Does Zeus Fear Nyx?

There is a part of Greek Mythology concerning Zeus, King of the Gods, and Nyx, the Primordial Goddess of Night. The story of this comes from The Iliad, Book 14, Line 261, which describes Zeus' reaction to Her after Hypnos, the God of Sleep, ran from Zeus into the embrace of Nyx. The Iliad basically says the following:

Zeus stopped in reverence and would not displease Nyx.

Some people today have interpreted this as Zeus halting before Her in fear, but this is a misinterpretation and not what the Greeks meant. What we have to realize as English speakers in 2026, is that ancient Greek words didn't always have the same meanings as they do to us. For instance, calling a God awful meant to be in awe of them, whereas to us, the word awful means something that is irreverent. 

The word used in The Iliad to describe Zeus' reaction to Nyx is hazomai, which means to "stand in awe or reverence, or holy dread." Which again, dread did not mean the same thing to the Greeks as it does to us. In a religious context, it means respect. So what the Greeks meant is that Zeus has reverential awe for the Primordial that predates Him and is necessary for the Universe to remain in balance and Order. He values every part of His Kingdom and the foundations of it. It means He is Just and Pious, not scared, and understands the need for the other Gods and will not violate them. In the story of Nyx, Zeus chose the stability of the Universe, rather than battling with Nyx.

It doesn't say that Zeus cannot defeat Her. It says He chose to not violate Her, because the Order of the Universe was far more important. As my wife said, Zeus is King, not the Gestapo. The Gods both have mutual respect for one another, and that does not diminish the power of either, Zeus because of His Kingship, and Nyx because of Her Necessity. In ancient Greek religion, there were wars between Gods and other beings like the Giants, but the religion is largely not concerned with ongoing rivalries. All the Gods are worthy of respect. Of course, there could be something birthed that decides to defy the Gods, but the religion itself is not about an ongoing Godly or spiritual war.

In short, Zeus can beat Her, but He knows that to do so, would send the Universe into chaos once again, and so Nyx remains extremely powerful, not because Zeus cannot win, but because if He does, there will be tremendous upset. With great power comes great responsibility and Zeus, in His great wisdom, understands this. So the interpretation of Zeus having no power before Her, is not true. In actuality, He respects Nyx and Her House. A King does not destroy His own Universe, He loves, protects and nurtures it.

Now here is where it gets more interesting. Someone might respond to me with this by asking, "If Zeus respects the domains of the other Gods, why did He overthrow Kronos?"

The simple answer may be that there was too much chaos, but it goes deeper. The Greek Universe is one of reciprocity. By swallowing His children, He tried to completely destroy them, which did not respect their domains or existence, and was therefore a violation of one of the most basic spiritual bonds of the Greek Universe; reciprocity. Zeus took over to restore balance to the Kosmos. However, this still does not mean that Kronos commands no respect or functions. He was still worshiped in ancient times, and is still worshiped by Hellenists today, but over different domains and for different reasons. As I have said before in this post, the Greek Universe is not one of ongoing rivalry. We believe Kronos now exists peacefully with the other Gods, and is a God of the Harvest and a God of Cycles; also Lord of the Isles of the Blessed - given to Him by Zeus.

Now I don't view this prayer as talking about Kronos, but rather, as a God of Cycles, asking Him to help me through the most influential of my own in life. The point here is that even for Gods who were once fighting each other, balance and peace can still come among them.

If you wish, let's end this post with a prayer to these amazing Gods, Zeus and Nyx. 

O' Zeus, beloved King,

whom all of life, 

even Gods, call Father,

O' gorgeous and Mysterious Nyx,

dark do you come,

sending the world into sleep and quietness,

great do you both reign,

in Kingship and Necessity,

may all the glory of the Gods,

rejoice in the sound of your blessed names,

and all of us who still walk the Sacred Way,

be delighted and honored to know you.

In the Goodness of the Gods,

I'll see you at the next Herm down the road,

Chris Aldridge.