Ananke (mythology) - Mythical Cosmogonies

Mythical Cosmogonies

In the cosmogony of Alcman first came Thetis (Disposer, Creation), and then simultaneously Poros (path) and Tekmor ( end post, ordinance). Poros is related with the beginning of all things, and Tekmor is related with the end of all things.

Later in the Orphic cosmogony, first came Thesis (Disposer), whose ineflable nature is unexpressed. Ananke is the primeval goddess of inevitability, and she is entwined in the serpentine coils of her mate, the time-god Chronos, at the very beginning of time. They represent the everlasting cosmic-forces of fate and time. Together they surround the primal egg of solid matter ( Orphic egg) in their constricting coils and split it into its constituent parts (earth, heaven and sea) and so they bring about the creation of the ordered universe. These ideas were the basis of the cosmogony of Empedocles (5th century BC). Strife (Neikos) separated the four elements from the initial sphere, until Love (Philia) appeared and balanced everything. Strife and Love are fighting against each other in a cosmic ever-recurring process, and stern Ananke keeps the immemorial order.

A cosmic egg is a mythological motif found in the creation myths of many cultures and civilizations. The earliest ideas of "Egg-shaped Cosmos" seem to come from some of the Sanskrit scriptures (Brahmanda). The Rig Veda uses the term Hiranyagarbha, (literally "golden fetus" or "golden womb"), which floats around in emptiness for a while, and then breaks into two halves which formed heaven ( Dyaus, in Greek Zeus ) and earth

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