Chaos

Chaos came into being first. In Hesiod’s account, Chaos represented a yawning gap rather than a formed world. Gaia followed, broad-breasted Earth, the secure dwelling of the immortals who would possess snowy Olympus. Tartarus came next, a misty depth beneath the wide earth. Eros also appeared, the most beautiful among the immortal gods, with power over the minds and desires of gods and humans.

From Chaos came Erebus, the darkness that shrouds the Underworld, and Nyx, the black Night. Nyx later joined with Erebus, and from their union came Aether and Hemera. Aether was the bright upper air, while Hemera was Day. Their birth brought light after the darkness associated with their parents.

Gaia then produced starry Ouranos, the Sky, from herself. She made him equal to her so that he would cover her on every side and provide a lasting dwelling for the blessed gods. This account places Chaos, Gaia, Tartarus, Eros, Erebus, Nyx, Aether, Hemera, and Ouranos at the beginning of the divine generations. Other retellings describe Chaos differently. One presents Chaos as a deity ruling over an undivided mass in which earth, sea, and air had not yet taken their separate forms. In that version, Chaos shares power with Nyx, and Erebus later overthrows him before taking Nyx as his wife.