Cosmogony Etymology

[sdi]

Let's look at some names from the Heliopolis and Hesiodic cosmogonies!

• Atum (tm) means "completion."
• Tefnut (tfnwt) has no certain etymology, but is associated with moisture. I might assume "fluidity," and hence "time" (which flows but is otherwise difficult to pin down).
• Shu (šw) means "emptiness." I might assume "space."
• Nut (nwt) means "sky."
• Geb (gbb) means "earth."
• Chaos (χάος) means "void."
• Gaia (γῆ) means "earth."
• Ouranos (οὐρανός) means "sky."
• Kronos (χρόνος) means "time."
• Rhea (ῥέα) means "easily" (e.g. without effort). (I'm honestly not sure what to make of that.)

Given all this, I might assume the Heliopolis cosmogony means, "The All produces Time and Space. Time and Space produce Heaven and Earth."

I think the equivalent subset of the (ludicrously complicated) Greek cosmogony is the same, except in syncretizing, they swapped the priority of Heaven and Earth with Time and Space. This isn't a small thing! The Egyptians seem to have taken for granted that gods were born, grew old, died, provided for a line of succession, etc. The Greeks—at least by the classical period—seem to have taken for granted that the gods were eternal and static and their relationships were therefore ontological (despite, for example, Apollo clearly stating otherwise). That is to say, I'm not sure the Egyptian notion of "god" (nṯr) is the same as the Greek notion of "god" (θεός). Certainly, at least, neither is remotely close to the Christian notion of "God," and so I guess I'm sorta groping around in the darkness of unfamiliar cultures no matter what...