The Classical Greek Creation Story
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Last Updated: Monday, January 29, 2001
The classical Greek creation story comes from one source, Hesiod's Theogony ('Creation of the Gods') which wrote down the myths then held to be true. The opening lines of this poem tell how everything started as Chaos, who beget Gaia (earth) and Eros (love). The bolts of Eros caused Chaos and Gaia to give birth to all the other things as we know it. The whole work in English is at Perseus, translated by Hugh G. Evelyn-White
Theogony
IIn truth at first Chaos came to be, but next wide-bosomed Earth, the ever-sure foundation of all the deathless ones who hold the peaks of snowy Olympus, and dim Tartarus in the depth of the wide-pathed Earth, and Eros (Love), fairest among the deathless gods, who unnerves the limbs and overcomes the mind and wise counsels of all gods and all men within them.
From Chaos came forth Erebus and black Night; but of Night were born Aether and Day, whom she conceived and bore from union in love with Erebus. And Earth first bore starry Heaven, equal to herself, to cover her on every side, and to be an ever-sure abiding-place for the blessed gods. And she brought forth long hills, graceful haunts of the goddess Nymphs who dwell amongst the glens of the hills.
She bore also the fruitless deep with his raging swell, Pontus, without sweet union of love. But afterwards she lay with Heaven and bore deep-swirling Oceanus, Coeus and Crius and Hyperion and Iapetus, Theia and Rhea, Themis and Mnemosyne and gold-crowned Phoebe and lovely Tethys. After them was born Cronos the wily, youngest and most terrible of her children, and he hated his lusty sire.
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