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Hesiod was the not the only Greek poet who wrote about the Creation and the origin of gods and mankind. Hesiod's account is just one kind. The world was created from Chaos first, and then by the World Parents – Gaea (Earth) and Uranus (Heaven).There are several different versions about the Creation. An older poet, Homer, author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, alluded to a different cosmogony to Hesiod.
And then there are yet, other different cosmogonies that are involved with the Cosmic Egg.One source involved the goddess Eurynome and the World Serpent Ophion. This source comes from Apollonius of Rhodes, a Hellenistic poet who wrote the Argonautica in the 3rd century BC. While another tradition about the Creation by the Cosmic Egg, involved the gods Phanes or Protogonus, and Dionysus/Zagreus. This other tradition had come from the poems of the so-called cult of the Orphic Mysteries. What these two Creation myths have in common is the Cosmic Egg that usually came into existence from void (chaos) or the abyss. The Cosmic Egg, World Egg or whatever other names it may have, it is a common and universal theme in creation myths, not only in these obscure Greek myths, but also from other cultures and civilisations. However, the Cosmic Egg is noticeably absent in Hesiod's Theogony.
And then there are yet, other different cosmogonies that are involved with the Cosmic Egg.One source involved the goddess Eurynome and the World Serpent Ophion. This source comes from Apollonius of Rhodes, a Hellenistic poet who wrote the Argonautica in the 3rd century BC. While another tradition about the Creation by the Cosmic Egg, involved the gods Phanes or Protogonus, and Dionysus/Zagreus. This other tradition had come from the poems of the so-called cult of the Orphic Mysteries. What these two Creation myths have in common is the Cosmic Egg that usually came into existence from void (chaos) or the abyss. The Cosmic Egg, World Egg or whatever other names it may have, it is a common and universal theme in creation myths, not only in these obscure Greek myths, but also from other cultures and civilisations. However, the Cosmic Egg is noticeably absent in Hesiod's Theogony.2-1-Homeric Creation
In the Iliad, Homer had only briefly alluded to the creation. Hera seduced Zeus at Mount Ida, in the hope of turning the tide against the Trojans, by lulling her husband to sleep. To seduce Zeus, Hera required aids from other gods.
In the Iliad, Homer had only briefly alluded to the creation. Hera seduced Zeus at Mount Ida, in the hope of turning the tide against the Trojans, by lulling her husband to sleep. To seduce Zeus, Hera required aids from other gods.
First, she sought aid from Aphrodite, the goddess of love. Hera wanted to borrow Aphrodite's girdle, which would make irresistibly seductive. Hera lied to Aphrodite saying that she wish to the relationship between Oceanus and Thryhys, who had raised her. In fact, she was using it in the hope to seduce Zeus. Hera says that "...to see Oceanus, from whom the gods arose, and Mother Tethys" (quoted from Robert Fitzgerald's translation, Book XIV 199). She used Hypnos to lull Zeus to sleep. Hypnos boasted to Hera that he could even lull Oceanus to slumber, "...the primal source of all that lives" (Book XIV 258-61). However, Hypnos was reluctant to help Hera, because the first time he helped her, he was almost thrown into the deep sea. Fearing Zeus' rage, Hypnos had to take refuge with his mother, Nyx (Night). Powerful as Zeus was, he feared the "all-subduing Night (Nyx)".When she meet Zeus, Hera lied to him, when she mentioned Oceanus and Tethys that she wanted to patch their relationship up, since they have not slept together in a single bed, since they had last quarrel. Hera was saying the same thing that she said to Aphrodite moment before. (Book XIV 301-304). To Homer, Oceanus and Tethys were more than Titans; they were referred to as the World Parents (Creators), displacing Uranus and Gaea, or that of Cronus and Reha . Oceanus have a stream that completely circumvented the earth, which was a flat round disk. And Tethys was the mother of the gods. Homer was more interested about the war at Troy, than about the Creation, so much have been left unsaid.
2-2-Eurynome and Ophion
According to Apollonius Rhodius, who mentioned a creation myth that was very different from that of Hesiod's Theogony. Apollonius' account is very short and rather sketchy. Apollonius begins the myth, as one of the songs sang by Orpheus after the departure of the Argonauts from Iolcus. Orpheus was the mythical bard who had joined Janson and the Argonauts in the Quest.
Orpheus sang a song about how the world was originally cast in one single mould; the earth, sky and sea was all mixed up in this mould, until the mould was tore sunder from some internal turmoil within the Cosmic Egg. All of the sudden, the earth, sea and heaven were separated; mountains rose from the sea, while the sun and moon and stars travelled followed their path through the sky (something like the Big Bang). Two of the earliest beings came into existence, during the creation of the world. One was named Eurynome, daughter of the Ocean , while her consort was named Ophion. Together they ruled the entire universe from Olympus.But one day, the Titans Croneus and Reha had violently displaced Ophion and Eurynome from Olympus. They had flung Ophion and Eurynome into the Ocean (as opposed to being confined in Tartarus, like in Hesiod's Theogony).While Cronus and Rhea ruled the world and the Titans,Zeus was living in the Dictaean cave (in Crete),as an infant,long before he received the mighty thunderbolt from the Cyclopes.The account ended here.Apollonius did not give much detail at all.I had some difficulties in finding out if Apollonius had got this from another source or did he invent this little account, by himself.It was discovered that myth about Eurynome,as the creator-goddess, was said to be much older than the Theogony,which was written by Hesiod in the 7th century BC. Apollonius had only mentioned Zeus as an infant in a cave in Crete, as well as a mention that one day he would wield the thunderbolt, forged by the Cyclopes, like in Hesiod`s account. However, Apollonius doesn't complete his song told by Orpheus, where like in Hesiod's myth, Zeus displaced the Titans. A more detail account was found on Eurynome and Ophion that was quite different from Apollonius' allusion on the creation. This is said to be the myth of the original race or inhabitants in Greece, who were known as the Pelasgians. (Before I end here, I would like to say that I have taken part of this article out, concerning the so-called Pelasgian Creation Myth, which is different to that of Apollonius' account. This myth was recreated by Robert Graves, a famous contemporary mythographer and author of a number of books, including The White Goddess (I haven't read this), and The Greek Myths, which is where I got the PCM (Pelasgian Creation Myth) from. He was the only person I know who wrote this version of Eurynome and the Cosmic Egg. Although PCM was very interesting, I am rather dubious of Mr Graves' account, which he has said to reconstruct from various sources. What I am doubtful is his reconstruction, which was more of his elaboration and invention than genuine myths from the Pelasgians. Until I can find more authentic sources that resembled Graves' account, I am afraid that the Pelasgian Creation Myth will no longer posted here. I am sorry if I had caused any inconvenience.)
According to Apollonius Rhodius, who mentioned a creation myth that was very different from that of Hesiod's Theogony. Apollonius' account is very short and rather sketchy. Apollonius begins the myth, as one of the songs sang by Orpheus after the departure of the Argonauts from Iolcus. Orpheus was the mythical bard who had joined Janson and the Argonauts in the Quest.
Orpheus sang a song about how the world was originally cast in one single mould; the earth, sky and sea was all mixed up in this mould, until the mould was tore sunder from some internal turmoil within the Cosmic Egg. All of the sudden, the earth, sea and heaven were separated; mountains rose from the sea, while the sun and moon and stars travelled followed their path through the sky (something like the Big Bang). Two of the earliest beings came into existence, during the creation of the world. One was named Eurynome, daughter of the Ocean , while her consort was named Ophion. Together they ruled the entire universe from Olympus.But one day, the Titans Croneus and Reha had violently displaced Ophion and Eurynome from Olympus. They had flung Ophion and Eurynome into the Ocean (as opposed to being confined in Tartarus, like in Hesiod's Theogony).While Cronus and Rhea ruled the world and the Titans,Zeus was living in the Dictaean cave (in Crete),as an infant,long before he received the mighty thunderbolt from the Cyclopes.The account ended here.Apollonius did not give much detail at all.I had some difficulties in finding out if Apollonius had got this from another source or did he invent this little account, by himself.It was discovered that myth about Eurynome,as the creator-goddess, was said to be much older than the Theogony,which was written by Hesiod in the 7th century BC. Apollonius had only mentioned Zeus as an infant in a cave in Crete, as well as a mention that one day he would wield the thunderbolt, forged by the Cyclopes, like in Hesiod`s account. However, Apollonius doesn't complete his song told by Orpheus, where like in Hesiod's myth, Zeus displaced the Titans. A more detail account was found on Eurynome and Ophion that was quite different from Apollonius' allusion on the creation. This is said to be the myth of the original race or inhabitants in Greece, who were known as the Pelasgians. (Before I end here, I would like to say that I have taken part of this article out, concerning the so-called Pelasgian Creation Myth, which is different to that of Apollonius' account. This myth was recreated by Robert Graves, a famous contemporary mythographer and author of a number of books, including The White Goddess (I haven't read this), and The Greek Myths, which is where I got the PCM (Pelasgian Creation Myth) from. He was the only person I know who wrote this version of Eurynome and the Cosmic Egg. Although PCM was very interesting, I am rather dubious of Mr Graves' account, which he has said to reconstruct from various sources. What I am doubtful is his reconstruction, which was more of his elaboration and invention than genuine myths from the Pelasgians. Until I can find more authentic sources that resembled Graves' account, I am afraid that the Pelasgian Creation Myth will no longer posted here. I am sorry if I had caused any inconvenience.)
2-3-Orphic Creation
The Orphic Creation Myth is another scenario of the Cosmic Egg origin, but without the Creator Goddess, Eurynome(see Eurynome and Ophion).
Behind the myth, is the religion of salvation for the human's soul. This religion was named after the mythical singer, Orpheus, who was reputedly said to be the founder of the Orphic Mysteruries. In the beginning, there was Time, which the Greeks called Chronus or Khronos. This was a period called the Unaging Time, when nothing existed and nothing grew old; indeterminate and (almost) limitless time, which some people would call Aeon. Existing at the same time as Chronus was Adrasteia, or Ananke, meaning "Necessity".
Chronus and Adrasteia combined to create primordial Spirit and Matter, which were called Aether and Chaos(Hesiod had referred to Aether as the upper atmosphere, where the air was clean and pure; he referred to Aether as male entity, while in the Orphic myth, Aether was seen as female being. Chaos was fathomless void, abyss or the yawning gap. With Hesiod, Chaos was a male primordial being, whereas in Orphic myth, the role had changed.) A third primordial being came out of Time and Necessity, Erebus – "Darkness". Chronus then combined with Aether, or possibly with Chaos and Aether, so the primeval beings caused mists to form and solidify into a Cosmic Egg.The Orphic myth was not the only one to use the Egg motif for their cosmogony.The World Egg can be found in many different Creation myths, such as from Egypt, Persia and India. After all the egg was the symbol of new birth and new life. That the god and the world were created from the Cosmic Egg. It wasn't even original idea in Greek myths. The Athenian comedy playwright, Aristophanes, wrote in the Birds that Nyx (Night) laid the egg, which Eros (Love) was born from. In Apollonius' epic, Argonautica, It was Eurynome who created the Egg, which the world as we know it, came into existence. The Cosmic Egg was the first definable matter that was created out of infinity. The World Egg was gigantic and silver in colour. When the great resplendent, silver Egg hatched, out sprang Protogonus, which literally means First-born, the first god. According to one Neo-Platonist writer, the Egg shell split in two: the two shells forming heaven and earth.Protogonus has known by several other names, such as Phanes, the god of light; Ericapaeus "Power", and Metis, which means "Intelligence". Writers often called him – Phanes. As Phanes, he was the primeval sun god with golden wings. He has four eyes, which allowed him to look in any direction. He was said to possess a number of heads in the shapes of various animals. He had a voice of bull and that of a lion. Though, he was said to be invisible, he radiated pure light. Protogonus had been identified with Eros (Love); Hesiod's Eros was also an earlier god, born at the same time as Gaea and Tartarus.Sometimes, Phanes was called Dionysus; if this is the case, then he was the first of three incarnations of Dionysus. Though people speak of him as a god, Protogonus/Phanes was in fact an androgynous being. Without a partner, he conceived and gave birth to Nyx (Night). (Different accounts say that it was Nyx, who laid the Cosmic Egg, therefore she was Protogonus' mother, not his daughter.) Protogonus (Phanes) was the first supreme ruler of heaven. Either Nyx ruled with Protogonus or on her own. Some times later, he lay with his own daughter, and then he became the father of Earth and Heaven, which they were named Gaea and Uranus . So it was Protogonus who created the earth and heaven. It was also Protogonus who had created the Golden Age of Man.Nyx ruled after Protogonus, before she abdicated in favour of her son, Uranus, who made Gaea as his consort. What follow is similar to Hesiod's Theogony. Heaven and Earth were the parents of the three Hundred-Handed(Hecatoncheires) and the three Cyclopes. They were also the parents of the Titans; they had seven sons and seven daughters (see the tables for the list of the children of Uranus and Gaea, in the Titans page). Among Uranus' children was Chroneus , the evil Titan, who dethroned his father. In Hesiod's account, it was Gaea who conspired with his son, to rid of her husband, but in the Orphic myth, it was both Nyx and Gaea who brought about Uranus' downfall, using the Titans. Cronus castrated Uranus and threw his father's genitals into the sea. Foam formed in the sea, which drifted until it reach Cyprus and the love goddess Aphrodite sprung out of the sea. Rhea was Cronus' consort, as well as his sister. In the Orphic myth, she was also confused with Demeter(Ceres), the corn goddess. Perhaps, Demeter was another aspect of Rhea. Cronus and Rhea had 6 children, including Zeus. Like Hesiod's Theogony, Cronus swallowed each child that Rhea bore him, except his youngest child, Zeus. Rhea hid the infant Zeus in a cave. Rhea wrapped a stone in swaddling clothes and gave it to her husband, which Cronus promptly swallowed, thinking he had swallowed his latest baby. Her name changed into Demeter, after Rhea gave birth to Zeus.
The Cretan nymphs Adrasteia and Idaea brought up Zeus, whom they fed milk of the goat Amaltheia. The Curetes had also assisted the nymphs. How Zeus became the new supreme ruler of universe, which is a different variation to Hesiod's account. Zeus used honey to make Cronus drunk, disgorging Zeus' siblings, before Zeus dismembered his father, just as had Cronus done with his own father (Uranus). It was Nyx(Night) who had advised Zeus to swallow her father/consort,Protogonus(Phanes), the first god and the original Creator. Zeus swallowed Protogonus and the entire universe that Protogonus had created, which included the other gods. With Protogonus in his belly, Zeus gained new power and knowledge, which he used to create a new universe. Whole new sun, planets, stars, mountains, land and seas were recreated. The other gods were also reborn. Zeus ruled supreme, but he shared the world with his brothers: Poseidon received the sea and Hades got the subterranean domain of the dead, the netherworld (Underworld). Zeus ruled the sky, but they all shared the earth. Zeus had married many times. He had as many as seven wives, and three of them were his own sisters: Hestia, Demeter(or Rhea) and Hera. (Well, sometimes Demeter, as Rhea was seen as Zeus' mother.) Zeus had many children from various wives and mistresses. Some of these children became important deities; among them were Athena, Hermes, Apollo and Artemis , Ares and Hephaestus. From Demeter, Zeus, became the father of Persephone(Kore). Demeter and Persephone were living in the Dictean cave of the island Crete, where they were guarded by snakes. (According to other writers, after Zeus had overthrown his father Cronus, Rhea or Demeter tried to escape from nuptials with her own son, by assuming the form of snake. Zeus also turned himself into a snake and raped Rhea. So that Rhea (Demeter) became the mother of Persephone.) Zeus wanted a son to one-day rule in his place, and decided that his own daughter, Kore or Persephone, would be the mother of that son. Zeus secretly transformed himself into a snake, and lay with his daughter. Persephone became pregnant and became the mother of Dionysus(Zagreus).
Earlier Orphic writers called him Dionysus, but the Neoplatonist writers, sometimes called him Zagreus. The Neoplatonists also believed that Dionysus/Zagreus was a reincarnation of Protogonus/Phanes, whom Zeus had swallowed earlier. For the sake of convenience I will call Dionysus, son of Persephone, as Zagreus, so we can distinguish one Dionysus from the other.
While Zagreus was still an infant, Zeus placed the sceptre in his son's tiny hand, and announced before all the gods that Zagreus will become their new ruler.
Zeus' other wife, Hera, was jealous that Zagreus would become the next ruler of the gods; so she incited the Titans to murder the infant Zagreus (Dionysus). The Titans, who were dispossessed, became Zeus' worse enemies, so they readily agreed.The Titans painted their face white, and they lured the infant Zagreus from the safety of the cave, with toys, such as mirror, doll, knuckle bones, and spin-top called bull-roarer. Zagreus left the cave before he realised that he was in danger. Zagreus tried to escape, by assuming various transformations. When the Titans caught him, they tore him to pieces before they devoured him. Athena arrived in time to save the Zagreus' heart, which she brought to her father. Athena had managed to keep the heart alive and beating, by breathing life into it.Enraged that the Titans had attacked his son, Zeus hurled his mighty thunderbolts, blasting the Titans to ashes. From the ashes of the Titans, mankind rose.(The dual natures of the Orphic belief come from that all men have two different natures: good and evil, earthly and spiritual (immortal), Dionysiac and Titanic. Since the Titans had consumed Dionysus, the evil nature comes from the Titans, while good comes from the Dionysiac part. To gain entry to Elysium , the initiated of the Orphic Mysteries must live a good, ascetic life in three separate incarnations. See Orphic Mysteries.) It was still Zeus' intention to leave the kingship of the universe to one of his sons, and that son would have been Zageus/Dionysus. Zeus swallowed Zagreus' heart, and visited a mortal woman, named Semele , daughter of Cadmus, king of Thebes, whom he seduced and made pregnant. (According to Hyginus, Zeus created mead out of Zagreus' heart, which he gave to Semele to drink. This was how she became pregnant.) The myth of Semele's death and the birth of Dionysus is the same with usual myth about Dionysus. The jealous Hera duped Semele into asking for a fatal boon from Zeus, which she died, but Zeus saved the unborn child, by sewing the baby into his thigh. When it was time, Dionysus was born again, from the thigh of Zeus. (Hyginus omitted about Dionysus being born from Zeus' thigh.) Dionysus was a reincarnation of the god Zagreus, son of Persephone. There is also an Orphic version, of the abduction and rape of Persephone (Kore) by Hades, and the myth of Demeter's wandering. Several aspects of the myth of Demeter and Persephone have also changed. Since Dionysus' life in the Orphic myth is the same told elsewhere, the Orphic Creation ends here. But there is no doubt that when the time came, Zeus would step down from the throne; Dionysus would ascend, and be crowned. According to the Orphic myths, six rulers had reign in heaven: Protogonus/Phanes, Nyx, Uranus, Cronus, Zeus and Dionysus. Dionysus was the reincarnation of Zagreus/Dionysus, as well as the reincarnation of Protogonus.
If you are interested in learning more about the Orphic Mysteries then I would suggest that you go to the Mysteries page. In Hesiod's account about the creation, he only mentioned Cronus swallowing his children: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Poseidon and Hades, and later on Zeus swallowing the pregnant Metis.
In the Orphic myths, the cannibalism of the gods is even more evident. Cronus swallowed his children; Zeus swallowed Phanes/Protogonus and the entire universe; Zeus swallowed Metis; the Titans devoured Dionysus/Zagreus and Zeus swallowing the heart of Dionysus/Zagreus. It seemed that birth follow by death, which in turn is then followed by rebirth.
The Orphic Creation Myth is another scenario of the Cosmic Egg origin, but without the Creator Goddess, Eurynome(see Eurynome and Ophion).
Behind the myth, is the religion of salvation for the human's soul. This religion was named after the mythical singer, Orpheus, who was reputedly said to be the founder of the Orphic Mysteruries. In the beginning, there was Time, which the Greeks called Chronus or Khronos. This was a period called the Unaging Time, when nothing existed and nothing grew old; indeterminate and (almost) limitless time, which some people would call Aeon. Existing at the same time as Chronus was Adrasteia, or Ananke, meaning "Necessity".
Chronus and Adrasteia combined to create primordial Spirit and Matter, which were called Aether and Chaos(Hesiod had referred to Aether as the upper atmosphere, where the air was clean and pure; he referred to Aether as male entity, while in the Orphic myth, Aether was seen as female being. Chaos was fathomless void, abyss or the yawning gap. With Hesiod, Chaos was a male primordial being, whereas in Orphic myth, the role had changed.) A third primordial being came out of Time and Necessity, Erebus – "Darkness". Chronus then combined with Aether, or possibly with Chaos and Aether, so the primeval beings caused mists to form and solidify into a Cosmic Egg.The Orphic myth was not the only one to use the Egg motif for their cosmogony.The World Egg can be found in many different Creation myths, such as from Egypt, Persia and India. After all the egg was the symbol of new birth and new life. That the god and the world were created from the Cosmic Egg. It wasn't even original idea in Greek myths. The Athenian comedy playwright, Aristophanes, wrote in the Birds that Nyx (Night) laid the egg, which Eros (Love) was born from. In Apollonius' epic, Argonautica, It was Eurynome who created the Egg, which the world as we know it, came into existence. The Cosmic Egg was the first definable matter that was created out of infinity. The World Egg was gigantic and silver in colour. When the great resplendent, silver Egg hatched, out sprang Protogonus, which literally means First-born, the first god. According to one Neo-Platonist writer, the Egg shell split in two: the two shells forming heaven and earth.Protogonus has known by several other names, such as Phanes, the god of light; Ericapaeus "Power", and Metis, which means "Intelligence". Writers often called him – Phanes. As Phanes, he was the primeval sun god with golden wings. He has four eyes, which allowed him to look in any direction. He was said to possess a number of heads in the shapes of various animals. He had a voice of bull and that of a lion. Though, he was said to be invisible, he radiated pure light. Protogonus had been identified with Eros (Love); Hesiod's Eros was also an earlier god, born at the same time as Gaea and Tartarus.Sometimes, Phanes was called Dionysus; if this is the case, then he was the first of three incarnations of Dionysus. Though people speak of him as a god, Protogonus/Phanes was in fact an androgynous being. Without a partner, he conceived and gave birth to Nyx (Night). (Different accounts say that it was Nyx, who laid the Cosmic Egg, therefore she was Protogonus' mother, not his daughter.) Protogonus (Phanes) was the first supreme ruler of heaven. Either Nyx ruled with Protogonus or on her own. Some times later, he lay with his own daughter, and then he became the father of Earth and Heaven, which they were named Gaea and Uranus . So it was Protogonus who created the earth and heaven. It was also Protogonus who had created the Golden Age of Man.Nyx ruled after Protogonus, before she abdicated in favour of her son, Uranus, who made Gaea as his consort. What follow is similar to Hesiod's Theogony. Heaven and Earth were the parents of the three Hundred-Handed(Hecatoncheires) and the three Cyclopes. They were also the parents of the Titans; they had seven sons and seven daughters (see the tables for the list of the children of Uranus and Gaea, in the Titans page). Among Uranus' children was Chroneus , the evil Titan, who dethroned his father. In Hesiod's account, it was Gaea who conspired with his son, to rid of her husband, but in the Orphic myth, it was both Nyx and Gaea who brought about Uranus' downfall, using the Titans. Cronus castrated Uranus and threw his father's genitals into the sea. Foam formed in the sea, which drifted until it reach Cyprus and the love goddess Aphrodite sprung out of the sea. Rhea was Cronus' consort, as well as his sister. In the Orphic myth, she was also confused with Demeter(Ceres), the corn goddess. Perhaps, Demeter was another aspect of Rhea. Cronus and Rhea had 6 children, including Zeus. Like Hesiod's Theogony, Cronus swallowed each child that Rhea bore him, except his youngest child, Zeus. Rhea hid the infant Zeus in a cave. Rhea wrapped a stone in swaddling clothes and gave it to her husband, which Cronus promptly swallowed, thinking he had swallowed his latest baby. Her name changed into Demeter, after Rhea gave birth to Zeus.
The Cretan nymphs Adrasteia and Idaea brought up Zeus, whom they fed milk of the goat Amaltheia. The Curetes had also assisted the nymphs. How Zeus became the new supreme ruler of universe, which is a different variation to Hesiod's account. Zeus used honey to make Cronus drunk, disgorging Zeus' siblings, before Zeus dismembered his father, just as had Cronus done with his own father (Uranus). It was Nyx(Night) who had advised Zeus to swallow her father/consort,Protogonus(Phanes), the first god and the original Creator. Zeus swallowed Protogonus and the entire universe that Protogonus had created, which included the other gods. With Protogonus in his belly, Zeus gained new power and knowledge, which he used to create a new universe. Whole new sun, planets, stars, mountains, land and seas were recreated. The other gods were also reborn. Zeus ruled supreme, but he shared the world with his brothers: Poseidon received the sea and Hades got the subterranean domain of the dead, the netherworld (Underworld). Zeus ruled the sky, but they all shared the earth. Zeus had married many times. He had as many as seven wives, and three of them were his own sisters: Hestia, Demeter(or Rhea) and Hera. (Well, sometimes Demeter, as Rhea was seen as Zeus' mother.) Zeus had many children from various wives and mistresses. Some of these children became important deities; among them were Athena, Hermes, Apollo and Artemis , Ares and Hephaestus. From Demeter, Zeus, became the father of Persephone(Kore). Demeter and Persephone were living in the Dictean cave of the island Crete, where they were guarded by snakes. (According to other writers, after Zeus had overthrown his father Cronus, Rhea or Demeter tried to escape from nuptials with her own son, by assuming the form of snake. Zeus also turned himself into a snake and raped Rhea. So that Rhea (Demeter) became the mother of Persephone.) Zeus wanted a son to one-day rule in his place, and decided that his own daughter, Kore or Persephone, would be the mother of that son. Zeus secretly transformed himself into a snake, and lay with his daughter. Persephone became pregnant and became the mother of Dionysus(Zagreus).Earlier Orphic writers called him Dionysus, but the Neoplatonist writers, sometimes called him Zagreus. The Neoplatonists also believed that Dionysus/Zagreus was a reincarnation of Protogonus/Phanes, whom Zeus had swallowed earlier. For the sake of convenience I will call Dionysus, son of Persephone, as Zagreus, so we can distinguish one Dionysus from the other.
While Zagreus was still an infant, Zeus placed the sceptre in his son's tiny hand, and announced before all the gods that Zagreus will become their new ruler.
Zeus' other wife, Hera, was jealous that Zagreus would become the next ruler of the gods; so she incited the Titans to murder the infant Zagreus (Dionysus). The Titans, who were dispossessed, became Zeus' worse enemies, so they readily agreed.The Titans painted their face white, and they lured the infant Zagreus from the safety of the cave, with toys, such as mirror, doll, knuckle bones, and spin-top called bull-roarer. Zagreus left the cave before he realised that he was in danger. Zagreus tried to escape, by assuming various transformations. When the Titans caught him, they tore him to pieces before they devoured him. Athena arrived in time to save the Zagreus' heart, which she brought to her father. Athena had managed to keep the heart alive and beating, by breathing life into it.Enraged that the Titans had attacked his son, Zeus hurled his mighty thunderbolts, blasting the Titans to ashes. From the ashes of the Titans, mankind rose.(The dual natures of the Orphic belief come from that all men have two different natures: good and evil, earthly and spiritual (immortal), Dionysiac and Titanic. Since the Titans had consumed Dionysus, the evil nature comes from the Titans, while good comes from the Dionysiac part. To gain entry to Elysium , the initiated of the Orphic Mysteries must live a good, ascetic life in three separate incarnations. See Orphic Mysteries.) It was still Zeus' intention to leave the kingship of the universe to one of his sons, and that son would have been Zageus/Dionysus. Zeus swallowed Zagreus' heart, and visited a mortal woman, named Semele , daughter of Cadmus, king of Thebes, whom he seduced and made pregnant. (According to Hyginus, Zeus created mead out of Zagreus' heart, which he gave to Semele to drink. This was how she became pregnant.) The myth of Semele's death and the birth of Dionysus is the same with usual myth about Dionysus. The jealous Hera duped Semele into asking for a fatal boon from Zeus, which she died, but Zeus saved the unborn child, by sewing the baby into his thigh. When it was time, Dionysus was born again, from the thigh of Zeus. (Hyginus omitted about Dionysus being born from Zeus' thigh.) Dionysus was a reincarnation of the god Zagreus, son of Persephone. There is also an Orphic version, of the abduction and rape of Persephone (Kore) by Hades, and the myth of Demeter's wandering. Several aspects of the myth of Demeter and Persephone have also changed. Since Dionysus' life in the Orphic myth is the same told elsewhere, the Orphic Creation ends here. But there is no doubt that when the time came, Zeus would step down from the throne; Dionysus would ascend, and be crowned. According to the Orphic myths, six rulers had reign in heaven: Protogonus/Phanes, Nyx, Uranus, Cronus, Zeus and Dionysus. Dionysus was the reincarnation of Zagreus/Dionysus, as well as the reincarnation of Protogonus.
If you are interested in learning more about the Orphic Mysteries then I would suggest that you go to the Mysteries page. In Hesiod's account about the creation, he only mentioned Cronus swallowing his children: Hestia, Demeter, Hera, Poseidon and Hades, and later on Zeus swallowing the pregnant Metis.
In the Orphic myths, the cannibalism of the gods is even more evident. Cronus swallowed his children; Zeus swallowed Phanes/Protogonus and the entire universe; Zeus swallowed Metis; the Titans devoured Dionysus/Zagreus and Zeus swallowing the heart of Dionysus/Zagreus. It seemed that birth follow by death, which in turn is then followed by rebirth.
2-4-Cosmogony of Diodorus Siculus
According to the 1st century BC historian, Diodorus Siculus, Oceanus and Tethys were the source of all gods. To Diodorus, Uranus was the first king, and not really a god at all. Uranus was the first to gather people together into the first walled city, giving them laws, and teaching to how grow their crops and store food. Uranus was also an astronomer and astrologer, who could foresee the future, and made many predictions. Uranus was the father of forty-five sons from different wives, but it was from his consort Titaea, that eighteen of his sons became known as the Titans. She had also bore many daughters, including Basileia and Rhea. When Titaea died, she was deified as the goddess, whose name was Ge (Gaea). Basileia was the eldest, and had reared her brothers, which was why she was known as the Great Mother. Basileia would be identified as Hesiod's Theia, because of her relationship with her brother and children, but Diodorus also identified her with the Phrygian goddess, Cybele. She ruled after her father's death and deification, also as a god. She had married her brother, Hyperion , and became the mother of Helius and Selene. Her other brothers (Titans) were jealous and feared that Hyperion would keep the royal power to himself. The Titans conspired to remove Hyperion, so they killed him and threw Helius into Eridanus River, where her son drowned. In her grief, Selene threw herself off the high city wall. Basileia sought along the Eridanus to find her son's body, until she dropped from exhaustion. Here, she had a vision of her son, telling her no to grieve for him or his sister, because they were transformed into the sun god and moon goddess. The Titans would also be punished for their crime. When Basileia recovered from her swoon, she told her people about her vision, before she was seized by madness, wandering the land with her daughter's playthings, such as the kettledrums and cymbals. One day, in a thunderstorm, she vanished, and her people assumed that she had been transformed into a goddess. They erect an altar in her honour. After the death of Hyperion and Basileia, the kingdom was divided between her brothers, Atlas and Cronus. Atlas became the ancestor of the Atlantides, the people in western Libya, giving the name to Mount Atlas. Because Atlas was a great astronomer and astrologer, he published the book on the doctrine of the sphere. It was for this reason, why Atlas was usually seen as a man holding the heaven on his shoulders. Atlas was the father of a son, named Hesperus, and of seven daughters, known as the Pleiades.As to Atlas' brother, Cronus was a greedy and impious ruler, who married his sister Rhea. She bore him Zeus, one of the Olympian. Diodorus also mentioned another Zeus, who was brother of Uranus and king of Crete. Cronus was the king of Libya, Sicily and Italy. Zeus won the kingdom in a war against his father and the Titans. Unlike his father, Zeus was virtuous ruler - wise and just, and when he died, the people claimed he became god and ruler of the universe. At this point, Diodorus then give us a brief summary on a few different myths about Dionysus (III 63. 3-5). They are different because Diodorus believed that there are three people with the name Dionysus. The first Dionysus, he said was the eldest - Dionysus of India. Diodorus say it was here, where he taught the Indian the cultivation of vine and making of wine. The second Dionysus was the son of Zeus and Persephone (III 64. 1-2). It is this Dionysus that was murdered by the Titans, like in the Orphic myth. Dionysus was the first person to yoke a plough to an ox, as well as other skills needed for agriculture.
Though earlier in Book III 62. 3-7, Diodorus says that he called Dionysus the son of Demeter , instead of Persephone. The Titans had torn the young Dionysus to pieces, and boiled his flesh, but Demeter (his mother) gathered to pieces together and he was reborn. Zeus destroyed the Titans for the murder of his son. See the Orphic Creation. The third Dionysus was the son of Zeus and Semele, where he was born at Thebes. He was popularly known as Bacchus among the Greeks and Romans. See Semele about the birth of Dionysus. Diodorus also give a brief description of Orpheus involvement in with Dionysus and founding of the new Orphic religion. As it can be seen in this article, Diodorus' myth is different from Hesiod's creation. Actually most of it was his invention. Diodorus tried to rationalize well-known myths, where made the gods mortal, who became deified only at their death, as gods or goddesses. The most striking part is the death of Dionysus by the Titans, which is similar to the Orphic cosmogony. It is the earliest version we know of Dionysus in regarding to him being the son of Persephone and his death.
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