Pagan Paths
Hellenismos, otherwise known as Greek Reconstructionist Paganism, is the traditional, polytheistic religion of ancient Greece, reconstructed in and adapted to the modern world. It's a vibrant religion which can draw on a surprising amount of ancient sources. Baring the Aegis blogger Elani Temperance blogs about her experiences within this Tradition.
The Protogenoi (Πρωτογενοι)
The Protogenoi (Πρωτογενοι) are the First Born Deities of the Greek Kosmos. They are the building blocks of the universe, primordial Deities. I have written before about Them, in a post about genealogy of the Gods.
The Protogenoi we know of are: Aether (Αἰθήρ, 'Light'), Ananke (Ἀνάγκη, 'Fate' or 'Compulsion'), Khronos (Χρόνος, 'Time'), Erebos (Ἔρεβος, 'Darkness'), Eros (Ἔρως, 'Desire' or 'Love'), Gaea (Γαῖα, 'Earth'), Hemera (Ἡμέρα, 'Day'), Hydros (Ὑδρος, 'Primordial Waters'), Khaos (χάος, 'Chaos' or 'Air'), Nêsoi (Νησοι, 'Islands'), Nyx (Νύξ, 'Night'), Ôkeanos (Ωκεανος, 'Water'), Ourea (Oὔρεα, 'Mountains'), Phanes (Φάνης 'Procreation'), Pontos (Πόντος, 'Sea'), Phusis (φύσις, 'Nature'), Tartaros (Τάρταρος), Thalassa (Θάλασσα, 'Sea'), Thesis (Θεσις, 'Creation'), Uranos (Οὐρανός, 'Sky').
As might have become apparently from the, previously mentioned, earlier published post; any mythology from this era is incredibly mucky. There are a few sources we can track the beginning of the universe to; because that is where the Protogenoi were born in--or from; the beginning of the universe. They are the embodiments of the aspects of life They are named after. Zeus may be Lord of the Sky, but the sky itself is a primordial Deity, distant from humanity but ever-present.
Hesiod, in his 'Theogony', writes:
I'm fascinated with the Protogenoi. If I ever founded (or revived? Were there cults for the Protogenoi?) a Mystery Cult, it would be for the Protogenoi. I won't do this without considerable research, however, and on most days I doubt I would have the courage to do so anyway.
The true nature of the Protogenoi is shrouded by time. Much of their mysteries were lost. Yet, they, too, are part of the Greek pantheon. They, too, hold sway over the universe. Deities like this should not be forgotten, and they should most certainly never be ignored.
Comments
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Friday, 10 August 2012
The parallel between the Protogenoi and the Titans is definitely there. The Titans are the children of the Protogenoi so they definitely influenced each other. My guess is that the different generations of Deathless Ones diversify in funcrion while losing some of their power. From the specialist Protogenoi to the powerful but more relatable Titans and on to the Gods who take on even more specified roles.
I don't know enough about the Jotuns to judge their similarities, but I would not be surprised if they resembled each other. -
Friday, 10 August 2012
I had a vision of Nyx once, in my dreams. She was standing in a corner of my basement now (interestingly, and for unrelated reasons, 3 years later) used as my sacred space.
The Goddess' form was like living, polished black stone, and She was just to the left of a window. A larger-than-life rose, made from the burning embers of holy fire, was just outside the window, and filled the window frame. It was (unsurprisingly) night time, and the fire from the flaming rose lit up the right side of Nyx's face.
Needless to say, I made a shrine to Her after that. Praise Nyx! -
Friday, 10 August 2012
You mean Aphrodite Philophannyx? I... Guess you could say the two were equated but as far as I'm aware, Philophanny was only used as an epithet for Aphrodite, meaning 'Night-Loving Aphrodite'. I'm not sure how much the worship of the two was linked because of it. Dionysos has an epithet with 'nyx' as well, meaning 'Nocturnal Dionysos'.
More on epithet's here, if you're interested: http://baringtheaegis.blogspot.nl/2012/07/on-epithets-and-polytheism.html?m=1 -
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I'm seeing a pretty clear parallel between these deities (what, if anything is different between these deities and the Titans?) and the Jotuns of Heathenism. Do you think that there's a connection?