(Anna Zinonos / CC BY 4.0 ) Nyx in Mythologyĭespite playing an important role at the beginning of creation Nyx isn’t a very prominent figure in Greek mythology. Nyx is dark as blackest black in many depictions, including this one by artist Anna Zinonos, but she was also loving and protective of her children. The only other exception to this rule was Philotes, who was the goddess of friendship and affection. She created the Morai (the Fates), the Keres (goddesses of cruel and violent death), Oizys (misery), Eris (strife), Thanatos (death), and Hypnos (sleep). The rest of Nyx’s children are usually associated with the darker aspects of creation. Hemera and Aether were the opposites to their parents, representing light whereas their parents represented the dark. The two produced Hemera (Day) and Aether (Light). For her part, Nyx married her brother, Erebos, and gave birth to many more children than can be listed here.Įrebos and Nyx gave birth to two prominent protogenoi. These offspring acted as additional building blocks helping to flesh out the early universe. These protogenoi then procreated, creating various other protogenoi as well as spirits like the Daimones (the source of emotions). Chaos for her part birthed three children, Erebos (the personification of darkness and the mists of the underworld), Nyx (the night), and Hemera (the day). Shortly after Chaos emerged she was followed by Gaia, Tartarus, and Eros who all went on to create their own protogenoi. This is where the modern-day meaning of the word comes from. Later classical authors redefined her as the chaotic mixture of elements that came before creation. Chaos was originally depicted as the goddess of the air. Nyx is almost at the top of this family tree with only one generation above her.Īt the beginning of time, there was only Chaos. It is more than a little incestuous, it turns out the Greek gods worked within a fairly tight gene pool. The family tree of the Greek gods is beyond complicated. (William-Adolphe Bouguereau / Public domain ) Nyx’s Family Tree In the painting La Nuit (The Night) by William-Adolphe Bouguereau, we are essentially looking at Nyx the night goddess of ancient Greece, a minor figure but one that endured. As a primordial, she outpowered even the mighty Zeus, known as father of the gods. As a primordial god, she played an essential role in shaping the universe and birthing several other important primordial gods. These primordial gods each represented a different aspect of existence, together they formed the building blocks of the early universe. According to Greek mythology when the universe first came into being the primordial gods were there, fully formed.
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