In Greek mythology, Eurynome (Eurynome = broad + distribute) is a primordial deity, the daughter of Oceanus and Tethys, and one of the Oceanids. Eurynome and Zeus are the fathers of Carites: Aglaia, Talia and Euphrosyne. Some authors (not mentioned) place Asop as the son of Eurynome and Zeus. She is an Oceanid and Titanide, as well as the goddess of meadows and water meadows. She could be identified with the spouse of Ophion and her namesake.
Greek Cosmogony
She is considered by most writers an Oceanid, that is, “daughter of Oceanus (the Titan Oceanus)” (in Hesiod, 358; in Homer, she is simply “daughter of Oceanus”). However, in two fragments of Callimachus, she is referred to as a “Titanid” “for the sake of Eurynome Titanias” (which is not necessarily incompatible, Oceanus was the mightiest of the Titans and was one of the deities born from Gaia and Uranus).
In the Orphic tradition, from which Apollonius of Rhodes and Lycophron drew inspiration, Eurynome was the first to rule, along with Ophion, on the “snowy Olympus”. They were later dethroned by Rhea (and Ophion by Cronus) and cast into the waters of Oceanus (Apollonius) or Tartarus (Lycophron). A fragment of Nonnus refers to the reign of Ophion and Eurynome in the sky with the stars.
In Hesiod, widely adopted by later mythographers (mainly Apollodorus and Hyginus), after Metis and Themis, Eurynome was the third goddess loved by Zeus and bore with him the three Graces (Aglaia, Euphrosyne, and Thalia). Apollodorus (III, 12, 6) adds among the children of this union the god of the river Asopus.
In Homer’s Iliad, Eurynome is connected with Thetis: Hera threw Hephaestus from Olympus because she wanted to hide him from shame, and he fell into the sea, and the two goddesses raised him for nine years. This event might explain his later marriage to one of the Graces (Aglaia according to writers).
“Hephaestus [Vulcan], as you are now, present yourself, for Thetis has need of you.”
And the renowned lame god replied:
“Dear and highly revered goddess in my home indeed
it was she who saved me from disaster when I fell from on high,
and it was my wanton mother who sought to hide me,
for I was lame; and I would have suffered great harm then,
if Thetis and Eurynome had not concealed me,
she whose father is Ocean, the encircling.”
According to Other Testimonies
HESIOD – Theogony – 358
Metis, Eurynome, Telesto the saffron-robed, Chryseis, Asia, desirable Calypso, Eudora, Tyche, Amphiro, Ocyroe, and Styx, the most excellent of all. These are the oldest daughters born of Oceanus and Tethys. For many others, they still exist:
Apollodorus – Library 1.3.1
Zeus marries Hera and begets Hebe, Eileithyia, and Ares, but he lies with many mortal and immortal women. Thus, with Themis, daughter of Uranus, he begot his daughters, the Horae, Eirene, Eunomia, and Dike, as well as the Fates, Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos. With Dione, he begot Aphrodite; with Eurynome, daughter of Uranus, he begot the Charites, Aglaia, Euphrosyne, and Thalia…
According to Pausanias
There is a detailed description by Pausanias regarding the Temple and the worship of Eurynome:
The traveler refers to a temple in the region of Phigalia where Eurynome was worshipped: for some, this deity was associated with Artemis, while for others, it was a different entity. The temple was surrounded by cypress trees and opened once a year for the Festival Day. The statue of the goddess was adorned with golden chains, and the lower part of her body resembled a fish’s tail, like today’s mermaids.
Pausanias – Description of Greece / Arcadia
About twelve stades above Phigalia, there are thermal baths – not far from there, Lymax descends towards the Neda River. Despite the convergence of streams, the sanctuary of Eurynome, revered since ancient times, is difficult to access due to the rugged terrain.
Around the sanctuary, there are many dense cypress trees. Regarding Eurynome, the common belief among the Phigalians is that she is an epithet of Artemis – however, those who preserved ancient memories say that Eurynome is the daughter of Oceanus, also mentioned by Homer in the Iliad, and that she welcomed Hephaestus along with Thetis.
The sanctuary of Eurynome is opened on a specific day every year, while the rest of the time it is customary to keep it closed. Sacrifices are made by the city and by individuals. I did not happen to be in Phigalia on the day of the festival and did not see the statue of Eurynome – I heard from the Phigalians that the wooden cult image of the goddess is adorned with golden chains and has the form of a woman up to the buttocks – the lower part has the shape of a fish, which would be characteristic of a daughter of Oceanus who lives at the bottom of the sea with Thetis. However, it would not be appropriate to attribute this form to Artemis.
Interpretation of the Myth of Eurynome
She was the prototype of the creating Mother Goddess and the most important deity of the Pelasgians, the people who inhabited the region of Greece in prehistoric times before the Ionian and Dorian invasions.
The name means something like “she who rules from afar,” and her cult spread throughout the Mediterranean, serving as the basis for most religions in the region. Eurynome is associated with the sea, and among the titles attributed to her are Great Goddess, Primordial Mother, Creator of the Universe, Ruler, Goddess of the Universe, Goddess of All, and She Who Moves in Eternity. In Sumeria, she was known as Iahu Anat, which means “sublime dove.”
Eurynome had a temple in Arcadia that was difficult to access and was only open once a year. If pilgrims entered the sanctuary, they would find the image of the Goddess as a woman with a serpent’s tail, bound with chains of gold. In this form, Eurynome of the Sea was considered the mother of all pleasures.
The legend of Eurynome portrays humanity well in the Paleolithic period when sexual intercourse was not yet associated with pregnancy, and human cultures had no knowledge of the male’s reproductive role. Humanity believed that women generated babies on their own: they became pregnant when stung by certain insects, ate certain foods, or were exposed to the north wind or dew. In her myth, Eurynome is the reflection of this belief, as she created everything on the planet from the wind.
Over the years, Eurynome was absorbed into the cult of the Graces and later came to be considered their mother. After the rise of patriarchy, Eurynome was downgraded to the status of Zeus’s lover, and from Creator, she was considered only a Titanide daughter of Oceanus and Tethys. However, even in the patriarchal version of Greek mythology, Eurynome and her consort Ophion ruled over Mount Olympus until they were defeated by Rhea and Cronus.
As the Goddess of the Universe, it is said that Eurynome rarely grants a specific request, but when she does, her blessings are eternal and accompany the fortunate person through all incarnations. The legend is one of the oldest creation myths existing since the invention of writing. Eurynome is the Primordial Mother of the Gods and the Creator of the Universe, who ruled Olympus before the arrival of patriarchy and the reign of male gods.
Genealogical Tree
Family tree based on Apollodorus. For simplicity’s sake, his brothers and sisters (six thousand, according to some authors) have been omitted:
- Gaia
- Uranus
- Oceanus
- Thetis
- Eurynome
- Saturn
- Rhea
- Zeus (from Eurynome ↓)
- Aglaia
- Thalia
- Euprosyne
- Asopos
- Zeus (from Eurynome ↓)
- Uranus
Tribute
- Eurynome is one of the 1,038 women whose name appears in the contemporary artwork “The Dinner Party” by Judy Chicago. Her name is associated with the primordial goddess.
- The asteroid 79 Eurynome, discovered in 1863, is named after Eurynome.
