The Three Greek Gods of Time
The ancient Greek religion had at least three gods representing conceptions of time: Chronos, Aion, and Kairos. Chronos (not to be confused with the Titan Cronus) was likely the first of these gods to be established. Chronos represented empirical time, such as the past, present, and future. He was the embodiment of linear time and was associated with the simplest version of time (e.g., the time from one’s birth until now).
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
In contrast to Chronos, Aion represented eternal time. He was closely associated with the afterlife, as well as the cyclical nature of certain events (e.g., the seasons). Like Chronos, the effects of Aion would apply to all people regardless of what they did, but this was different from the third god of time: Kairos.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Kairos was considered the embodiment of opportunist time. Specifically, moments when action must be taken to achieve a task. Ancients concerned with argument and persuasion often used Kairos as a tool to explain human actions and consequences, as well as a metaphor when describing opportune actions.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
A simple way to think of these gods is how they are represented in a given year: Chronos is the length of the year, Aion lives in the cycle of seasons, and Kairos represents the time when one should take advantage of the weather to plant or harvest. Interestingly, all three of these forms of time are still alive in religion today. For instance, all three of these gods and their representations are basic concepts in various Abrahamic religions.
*****My debut sci-fi/mythology novel — The Gods Who Chose Us — is available! https://amzn.to/2Bby3hH *****
If you liked the article, please consider following us on Facebook, Medium, and/or Instagram
