Text
Eusebius, Praeparatio 1.10:
In their time is born a certain Elioun called “the Most High,” and a female named Beruth, and these dwelt in the neighbourhood of Byblos. And from them is born Epigeius or Autochthon, whom they afterwards called Ouranus; so that from him they named the element above us Ouranus because of the excellence of its beauty. And he has a sister born of the aforesaid parents, who was called Ge (earth), and from her, he says, because of her beauty, they called the earth by the same name. And their father, the Most High, died in an encounter with wild beasts, and was deified, and his children offered to him libations and sacrifices. And Ouranus, having succeeded to his father’s rule, takes to himself in marriage his sister Ge, and gets by her four sons, Elus who is also Kronos, and Baetylus, and Dagon who is Siton, and Atlas. Also by other wives Ouranus begat a numerous progeny; on which account Ge was angry, and from jealousy began to reproach Ouranus, so that they even separated from each other. But Ouranus, after he had left her, used to come upon her with violence, whenever he chose, and consort with her, and go away again; he used to try also to destroy his children by her; but Ge repelled him many times, having gathered to herself allies.
And when Kronos had advanced to manhood, he, with the counsel and help of Hermes Trismegistus (who was his secretary), repels his father Ouranus, and avenges his mother. To Kronos are born children, Persephone and Athena. The former died a virgin: but by the advice of Athena and Hermes Kronos made a sickle and a spear of iron. Then Hermes talked magical words to the allies of Kronos, and inspired them with a desire of fighting against Ouranus on behalf of Ge. And thus Kronos engaged in war, and drove Uranus from his government, and succeeded to the kingdom. Also there was taken in the battle the beloved concubine of Ouranus, being great with child, whom Kronos gave in marriage to Dagon. And in his house she gave birth to the child begotten of Ouranus, which she named Demarus. … And in the thirty-second year of his power and kingdom Elus, that is Kronos, having waylaid his father Ouranus in an inland spot, and got him into his hands, emasculates him near some fountains and rivers. There Ouranus was deified: and as he breathed his last, the blood from his wounds dropped into the fountains and into the waters of the rivers, and the spot is pointed out to this day. … But Astarte, the greatest goddess, and Zeus Demarus, and Adodus king of gods, reigned over the country with the consent of Kronos.
Source (list of abbreviations) (source links will open in a new browser window)
Eusebius, Praeparatio 1.10
Bibliography
| West 1997, 283-286 | West, Martin L. The East Face of Helicon. West Asiatic Elements in Greek Poetry and Myth. Oxford: Clarendon Press 1997. |
Amar Annus
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