NOTES ON EARLY GREEK COSMOGONICAL SPECULATIONS 00 



matter. ' We have, then at the first, iu this cosmogony, formless 

 darkness and mist existing together with ^ther, the pure ethereal 

 light. These bring forth the world egg" from which springs 

 Phanes, the bright, shining one, giver of light ayd of life. ^ Phanes 

 then brings forth Night, and with her in the dark misty cave, o-7reo9 

 ^e/9oetSe?, brings forth the race of the gods. * This is evidently a 

 repetition of the old story of Light and Darkness. Phanes and 

 Niaht are practically the same as ^ther and Chaos, 



The story of Darkness and Light at the beginning is told iu the 

 cosmogony of Acusilaus. Here we have in the main a repetition of 

 Hesiod. 



Chaos is the first principle, and from Chaos are born a pair, 

 Erebos and Nux, and from them spring ^ther, and Love, and 

 Metis. ^ 



In the cosmogony of Epimenides, the first principles are Air and 

 Night. His Air, ai^p, the misty atmosphere, as distinguished from 

 the bright transparent aWrjp^ is equivalent to the aKOToecra-a ofjLL'xXrj 

 of the Orphic doctrine. From these two spring Tartarus and two 

 beings undefined who produce the world egg from which springs the 

 race of the gods. ** 



In the very fanciful cosmogony found in Aristophanes' Birds, 

 evidently a travesty on early mythical cosmogonies, we have at the 

 first. Chaos and Night, Erebos and Tartarus. Here, under four names, 

 we surely have darkness enough to begin with. Night begets a 

 wind egg from which springs Eros, who, like the Phanes of the 

 Orphic account, is a deity of light and of life. By mingling things 

 together, he produces gods and men. ' 



' It is called /j,e<ya 'X^dcrfia TreXwpiov and (TKOToecrcra ofxi'xXr}. Abel, 



Orphica, frag. 52. 

 ^Abel, Orphica, frag. 53. 

 •'Abel, Orphica, frags. 56, 58, 59, 61. 



* Abel, Orphica, frags. 72, 73, 89. 



^Damascius, c. 124; Lukas, Kosmogonien der Alten Volker, p. 162. 



* Damascius, c. 124; Lukas, Kosmogonien der Alten Volker, p. 176. 

 ' Aristophanes' Birds, 693 ff. 



