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In the beginning there was only Chaos, the Abyss, But then Gaia, the
Earth, came into being, Her broad bosom the ever-firm foundation of
all, And Tartaros, dim in the underground depths, And Eros, loveli¬
est of all the Immortals, who Makes their bodies (and men’s bodies)
go limp, Mastering their minds and subduing their wills. From the
Abyss were born Erebos and dark Night. And Night, pregnant after
sweet intercourse. With Erebos, gave birth to Aether and Day. Earth’s
first child was Ouranos, starry Heaven, Just her size, a perfect fit on
all sides, And a firm foundation for the blessed gods. And she bore
the Mountains in long ranges, haunted. By the Nymphs who live in
the deep mountain dells. Then she gave birth to the barren, raging
Sea Without any sexual love. But later she slept with Ouranos and
bore Ocean with its deep currents, And also: Coios, Crios, Hyperion,
lapetos, Theia, Rheia, Themis, Mnemosyne, Gold-crowned Phoibe,
and lovely Tethys. (Hesiod: Theogony. 116-135.)
Creation is always separation. The greatest German idealists
studied theology and philosophy at the same time. The beginning
of Genesis reads:
1.In the beginning God created heaven, and earth.
2 And the earth was void and empty, and darkness was upon the face
of the deep; and the spirit of God moved over the waters.
3 And God said: Be light made. And light was made.
4 And God saw the light that it was good; and he divided the light
from the darkness.
5 And he called the light Day, and the darkness Night; and there was
evening and morning one day.
(Gen.1.1-5.)
Here, too, we find separation: God divided or separated the light
from the darkness. This is repeated on a much higher level of
thought in the Gospel of John. According to many, that separation’s
description comes from the influence of Gnostic philosophy. We