Ananke

In Greek mythology, Ananke (Greek: Αναγκη, "force," "constraint," or "necessity"), also spelled as Anangke, Anance, or Anagke and also known as Adrastia (Greek: Αδραστεια, Adrasteia, "inescapable"), Anancaea (Greek: Αναγκαιη, Anannkaie, "necessity"), and Tecmor (Greek: Τεκμωρ, Tekmor, "purpose," "end," or "goal"),  was the personified goddess of inevitability, compulsion, and necessity. Ananke is typically depicted as holding a spindle or a torch.
==Mythology==
According to Orphic tradition, Ananke was one of the primordial beings who emerged after the creation of the universe as a serpentine goddess wrapped around the cosmos with her consort, Chronos. With her and Chronos' serpentine coils, they crack the primal world egg which splits into the earth, heaven, and the sea.
==Family==
According to some Orphic traditions, Ananke was the daughter of Hydros and Gaea, as well as the mother of Chaos, Aether, and Phanes/Erebus.
Ananke was the wife of the primordial god of time, Chronos.
In his Republic, Plato writes that the Moirai were daughters of Ananke. As their mother, Ananke was known as the only deity who could influence their decisions and was, therefore, highly revered.
==Worship==
Pausanias claimed that there was a temple dedicated to both Ananke and Bia, the personified goddess of force, in ancient Corinth.
==Notes==
*In Roman mythology, she was closely equated with Necessitas.
*Ananke is also often associated with the aspect of the goddess of love, Aphrodite Ourania, the representation of celestial love. They are closely equated since both dictate life.
Category:Greek deities
Category:Greek primordial deities