Protogenoi

The Greco-Roman Primordials

## Profile

### Aliases

Primordial Gods, Protogenos, Nobilis, Facets of the Void, First Primordials, Original Primordials, Metaphysical Aspects

## Individuals

### Members

Chronos, Nyx/Nox, Erebus/Scotus, Tartarus, Gaia/Terra, Eros/Amor, Ouranos/Caelus, Pontus, Thalassa/Mare, Ananke/Necessitas, Aether, Hemera/Dies, Achlys, Aion, Caligo, Phanes, Ophion, Eurynome, Hydros, Thesis, Ourea/Montes, Nesoi, Physis/Natura

## Other

### Residence

Realm of the Protogenoi, Peninsula of Creation

### Status

Mostly Inactive

The **Protogenoi**, also called **Protogenos**, are the primordial gods known to the Greeks and Romans, responsible for the creation and foundation of the cosmos. They were born from Khaos, and are older than Earth and the rest of the omniverse.

## Overview

The Protogenoi are the first entities born into existence; they form the very fabric of the universe and as such are immortal. Unlike the Titans and the gods, they are essentially sentient aspects of the universe itself and have absolute and total control over it, so therefore they cannot truly be killed.

The Protogenoi included Caligo (Darkness/Nothingness), Khaos (Void), Aether (Light), Ananke (Necessity), Chronos (Time), Erebus (Darkness), Eros (Love), Gaia (Earth), Hemera (Day), Hydros (Waters), Nesoi (Islands), Nyx (Night), Ophion (Serpent), Ourea (Mountains), Phanes (Procreation), Pontus (Sea), Tartarus (Underworld), Thesis (Reality), and Ouranos (Sky/Heavens).

These deities are a group of gods from which all the other gods descended. They preceded the Titans, the descendants of Gaia and Ouranos. Most are the children of Khaos, the Primordial void from which all of creation came from.

They are a group of metaphysical cosmic beings created by the Khaos to serve as army against the Arcuthas of God and the Eldritch Horrrors of Azathoth, they personified various concepts that had yet to come into existence, like space, time, eternity, fate, inevitability, underworld, heaven, love, reality, creation, death, light, life, motherhood, procreation etc. They represent various facets of the Void itself, they were the first Primordials to be created by him.

The Protogenoi are some of the first entities born into existence; they formed the very fabric of the Megaverse and as such are immortal. Unlike the Titans and the gods, they are essentially sentient aspects of the universe itself and have absolute and total control over it, so therefore they cannot truly be killed.

## Description

The Protogenoi were astronomical in size and their appearances were abstract and cosmic, and whose true forms were similar to the Titans but far greater in scope. Little detail is available about their history as well as the full extent of their powers.

## Powers and Abilities

As they are the very components that make up the universe, Protogenoi have complete control of the domain they represent, far exceeding that of gods who also preside over them. In addition, all the Protogenoi wield immeasurable power, rendering them the most powerful beings in the universe. Little detail is available for their full extent of their powers in the series currently.

Protogenoi can manifest in physical form to enter the physical plane. They can be temporary banished from manifesting in the world physically, but their consciousness can never be destroyed. Even the power of the Scythe of Cronus and other weapons of immense power are ultimately only able to disperse their physical forms and can’t truly destroy them.

* **Nigh-Omnipotence**: The Protogenoi are among the most powerful beings in all of Creation rivalling the Arcuthas and Outer Gods and far surpassing the likes of Second Generation Primordials, Great Old Ones, True Archangels and Archdemons, being able to take on an entire legion of archangels and archdemons single handedly and win.
* **Creation**: Protogenoi can create organic or inorganic matter from nothing, either as finished objects or simply unfinished elements. As Primordials, they can create anything they can think of, whether conceptual or sentient. This includes the creation of energy, souls and life of any complexity, dimensions or realities, stars, etc.
* **Destruction**: Protogenoi can utterly destroy things. As the first Primordials, they can destroy anything and everything from small objects to entire galaxies or universes and possibly even abstract concepts and/or natural forces/laws. However, they cannot destroy beings such as the Pre-Existential entities. Their leaders (Chronos and Ananke) are able to remove something completely and utterly without leaving anything behind, it may instead be a form of Erasure.
* **Black-Hole-Manipulation**: They can manipulate any size or shape of black holes it is capable of sucking in the likes of entire universes, realities and even archangels/archdemons and leave them trapped there where they reside until they decide to release them but only if they feel like it.
* **Immortality**: The Protogenoi had the potential to live forever and could only be destroyed by beings of equal or greater power. They are personifications of the eternity of nature and the universe.
* **Invulnerability**: The Protogenoi were impervious to mortal harm and could only be harmed by one another or beings of greater power. They are beings of pure elements and cosmic, not bound by the weaknesses of flesh, blood, bone, energy, and soul.
* **Vast Divine Powers**: As the creators of the Greco-Roman world, the Protogenoi possessed astronomical cosmic and unlimited powers. Given the fact that they predate the Moirai, not even they holds any sway over the Protogenoi.
* **Absolute Strength**: Their size and mass contribute to their astronomical superhuman strength and durability, making them more likely to be superior to Titans, Olympians, and any other creature less than a Primordial.
* **Unlimited Stamina**: The Protogenoi are not subject to fatigue. They could wage battle for centuries without rest or relent.
* **Near-Infinite Durability**: The Protogenoi are beings of pure elemental and cosmic forces. They are flawlessly indestructible and are capable of withstanding powerful blows and colossal amounts of pain for billions of years without showing any signs of exhaustion.

## History

From the beginning, there was only an empty chasm, a great bleak darkness that was never-ending, its name was Khaos. After who knows for a how long period of time, it created Chronos, Gaia, the personification of the earth rose. Then Tartarus and Eros, who was love. Following them was Erebus, who was darkness and Nyx, who was the night.

After a period of time, the sky appeared: a great dome above the earth that became Ouranos. He married Gaea and had several children together, whom he hated and she loved. Water pooled out of the mist of Khaos and formed the first seas, that like his predecessors, developed a consciousness: Pontus. Finally, another dome emerged from Chaos. Both Pontus and Tartarus harbored feelings for Gaea, which made her relationship with Ouranos rather difficult.

## Myths and Legends

The ancient Greeks entertained different versions of the origin of primordial deities. Some of these stories were possibly inherited from the pre-Greek Aegean cultures.

In some variations of Hesiod's creation myth, in Greek mythology, Khaos is the first being to ever exist. Khaos is both seen as a deity and a thing, with some sources seeing chaos as the gap between the Heavens and Earth. In some accounts Khaos existed first alongside Eros and Nyx, while in others Khaos is the first and only thing in the universe. In some stories, Khaos is seen as existing beneath Tartarus. Khaos is the parent to Night and Darkness.

In other myths, Chronos, who was the personification of time, produced Chaos, Aether, Phanes, Erebus, The Moirai, Hemera and Horae with his consort, Ananke, the Primordial of Necessity and Inevitability.

### Interpretation

Scholars dispute the meaning of the primordial deities in the poems of Homer and Hesiod. Since the primordials give birth to the Titans, and the Titans give birth to the Dodekatheon, one way of interpreting the primordial gods is as the deepest and most fundamental nature of the cosmos.

For example, Jenny Strauss Clay argues that Homer's poetic vision centers on the reign of Zeus, but that Hesiod's vision of the primordials put Zeus and the Olympians in context. Likewise, Vernant argues that the Olympic pantheon is a "system of classification, a particular way of ordering and conceptualizing the universe by distinguishing within it various types of powers and forces." But even before the Olympic pantheon were the Titans and primordial gods. Homer alludes to a more tumultuous past before Zeus was the undisputed King and Father.

Mitchell Miller argues that the first four primordial deities arise in a highly significant relationship. He argues that Khaos represents differentiation, since Khaos differentiates (separates, divides) Tartarus and Earth. Even though Khaos is "first of all" for Hesiod, Miller argues that Tartarus represents the primacy of the undifferentiated, or the unlimited. Since undifferentiation is unthinkable, Khaos is the "first of all" in that he is the first thinkable being. In this way, Khaos (the principle of division) is the natural opposite of Eros (the principle of unification). Earth (light, day, waking, life) is the natural opposite of Tartarus (darkness, night, sleep, death). These four are the parents of all the other Titans.

## Quotes

* *"In the time before the Titans, before the Gods of Olympus, a great battle was waged. The wrath of the Primordials, the very beings who forged the Earth, raged out of control for an eternity."* - Rhea.

* *"The Protogenoi, the first gods of Greece. They are the children and grandchildren of Khaos, the Void, and are undoubtedly one of the most fucked-up bunchs of gods I have ever seen. Trust me, while the interactions between them would make a fantastic reality TV show, it wasn't suitable for a bunch of ruling deities. Somehow, despite their lack of caring, they still managed to be worse than the Dodekatheon. And that's saying something."* - Life.

* *"They are the first Primordials, the strongest ones they could even wipe out the entire Megaverse if they wanted to but even they have their limits."* - Death.

## Gallery

*Four of the Protogenoi**War of the Protogenoi**Two other primordials fighting*
## Trivia

* Some beings like Cronus, Thanatos and the Moirai were treated as apart of the Protogenoi themselves, but were no way close enough in power to compare with them.
* The first Protogenoi, such as Gaea and Ouranos, named themselves
* Curiously the children of Cronus (Zeus, Poseidon, Hades and Demeter) each have a protogenoi counterpart. Zeus aligns with his grandfather Ouranos, Poseidon takes Pontus role, Hades takes Tartarus and Demeter's counterpart is Gaea. It is unclear what are Hera and Hestia's counterparts.

## Image Sources

* (Nyx.Avatar.full.502499.jpg) Nyx Avatar by ???
* (God of War Protogenoi.png) The Primordials from God of War: Ascension
* (GOW Primordials.png) Ouranos and Ceto from God of War: Ascension
* (GOW Primordials 2.png) Chaos and Ourea from God of War: Ascension