Phanes is a Greek deity, hatched from the World-Egg by Kronos and Ananke, and is the primeval deity of procreation and the generation of new life. He is often equated with Eros.

Phanes was ruler of the Gods, and passed the sceptre of kingship to Nyx, its daughter, who in turn gave it to her son Ouranos (later taken by Kronos).

Phanes has been depicted as an hermaphroditic deity emerging from a cosmic egg. A serpent entwines around his body. There is a crescent moon with tips emerging from behind the shoulders and a sun above the head. Three animal heads are across its body at the front of the chest; a lion, a goat and a bull. Around all this is the circle of the zodiacal glyphs. In the corners around this deity are the four Greek gods of the winds. It has been equated with the emergence of cosmic light. Sometimes the primordial consciousness itself emerging from the dawn of time. It is also equated with Mithras.

Greek Mythology

See also : Greek Mythology. Paintings, Drawings

Mythology Images