Erebus was the god of darkness, well, that’s putting it simply. Remember, Primordial deities weren’t just the gods of xyz, they were the personification of xyz. Erebus WAS darkness. Theoi says it best. “(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 Aither (shining, blue heaven) and the other revealing it. The bright upper air (aither) was regarded as the source of day in the ancient cosmogonies rather than the sun.”

Pretty words. Creepy concept.

His wife, Nyx, is the goddess of night, and together the two had lots of kids, particularly of the Chthonic persuasion. These children included Aether and Hemera, mentioned above, the Hesperides, Hypnos, the Moirai, Geras, Styx, Charon, and Thanatos.

Erebus was also a realm of the Underworld where the living passed immediately after they died.

Erebus runs into the same problem a lot of the Primordial deities do in that he is not terribly active in mythology. It’s hard for the darkness to actually DO something other than, you know, be dark, but he’s pretty cool nonetheless.

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Nyx is the goddess of night. She wasn’t seen very often, just in glimpses of shadow, but those glimpses revealed her to be a a stunning beauty. She was also super powerful. Zeus was afraid to anger her, and that says a LOT, and in some myths she is the mother of all creation instead of Chaos. Nyx is also credited with giving oracles dreams and prophesies.

Nyx was daughter to Chaos, sometimes Eros, wife to Erebus, and mother to plenty of notable deities in my series (Charon, Thanatos, Hypnos, Styx, Moirai, ect). Her other children with Erebus included Aether (Brightness), Hemera (Day), Geras (old age) and The Hesperides (Evening, Sunset).

Her children without Erebus (or any god or man) are Moros (Doom, Destiny), Ker (Fate, Destruction, Death), the Oneiroi (Dreams, anyone else think of the Oni in Teen Wolf when they read that?) , Momus (Blame), Oizys (Woe, Pain, Distress), the Keres, Nemesis (Indignation, Retribution), Apate (Deceit), Philotes (Friendship, Love), and Eris (Strife). (Thanks Wikipedia).

The happy family lives in a cave in Tartarus, with the exception of Hemara who just visits every night when Nyx isn’t home, neatly explaining night and day, but leaving a lot of unanswered questions about the obvious tension between mother and daughter.

Eros, or Cupid to the Roman’s has as complicated a lineage as his sometimes mother, Aphrodite. Many myths make him Aphrodite’s child, however he is often inexplicably listed as a primordial deity. Not just any primordial deity, the fourth primordial deity and the one that allowed order to come to Chaos, paving the way for the Titans.

And still sometimes, Eros is the child of Nyx, an egg hatched in the darkness of Chaos (Erebus) that brought forth light. Without love, there can be no order.

Most people picture Eros as a cutesy little cupid figure. A cherub. I prefer the way Rick Riordan depicted him in The Doors of Hades. When you really think about it, Eros, is downright creepy.

Primordial or not, Eros was an important god, figuring his way into many a myth with his arrows of love. Eros was responsible for Jason and Medea’s love (and look at how great that turned out for everyone involved). He was responsible for the love of Venus and Adonis, (which again, turned out fantastic for all involved. BTW, parentheses = sarcasm), Dionysus and Aura, and countless other poor unfortunate couples whose passions ultimately lead to their destruction.

But what about when Eros falls in love? Well, that’s an entirely different mythology Monday.

Want to know a spoiler? You’ve already met Eros in my book. You’ll have to keep reading to figure out which character he is.

Hi Kaitlin, thanks for inviting me.

My name is Yelle Hughes and I write books that pertain to Greek Mythology. It doesn’t matter what genre. I’ve written historical fiction, science fiction and romance…all with GM mixed in. My Aegean Chronicles series, based on what I call the younger gods of the Olympic Pantheon, are the main characters, Triton, Eros and Zephyrus.

I grew up reading classical mythology and I tried to stick as close to their stories as I can. Except, I add a little twist here and there. Instead of a dolphin tail, Triton has the tail of a killer whale. Instead of being the god of love, Eros quick his job and went on to train under his father, Ares and became 2nd in command for the immortals military force. Zephyrus, who is older than all the Olympic deities, is the lead commander of that same military.

For those that are familiar, several Greek gods are present in my book. Zeus, Hecate, Poseidon, Amphytrite, Aphrodite and so on. But, the main focus in on Taz, Erok and Zeke (I gave them nicknames because it’s easier to type and it gives them more a modern flair) and their lives today. I have added an additional friend George and his story will be the forth. He is a mystery right now, but people will find out who he is later on.

They all have the power and attitudes of the original classics, some learned humility, some have not. I was fun writing about the gods who thought man should still worship them.

I tried to describe in detail, what it is like to be in Greece and all the beautiful areas I actually visited during my trip there, a few years ago.

It’s been great to talk about my love for mythology and if any of you want to discuss more, you can visit my website at http://yellehughes.com/ and drop me a message or you can find me on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/goodreadscomyellehughes

καλή σας μέρα (Have a nice day)

Yelle

Tartarus was the deepest realm of the Underworld as well as the third of the Primordial deities. Some sources describe Tartarus as “the unbounded first-existing entity from which the Light and the cosmos are born” (thank you wikipedia).

It would take nine days to fall to Tartarus from the earth (which was a nine day fall from heaven). Tartarus is separated from the rest of the Underworld by a river of fire called the Phlegethon ( tangent: Styx and Phlegethon were in love but were eternally separated. In the Underworld one flows to the other so they can always be together).

Tartarus had many notable residents, most of whom I’ve discussed in other mythology Mondays. The cyclopes, the giants, and the Titans of course all reside within the depths of Tartarus. But a few humans made their way there as well. Sisyphus, Tantalus, Ixion, and Salmoneus. Most of the humans that ended up in Tartarus did something to upset Zeus.

Tartarus was much more active as a place than a deity, but Rick Riordan described Tartarus as a place as well as a deity best in House of Hades. The primordial deities are difficult to visualize, but his depiction felt spot on.

Gaia, Terra in Roman mythology, was, in most myths, born from Chaos and primordial mud, and she and Uranus went on to create the hills and the sea (Uranus created the sky), the Titans as well as a whole slew of monsters and giants. She also paired up with Pontus and gave birth to sea gods and with Tartarus to create Echidna, mother of all monsters. She had over fifty divine children all told, so I’m not going to list them all here, but I will get to them on other mythology Mondays.

I go into the whole creation and overthrow of Uranus and Chaos here. But Gaia is interesting even without all that stuff, and not just because she IS the earth (yeah, the primordials would be hard to write a book about because can you even picture it?) but because she was the original prophet. She was the power behind the oracle of Delphi before she passed her abilities on to Apollo. Oaths sworn in her name were the most binding oaths in all of Greece. Which is kind of weird considering it looks like she switched sides a lot. First she helped Cronus overthrow Uranus, then she helped Zeus overthrow Cronus, and then she helped the Giants try to overthrow the Olympians. But I like her. Because in all three cases she helped the underdogs who were being mistreated. She drops out of mythology except the occasional mention (like in the Persephone myth) after the Gigantomachy, but she doesn’t die. She isn’t imprisoned in Tartarus. She IS the earth so she’s present in every myth. Very powerful, very ancient goddess, and you do not want to get on her bad side.

This is going to be a short and sweet mythology Monday because there is not a lot to be said about the first of the primordial deities. Chaos, like most of the primordial gods is more a place or a state of being than humanoid. The primordial gods are hard to imagine. Sentient spaces? It’s a creepy thought at best, at worst it’s impossible to wrap the mind around.

In religions across time and space, Chaos refers to the primordial state before creation. Someone or something acts upon Chaos to create the sky and sea and life, but before that action, Chaos is just writhing with potential.

In science, Chaos is an apt description for many theories of beginning. Seconds or centuries before dark matter and light matter collided in a bang that led to the creation of the universe.

In Greek mythology, Chaos is an empty void that gave birth to Gaia, Tartarus, and Eros. Chaos and Eros hooked up, and in some myths, Chaos and Chronos got together. Despite being referred to by famous thinkers as “the true foundation of reality,” or a “rude, undeveloped mass,” or a “womb of darkness,” Chaos is typically personified as female, and an air deity who gave birth to Nyx, Erebos, Aither, and Hemera and the Daimones. She’s considered a goddess of fate, like the Moirai, but then what goddess wasn’t? After everything was created, Chaos lived in the space between Earth and Tartarus (sometimes as mud, but those myths never really caught on). Chaos didn’t have much of a role in Greek mythology after the creation myth.

In other mythologies, Chaos is depicted as a dragon that must be defeated by a hero. Sometimes Chaos is a sea dragon being driven back by a storm god. Whatever the myth, Chaos is always fascinating when personified.

Jason and the Argonauts encounter yet another pair of clashing/wandering rocks. This set is called the Planctae, and it is located near Scylla and Charybdis. To get through the wandering rocks, the Argonauts enlisted the help of Thetis and the Nereids.

Thetis was one of fifty children of Nereus, which made her a Nereid. She is among the most famous of the pack, sharing the spotlight with her sister Amphitrite, Poseidon’s wife, and Galatea (not the statue, Polyphemus’ girlfriend). Thetis is most famous for being the mother of Achilles. Her wedding to Peleus started the sequence of events that led to the Trojan War because they forgot to add Eris to the guest list, so she showed up with a golden apple, which caused a beauty contest, which caused a kidnapping, which eventually got Achilles almost killed. Thetis was protective of Achilles. She dipped him in the river Styx when he was a baby to make him impervious to harm. His only vulnerable spot was the heel of his foot because she held him by it when she dipped him in the river. She might have anointed him with Ambrosia instead, the myth varies. Anyway, it can’t be said she didn’t care about her son. When Achilles was near death, she snatched him away to the mythical White Islands (think Elysium, the ocean edition) to live forever.

At some point in her lifetime, she helped Zeus when some of the other Olympians tried to mutiny and throw the god-king in chains. Thetis summoned a giant with a hundred arms to scare off Hera, Athena, and Poseidon. It worked. Other versions of the myth have her releasing Zeus from chains, but make no mention of the Olympian’s part in putting him there. She also nursed Hephaestus back to health when he got tossed into a volcano and gave Dionysus shelter when he was kicked off Olympus.

Poseidon and Zeus both expressed interest in marrying the Nereid, but backed off when they heard a prophecy that her son would become greater than his father. They were pleased when she married a mortal.

Since her husband was an Argonaut, though the timing is shaky on this (maybe they met here?), she was pleased to help the Argo get past the wandering rocks. The Nereids tossed the ship around like a beach ball, getting it safely past the rocks where they…ran right into another storm.

More on that next week.

Talos was created when Zeus fell into lust with a woman named Europa, a Phoenician woman descended from the nymph IO. In order to seduce her, he transformed into a white bull and blended in with her father’s herd. When Europa went to the fields to pick flowers, she noticed the white bull and pet it. The bull was so friendly, she decided to hop on its back for a ride. Zeus took off to the sea with her in tow, transformed into a swan, and swam to the island of Crete. Upon arriving they had sex and he made her the first queen of Crete. Zeus then made the constellation Taurus to commemorate the happy occasion.

Crete had an issue with pirates, so when Zeus left the island, he left the bronze giant Talos behind to guard the island as either a gift to Europa or to Minos. Talos was forged by Hephaestus or Cyclopes or Daedalus. Whoever designed him included a major flaw, probably so he wouldn’t be a threat if he ever became self aware. He only had one vein running through his entire body neck to ankle(Percy Jackson fans, remember this?) bound shut by a single iron nail. He circled the island three times a day searching for anything amiss. If he saw any unauthorized ships approaching the island, he threw rocks at them until they either sank or went away. When he threw rocks at the Argo, Media either cast a spell on Talos to calm him down and removed the bronze nail herself; or tricked him into doing it himself with hypnoses or mind control; or drove him so crazy with drugs that he removed the nail to end his misery; or she used keres to drive him crazy to the same end.

Keres are female death spirits descended from the goddess Nyx. The were “dark beings with gnashing teeth, claws and a thirst for human blood” (cool quote wikipedia). They would scour battle fields in search of wounded or dying warriors. They may be related to Valkyries (related as in the same thing mythologically, not blood related, obviously).

Anyway, no matter how the nail was removed, all myths conclude Medea somehow removed it. All the ichor bled from his body and he died, allowing the Argo to sail on.

Circe was a sorceress/nymph/goddess of minor magic whose abilities shifted in each myth she was featured in, along with her lineage and species. She was a skilled herbalist and had a magic wand that could change people into animals. Most myths say she is a daughter of Helios and either the Oceanid, Perse, or Hecate, goddess of magic. She has many famous half-siblings, including Aeetes, King of Colchis, father of Medea, and Pasiphae, the unfortunate wife of Minos. She lives in a mansion in the middle of dense woods on the island Aeaea (wow there is not a single consonant in that name). In one version of the myth, she was exiled to the island after killing her husband, the prince of Colchis. In some others she was there by choice, but either way, the island was a magical place. The island is full docile lions, wolves, and other predators that may or may not be her prior lovers transformed into animals.

Those are the lucky ones, the monster Scylla wasn’t always a monster. She used to be a woman that a man named Glaucus loved. He asked Circe to help him win Scylla’s heart, but Circe fell in love with him and turned her rival into a monster. Picus, a Latin King, was turned into a woodpecker when he turned Circe’s advances down out of loyalty to his wife. Circe also has one son by Poseidon named Faunus.

In one version of the myth, she was exiled to the island of Aeaea (wow, there is not a single consonant in that name) after killing her husband, the prince of Colchis. In some others she was there by choice, but either way, the island was a magical place.

Circe helped out the Argonauts by cleansing the Argo and the murderous couple from the murder and send them on their way with much less drama than she gave Odysseus’ men. (It’s worth noting that in the Aeneid, Aeneas is smart enough to go around this particular island). Those she welcomed on to the island and fed drugged cheese and wine that turned the men into pigs. One man, Eurylocus, didn’t eat because he didn’t trust the enchantress, so he was able to warn Odysseus (he’d stayed behind on the ships). Odysseus left immediately to confront the witch goddess, but was intercepted by Hermes who gave him the herb moly to immunize Odysseus against Circe’s magic. He told Odysseus to draw his sword and threaten Circe, which he did, to which the nymph had a bizarre reaction. She changed the men back then invited Odysseus to her bed. Odysseus agreed, so long as she swore not to harm his manhood.

Odysseus stuck around for a year. A year. Let’s not talk about how much this infuriates me on Penelope’s behalf, or the double standards of Homer to use this as a “cool” example of Odysseus’ manliness while his wife is upheld as an ideal woman for abstaining from sex/marriage with the suiters.

Anyhow, Odysseus left a year later, armed with the advice Circe gave him to complete his journey. She eventually left, and possibly destroyed the island of Aeaea, and moved to Cape Circeo, Italy. Little known fact, Odysseus and Circe had three children. One of which, tracked Odysseus down decades later and stabbed him with a poisoned spear, then brought Penelope and Telemachus back to Circe’s island to bury Odysseus. Circe granted them all immortality and brought Odysseus back to life. Odysseus was so grateful, he allowed Telemachus to mary one of Circe’s daughters. Unfortunately, Circe had a disagreement with her son in law that resulted in her murder, which then resulted in his murder once his wife found out, which caused Odysseus to die of grief. Great family, huh? But bright side, Penelope didn’t get murdered so maybe she got to live forever. 🙂