use (Source). Now that’s one fool-proof cure from insomnia (Or teens on the internet)!

On a more cosmic note, Nyx has got the ability to control the movement and rotation of planets (enabling her to change the flow of night and day), known as Circadian Manipulation. Owing from her husband’s domain, she traveled the world through shadows and mists, and morphed herself into living darkness.

Alas for Nyx, she had also become a convenient suspect any inexplicable or frightening thing that befell man. She was attributed with the powers over illness, suffering, misfortunes, quarrels, war and murder. How unfair is that?

A Series of Unfortunate Events just seemed right, eh?

The dame is a drama queen. Nyx was one dark, dangerous and voluptuous woman. Would it surprise you if I say that that she was also a diva? This could have been the reason why the evening slots on TV were called primetime.

Kidding aside, Nyx, as the indisputable embodiment of the night, also presided over all that happens after dark. Hence, spies, fugitives, thieves, murderers and secret lovers (and some say, vampires) were put under her special protection. She was known to 'deliberately enshroud them in a cloak of mystery.' Seriously, this lot could use a little help. And so Nyx becomes their fitting patron.

Foretelling the Forthcoming

Aside from her regular ‘night shift’, Nyx also did some prophesying on the side. It is in this manner that she possessed an oracle at Megara, the chief city of Megaris in Southern Greece (Source) and was affiliated with owls and bats (another Source).

(I am speculating that she got this power from the strange hermaphroditic demiurge called Phanes by the Orphics. It was he who, some say, made Nyx the supreme ruler of prophetic power.)

Nyx occupied a cave or adyton wherein she gave hints of the future. The industry was great and business was booming. At one time, she got her niece the Titaness Rhea to be her primary endorser. Outside the cave, the princess clashed cymbals and beat upon her tympanon, moving the entire universe in an ecstatic dance to the rhythm of Nyx's chanting.

(A post-Titanomachy alternate myth said that the Titan Cronus was chained within it, asleep and drunk on honey –where he dreams and prophesies.)

Not a Bad Night!

As a very dark and brooding figure, Nyx became an enigmatic and widely feared hell of a woman. The titles Deadly, Terror-bringing, Dark, and Murky did not quite help in promoting her character. But Nyx was not all bad news.

In actuality, many people consider the coming of the night as a welcome relief after a day’s work (This one really struck me). In this guise, Nyx was worshipped with the epithets Hosia or Holy and Phylia or Kindly.

The sign of Islam.
Got this here.

I’ve also read somewhere (I can’t remember where) that Nyx was worshipped as a goddess of light in some places in Africa. This could be true since aside from darkness, she also represented the starlight of night (read Nyx Poikileimôn, “spangle-robed Night”). It is in this guise that Nyx adopted the crescent moon and star as her emblem (quite similar to the symbol of modern Islam, eh?).

Nyx was not the philanthropic and humanitarian kind of goddess, yet she still does often provide lost mariners with help in the form of the constellation Ara or the Altar should they heed her favoring signs.

Lastly, night is also the time for inspiration and it is told that the muses sing during night-time their praises to the gods and Nyx on Mount Helicon.

Now everybody wants to be night goddess!

Other 'Nyx Knacks'

Just so you know, this is
free advertising. Hoho

Like many other Greek deities, Nyx has also donated her name to a celestial object (Oh, wow!). Previously known as S/2005 P1, Nix is this gloomy moon that circles the remote planetoid Pluto in a suitably shadowy and mysterious manner (Source). The name was spelled with an "i" instead of a "y", to avoid conflict with previously named asteroid 3908 Nyx.

Earlier in 1997, the International Astronomical Union approved the name Nyx for a mons (mountain/peak) feature on the planet Venus. Nyx Mons is located at latitude 30° North and longitude 48.5° East on the Venusian surface. Its diameter is 875 km, according to Wikipedia.

And, finally, back on earth, girls may find the goddess in their favorite make up under the name Nyx Cosmetics.

That’s about it… and good night!

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.