Aion

Blessing: Aion is a mysterious God. Very little information survives about Him. He is sometimes paired with Mother Earth, and is probably comparable to Father Time. Aion might be another name of Khronos, the protogenos (first-born, primeval) God of Time — not to be confused with Kronos, the Titanic father of the Olympians. He is often shown with a lion’s head. Aion/Khronos is very important in the Orphic cosmology, according to which He emerged self-formed at the beginning of the Kosmos.

Epithets:

Equated with: Khronos

Associations:

Festivals:

Epiphany of Aion (10 Tybi)

Ways to honor:

Ancient Texts:

Heraiskos actually had a natural talent for distinguishing between religious statues that were animated and those that were not. For as soon as he looked at one his heart was struck by a sensation of the divine and he gave a start in his body and his soul, as though seized by the god. If he was not moved in such a fashion then the statue was soulless and had no share of divine inspiration. In this way he distinguished the secret statue of Aion which the Alexandrians worshipped as being possessed by the god, who was both Osiris and Adonis at the same time according to some mystical union. There was also something in Heraiskos’ nature that rejected defilements of nature. For instance, if he heard any unclean woman speaking, no matter where or how, he immediately got a headache, and this was taken as a sign that she was menstruating. Even his birth had something mystical about it: he is said to have issued from his mother holding the shushing finger up to his lips, just as the Egyptians portray Oros and Helios. As a result, since the finger was fused to his lips, he needed surgery, and he went through life with a scar on his lip.” – Suda, s.v. Diagnomon

[Epiphanios] and Euprepios were both Alexandrian in origin and very expert in the rites accepted by the Alexandrians. Euprepios presided over the rites called Persian, but Epiphanios over those concerning Osiris; not only so, but also of the rites of the god celebrated as Aion. Though I could say who this god is, nevertheless I am not writing it in accordance with my present purpose. Epiphanios had a leadership role in these rites also. These men were not born into the time-honored style of life,[1] but overlapped with and met those who were; assisted by them, they then became sources of many blessings for their contemporaries, eloquent heralds especially of the ancient stories. Damaskios [wrote this]. – Suda s.v. Epiphanios

Modern Texts:

Aion by Amanda Aremisia Forrester

Aion by P Sufenas Virius Lupus

Mosaic by Rebecca Buchanan

The Oracle of Wine by Melia Suez

Essays: Forthcoming

Links:

Aeon on Wikipedia

Theoi.com Entry for Aion