Ophion
The great serpent who ruled the cosmos with Eurynome before the Titans, in the Pelasgian creation myth.
The Myth of Ophion
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. See our full guide to English words from Greek mythology.
Explore Further
Ophis
🐉 creatureserpents
The great cosmic serpent in Orphic tradition that encircled the primordial egg at the dawn of creation
Eurynome
🏔 titanPre-Olympian queen of the cosmos
In the Pelasgian creation myth, Eurynome ruled the universe with Ophion before the rise of the Titans.
Eurynome
🏔 titanPastures, Wide Rule
A Titaness who in some traditions ruled Olympus alongside her husband Ophion before being overthrown by Cronus and Rhea in a divine coup.
Tethys
🏔 titanTitaness of the primal ocean
The great Titaness of the sea who nursed Hera and whose union with Oceanus produced all the world's rivers and springs.
Dione
🏔 titanOracle, Femininity
A shadowy Titaness worshipped at Dodona alongside Zeus, sometimes named as the original mother of Aphrodite before the sea-foam version became dominant.
Kronos
🏔 titanTitan, father of the Olympians
King of the Titans who ruled during the mythological Golden Age. Kronos overthrew his father Ouranos and was in turn overthrown by his son Zeus.
Drakon Hesperios
🐉 creatureserpents,guardian
The immortal serpent that never slept, coiled around the tree of golden apples in the garden of the Hesperides at the western edge of the world.
Cecrops
🗡 heroAthens, civilization
Half-serpent first king of Athens who judged the contest between Athena and Poseidon.
Oceanus
🏔 titanTitan of the great world-encircling river
The great Titan who personified the vast river believed to encircle the entire world. Father of all the rivers, springs, and ocean nymphs.
Rhea
🏔 titanTitaness of fertility, motherhood, the mountain wilds
Mother of the Olympian gods and wife of Kronos. Rhea saved the infant Zeus from being devoured by his father, enabling the rise of the Olympians.
Cronus
🏔 titanharvest, time, ruler of the Titans
Ruler of the Titans and father of the first Olympians, who swallowed his children to prevent being overthrown.
Dione
🏔 titanTitaness and mother of Aphrodite
An ancient Titaness worshipped at Dodona as the consort of Zeus and, in Homer's tradition, the mother of Aphrodite.