Ophion
titanThe great serpent who ruled the cosmos with Eurynome before the Titans, in the Pelasgian creation myth.
The Myth
In the oldest Greek cosmogony, the Pelasgian creation myth, Ophion was the cosmic serpent born from the north wind when Eurynome danced upon the primordial waters. He coiled around the goddess and from their union she laid the Universal Egg that hatched all of creation. Ophion and Eurynome established themselves on Mount Olympus as the first rulers of the cosmos. But Ophion grew arrogant and claimed to be the sole creator of the universe. Eurynome punished him by kicking out his teeth and banishing him to the caves beneath the earth. This myth, preserved by Apollonius of Rhodes and the Orphic tradition, predates Hesiod's Theogony and reflects a creation narrative where a goddess, not a god, holds supreme power. The serpent motif connects to Near Eastern parallels and the chthonic religious traditions of pre-Hellenic Greece.
Fun Fact
Ophion's myth is one of very few Greek creation stories where a female deity holds supreme cosmic power.
Words We Inherited
English words and phrases that trace back to this myth:
Explore Further
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