Excerpt
That which makes it possible for something to be is Being (ta oũsia,
τὰ οὐσία). Thus, from the various possibilities of Being, through
a process of union, the universe comes into existence, together with
the natural phenomena and the elemental forces of nature embodied
in the image of the Cyclopes–terrifying beings outside the ordinary
order of existence, possessing a single eye and immense strength.
In keeping with what was almost a universal characteristic of ancient
religious creations, the Greek pantheon was likewise consumed
by internal struggles for supreme power.
Thus, according to the Greek myth, Uranus, angered and made
jealous by the great power of his children, the Titans, imprisoned
them in the depths of the Earth, depriving them of the possibility
of ever again beholding the light of day. Their mother, Gaia, suffered
terribly beneath the burden she carried. She urged her children to
rebel against their father, yet fear prevented them from obeying,
save for her youngest son, Cronus. By cunning he usurped his father’s
throne. To punish Cronus10, Nyx conceived an entire host of
dreadful deities: Thanatos, Death; Eris, Discord; Apate, Deceit; Ker,
Destruction; Hypnos, Sleep, together with dreams and dark apparitions;
and Nemesis, the inexorable goddess who avenges transgressions.
These deities spread terror, discord, deception, conflict, and
misfortune throughout the world over which Cronus reigned.
It is evident that the first part of this myth makes no mention
whatsoever of a creation of an anthropomorphic kind…
