In ancient Greek, the word "chaos" (Χάος) didn’t have today’s connotations of disorder and confusion. Depending on who you asked, Chaos was:

• A void (or “chasm”)


• Some sort of dwelling place


• The female force of creation


• The son of Chronos (the embodiment of linear time)

It was only around 700 years later, when the Roman poet Ovid described Chaos as "a... See more

The origins of the word chaos illuminate its medicine: it is derived from the Greek khaos , referring to the void which was said to exist before the cosmos was created. Chaos, then, is the womb which waits patiently for new life: the potential out of which an entirely new world might be born. It can take you on a pretty wild ride, but that might... See more

The ancient cosmogonies that shaped foundational myths, from the Babylonian Enuma Elish to Hesiod’s Theogony, mentioned in chapter 1, tell of a world in which the order is established by a great god, Marduk or Zeus, who takes power. Following a long period of battles and confusion, a deity triumphs and establishes an order that is at once cosmic,

... See more