I have seen these entities in my dreams time and again as evil, playful children. I know instinctively they are cosmic bastards. But I don’t know what they are. I googled the term, and came across this interesting passage:
After Nyx, the night, and the Wind coupled and gave birth to
Eros, the cosmos wasirrevocably changed. Eros was able to encircle the
World-Egg, Phanos, and byconstriction, break it open and expose the Chaos
within. From Chaos came all things,everything manifest, phenomena, events,
states, attitudes, even the pulse and the breath.Since it was responsible for
existence, all things are subject to Eros, ‘loveliest of Immortals, who makes
their bodies (and men’s bodies) go limp, mastering their mindsand subduing
their wills.’ And since Eros, the desirousness for life, exercises his
patrimony through chaos, wherever love enters, we mortals can expect chaos not
far behind.Though we rarely think of it,
the monster is the child of Eros and Chaos.
We forget alsothat since monsters
are born of love, their function must be furtherance of life. It is aspecial
work, the work of protection. The idea of the monster as protector is found in
theword itself. The word
monster is akin to admonish and demonstrate in that it too warnsof danger. Where danger threatens, the
hero or heroine materializes. Heroism lives toslay monsters and has no time to
decipher the message. Heroes move quickly, with forceand cunning. They have no
time to recognize the love-child for what it is; or they do andhave even more
reason for slaying. This is how we have always celebrated the
marvelousfertility of chaos. It is a celebration of ignorance, a feast of
fools. As soon as we look back at the
conflict between monster and hero, to the original children of Chaos(mentioned
by Hesiod), archetypal monsters such as Blame, Woe, Nemesis, Deceit, andStrife,
we find the same tendency. Our heroism—which constantly tries to subdue
suchforces—is actually directed toward their death. Our daily combat with
life’s obstaclestries to slay these children of chaos—without pondering their
work in creation.Who is the monster in relation to the hero? In a way, it
mirrors the relation of Love toChaos, only in reverse. Eros bears a love of
chaos, because from that vortex came Love.By contrast, the hero hates the
monster because of its warning. The warning wakes theconscience of the hero,
who then must bear suffering the slaying of the monster the restof his life.
The love-relation in which monster and hero meet is found in the story of
Pasiphae, wife of King Minos of Crete, and comes from a civilization more
ancient thanMinoa. Pasiphae falls in love with the white bull that had been
withheld from sacrifice.Emerging from the sea, it confirmed Minos’ claim to the
kingdom, as an oracle hadforetold. The animal was radiant with beauty and the
king added it to his own herd. Lovethen becomes desire. Pasiphae has Daedalus,
the architect, make a hollow wooden cow toher own design. In it she was able to
consummate her passion, and from the union themonster the Minotaur was born.To
behold the image of the Minotaur is to snap to attention. The monster commands
awakefulness irrespective of one’s attitudes or states. This is his legendary
‘devouring’character. The Minotaur demanded human life for his survival and one
can imagine thatwhat he ‘ate’ first was the drowsy, trance-like condition of
consciousness. In someancient accounts, cannibalism is symbolic and that his
‘victims’ were really his disciples,
pupils of the school
of the labyrinth. That is true of the entire clan of chaos’s children,that the
monster is made in the image of a teacher. The monster’s teaching is a
penetrating sense of dread that rouses every cell in the body from sleep. The
teachingwarns that even a momentary lapse brings death.
What do you think? What are the children of chaos?
