Ophion

Ophion , also Ophionei , sometimes Opion ( dr. Greek Ὀφίων "serpent", Ὀφιονεύς ) - in ancient Greek mythology ^[1] Great Serpent, King of Giants; according to some myths - the first ruler of Olympus , the son and husband of the oceanids Eurinoma (Eurynomes) ^[2] . According to one version, Uranus is the son of Ophion and the elder Thetis ^[3] .

Ophion had the form of a huge snake. According to one version of Greek myths (expounded by Perekidos of Syros ^[4] ), long before the arrival of Zeus and the accession of gods to Olympus, Ophion ^[5] and Eurinoma ruled there. According to Ferekidom, Ophion is an adversary of Kronos , the father of Ophionids ^[6] .

According to some myths, Ophion, together with her creator, Eurinoma, is the creator god of all things ( Pelasgic myth).

When Eurynome, the goddess of all things, at the beginning of creation rose from Chaos and found that she had nothing to rely on, she first separated the sky from the sea, and then, dancing over the waves, caught and squeezed the north wind in her palms - and Ophion appeared before her . To keep warm, Eurynome danced furiously, " until desire was awakened in Ophion, and he entwined her divine loins and impregnated the goddess ." Then, turning into a dove, Eurinoma laid the World Egg . The great Serpent Ophion wrapped seven times around this egg and hatched it. Then the egg cracked, and everything that came into existence appeared from it: the sun, the moon, planets, stars, the earth and its mountains, rivers, trees, grasses and living things.

Ophion and Eurinoma settled on Olympus. Then they lost Olympus to the Titans Kronos and Reye and were cast down into Tartarus (according to other sources, deep into the Ocean). Ophion fought hand-to-hand with Kronos ^[7] , but Kronos overthrew him and began to rule on Olympus.

In some versions of the myth, Ophion offended Eurynom, declaring himself the creator of the universe. “ For this, she hit him on the head with his heel, knocked out all his teeth and drove him into gloomy underground caves, where he hisses toothlessly, seducing fragile souls ” (here Ophion acts as an antihero of a creative myth, is designated as a force opposed to the goddess; perhaps this is more late version of the myth).