Recently, I found myself getting reacquainted with Greek Mythology. In all honesty, it was for the creation of a character for a superhero RPG, Silver Age Sentinels, to be exact. Anyway, as it often does, my mind wandered off on its own and brought back souvenirs of its trip... much like a cat or dog, I guess. In the creation tales, the titans came from Kaos. The two primary titans were Uranus and Gaea but they had several siblings, such as Oceanus. According to the stories, Gaea was fertile but Uranus was very controlling over what she could produce. In time, she was freed by her child Chronos, who castrated his father. The focus then shifts to Rhea and Chronos who through their own drama produce Zeus, Poseidon, Hades and the other Olympians.
What comes to mind is a reinterpretation of the story. I can almost envision a primal earth, molten and soft, filled with potential. Around it is space, as there is no atmosphere yet. This is the coupling of Gaea or Uranus, earth and heavens. In time (Chronos), the heavens lose their grasp on the world and its potential begins to express itself. Gaea, the primal world becomes Rhea, the fertile earth. For most planets, this is the end of the story but Rhea is too clever, she has greater plans. She tricks Father Time and he is thwarted by his own son, Zeus, the sky. The sky is thick and strong and frees up its siblings, the oceans (Poseidon), and earth (Hades).
It makes me think that the Greek Gods are not things of the past. We still cower from the fury of the tornado or the crash of thunder. The oceans are still vast and daunting and we still bury our dead in the earth. Zeus, Poseidon and Hades still have power over us even if we refuse to see them in human form. Many of us lie on the beach soaking up the heat as Apollo rides across the sky and despite scientific analysis of attraction and sex, we enjoy the sensations of seduction and romantic love, as embodied in the forms of Aphrodite and her son, Eros.
But, these are the gods of the simple man and we are not so simple anymore. We now know that our mother is not Demeter, the field, but Gaea, the planet. We now understand that that ball in the sky is not just a source of light travelling from dawn to dusk. Apollo is just a weak reflection of the titan Helios, a nuclear furnace of incredible power and immense size. Finally, we know that just beyond the realms of Zeus, Uranus lies in wait. He can no longer embrace his mate but her children travel into his realm, the infinity of space.
At times like these, I wonder if the ancient Greeks, and other ancient civilizations, truly just knitted stories together as frail clothes against the great unknowns of life. Perhaps, they were blessed with those who saw the nature of these greater things and described them as best they could, in the vocabulary of epics and drama.
...and now, I offer myself up to Hypnos and Oneiros...
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