“Nobody knew how it all began, neither Homer nor Hesiod. Nor Ovid nor Vergil. But it was said that at the beginning, there was Chaos, which meant confusion & disorder, & there was Eros, which meant love. And confusion & disorder were what all those who were smitten by love [Eros] felt at the beginning & what all lovers felt when they fell out of love. Thus, it appeared that confusion & disorder [Chaos] was the flip-side of love & that Eros was the other face of chaos. And, thus, Eros & Chaos were in fact one. And the poets saw other aspects of Eros, such as Himeros[Passion or Desire], Anteros[Reciprocal or Mutual Love] & Pothos[Longing]. And they also saw other aspects of Chaos, such as Phobos[Fear] & Deimos[Terror]. And that since Eros & Chaos were one,all these aspects of the two were the aspects of love.”
Quote Analysis
In this quote by Nicholas Chong, the interconnectedness of Chaos and Eros, representing confusion and love respectively, is explored. The idea that love brings both order and disorder is presented, with various aspects such as Passion, Fear, and Longing being attributed to Eros and Chaos. This quote suggests that the complexities of love and the emotions it brings are intertwined with chaos, fear, and longing, highlighting the multifaceted nature of human relationships.
Modern Relevance: Love and Chaos
In this passage, Nicholas Chong explores the interconnected nature of love (Eros) and chaos, suggesting that they are two sides of the same coin. This perspective on love as encompassing both passion and fear can be seen as relevant in modern relationships and emotions. Love is often a complex and tumultuous experience, encompassing not just joy and happiness but also confusion, longing, and sometimes even fear. Understanding the duality of love and chaos can provide insight into the multifaceted nature of relationships and emotions in today's world.
Mythical Interpretation of Love and Chaos
“Nobody knew how it all began, neither Homer nor Hesiod. Nor Ovid nor Vergil. But it was said that at the beginning, there was Chaos, which meant confusion & disorder, & there was Eros, which meant love. And confusion & disorder were what all those who were smitten by love [Eros] felt at the beginning & what all lovers felt when they fell out of love. Thus, it appeared that confusion & disorder [Chaos] was the flip-side of love & that Eros was the other face of chaos. And, thus, Eros & Chaos were in fact one. And the poets saw other aspects of Eros, such as Himeros[Passion or Desire], Anteros[Reciprocal or Mutual Love] & Pothos[Longing]. And they also saw other aspects of Chaos, such as Phobos[Fear] & Deimos[Terror]. And that since Eros & Chaos were one,all these aspects of the two were the aspects of love.” - Nicholas Chong
Reflection Questions
Reflecting on the idea that chaos and love are intertwined, consider the following questions:
- How have you experienced moments of chaos or confusion in your relationships or feelings of love?
- In what ways have fear and desire played a role in your experiences of love and relationships?
- Can you identify moments of reciprocal or mutual love in your life, and how have these moments influenced your understanding of Eros?
- How do you navigate the different aspects of love, such as passion, longing, fear, and terror, in your relationships and personal experiences?
Similar quotes
“All the intrigues of the Gods & Goddesses were the works of Eros, of course. And as the Gods & Goddesses relaxed & lay limp, after the union of love, Love himself wished that he could relax & lay limp too. But he could not, since he was at odds with himself. He tried to figure out what went wrong & concluded that it all went wrong at the beginning, with the Big Bang.It was those aspects of himself, Eros[Love], Anteros[Mutual Love] & Pothos[Longing], which first united the Sky & the Earth in the primordial egg in the union of love. But it was Himeros who uncoupled them as Passion was fickle & capricious. And Chaos, naturally, followed Passion.”
“Eros, who was awakened when the girdle was cast aside, thought it unfitting that the Goddess of Love should turn herself into a Goddess of War, since that post was already filled by Athena. On the other hand, a battle between the Goddess of Love with the God of War also did not make sense, as they should either make love or make war & indulge either in love-games or war-games. For how could one party make love whilst the other make war at the same time? For it took two parties to either make love or make war.And thus Eros decided to turn Mars into the God of Hate to see whether a battle between Love & Hate could produce Chaos, since Love & Chaos were one & so were Hate & Chaos. And thus Eros sent Phobos & Deimos to Mars, to turn the God of War into the God of Hate.”
“And although Passion was the ugly side of Love, Passion made love-making fun. Himeros made lovers lusty, passionate & violent. It aroused sexual excitement & also brutality, & thus when Love turned to Chaos, Himeros was to blame. Thus, when Eros reunited Sky & Earth in the union of love, Himeros made Uranus so awful to Gaea that she had to resort to having him castrated.”
“And that historical moment when the young Aphrodite held Poseidon`s magnificent phallus in her small hand & squeezed it was the greatest event of the universe since the Big Bang. It was the moment when Eros, separated from Himeros & Chaos in the Big Bang, were reunited, to become one again. And all who were there saw Aphrodite`s girdle changed its colour from a passion red to orange, & then to gold, the colour of Love.”
“And they were all agreed that it was Eros who held the world together, since Love made the world go round. And the universe was thus perceived as an enormous egg, held together by Love. And this primordial egg consisted of two hemispheres, the Sky[Uranus] & the Earth[Gaea] held together by Eros[Love]& if they were not thus held together, both halves would spring apart & hell would break loose.And that was exactly what happened when it all began. Eros laxed his hold for a moment & the universe sprang apart with a Big Bang.”