Greek Cosmos Notes

Introduction: What do Greeks call Greece - Hellas and Ellada are two names, Ellada is modern, Hellas is ancient, and Hellenic Republic is its official name. Interestingly, all the words are very like the old word for Goddess in Hebrew - Elohe (in Biblical Hebrew - a masculine noun) and Ella (in Modern Hebrew).
Note, the Greek word for Goddess is Thea, not all that distant from the Greek word for Death - Thanatos - The End.

Chronology of the Cosmos

Etymology of the English word "world" — i.e. the age of man. Click here for the Greek Five Ages of Man according to Hesiod (twisted from Daniel).

In Scripture Creation came out of "nothing", built by Father God.

According to the Greek historian Hesiod (750-650BC) Cosmos came out of Chaos, the Abyss (bottomless, unfathomable). It is used to translate the Hebrew word tehom (deep) in Genesis 1:2, ruled by Abaddon (Destroyer) in Revelation 9:11.

First there was Chaos

then Gaia (Earth) appeared and Tartarus (Underworld) and then Eros (Base Desire) the driving force of the Cosmos (Order). In early accounts he is a primordial god, but in later accounts he is the son of Aphrodite (Venus) and Ares (Mars). Ares was the later son of Zeus and Hera.

The offspring of Chaos were Erebus (Darkness) and Nyx (Night). Nyx gave birth to Aether (the bright upper air), and to Hemera (the Day). Nyx later on gave birth to the dark and dreadful aspects of the universe (e.g., Dreams, Death, War, and Famine).

The other offspring of Nyx was Nemesis, Goddess of Distribution and Retribution. Nemesis formed the basis of the Greek word Nomos, i.e. "Norms" (for living), along with Greek "Numbers" that were allotted by the later gods.

It became the Greek word for God's Law - the Torah in Deuteronomy 17:11, and Deuteronomy 17:18, summed up by Paul in Galatians 5:14 "You shall love your neighbour as yourself".

Back to Gaia. From Gaia came Ouranos (The Sky), Ourea (The Mountains) and Pontus (The Sea). From Gaia and Ouranos came

Chronos with the aid of Gaia castrated his "hateful" father. The drops of blood falling on Gaia brought forth the Gigantes in Genesis 6:4 and Numbers 13:33 in the Greek Bible, Nephilim (those who fell on people, bullies) in Hebrew.

Chronos was identified with Saturn (in Rome) and as Chiun in Amos 5:26 during humanity's "Golden Age".

From Chronos and Rhea came the first gods of Mount Olympus
1.Zeus (Amun-Ra in Egypt, Jupiter in Roman), 2.Poseidon, 3.Hestia, 4.Demeter and 5.Hera. They had a sixth member in their family, Hades, but his realm was the underworld, far from Olympus, and thus was not usually considered to be one of the Olympians. Later came 6.Athena (Neith in Egyptian, Minerva in Roman), 7.Apollo who destroyed the monstrous serpent Python, 8.Artemis, Apollo's twin sister (Diana in Roman), 9.Ares (Mars in Roman, Tyr in Norse), 10.Hephaestus (Ptah in Egyptian, Vulcan in Roman), 11.Aphrodite (Venus in Roman, Freyr in Norse), 12.Hermes (Mercury in Roman, Odin (Woden) in Norse, according to Tacitus in 100AD his son Thor is similar to Jupiter's son Hercules). Also in some Greek lists Dionysus replaces Hestia. They were called Olympians because according to tradition they resided on Mount Olympus (400 kms north of Athens in modern day Thessaly).

From the male Titan Iapetus (Japheth, son of Noah in Scripture) came Prometheus (builder of mankind), Epimetheus (animals) and Atlas.

Click here for more on Prometheus and Pandora, and the end of humanity's golden age.

Unlike his two brothers Prometheus and Epimetheus, Atlas sided with the other Titans supporting Chronos in the war that developed with Chronos's son Zeus. Due to Chronos's advanced age Atlas led the Titans in battle. As a result he was singled out by Zeus for a special punishment, and made to hold up the "sky" on his back.

Zeus in later legend ended the bronze age by flooding the world with the help of his brother Poseidon. After the flood only Deucalion (son of Prometheus) and Pyrrha (daughter of Epimetheus and Pandora) remained, and Deucalion gave birth to Hellen about 1500BC and his sister Pandora II who later gave birth to Graecus (via Zeus) and Latinus.

Many have wondered at the similarities in the word for "Father" in English and all the other languages e.g. "Pater" in Greek and Latin, "Vater" in German, "Pita" in Hindi and Persian, "Papa" in Russian, "Baba" in Chinese, Arabic.

The name "Ptah", the primary creator deity in Memphis (today an area just south of Cairo), was the Egyptian word for the original craftsman, blacksmith (Vulcan), potter (pater) of all mankind, associated in Greece with the Greeks' original ancestor "Iapetus". See that unusual prophecy in Genesis 9:27 just after the universal flood

May God extend (or pata) Japheth (Ja-pet). May Ja-pet lodge in the tents of Shem. And may Canaan (literal meaning "Bend the knee", or "Humble yourself") be his servant.

Interestingly, the root meaning of Canaan in Hebrew can, ultimately, be a good word.

However, the root meaning of pata by itself is actually not a good one, it literally means to "flatter", the word is associated with delusions of "grandeur", as has happened with the fathers (the paters) of mankind everywhere.

So it is so good when Ja-pet
(with the first part of his name linked to Ja i.e. Jehovah)

lodges (remains) in the tents of Shem
(a word that literally means “the Name” i.e. Lord or in the New Testament Abba Father).

Interestingly, and lastly, the Greeks associate Iapetus with the word "Peirazo" - to pierce (or tempt, test via a sword).

See those famous verses in James 1:13-16, as it was initially written in Greek, Let no one say when he (or she) is tested, tempted (pierced), I am pierced of God: for God cannot be pierced with evil (badness), neither pierces he anyone. But everyone is pierced, when he (or she) is drawn away of their own lust (yearnings), and enticed (flattered). Then when yearning has conceived, it brings forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, brings forth death.

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** End notes