The matter of the Sky-Father Uranus bestowing the universe with a final grace was something the gods had no time to ponder now, because one most thorny affair had yet to be resolved.
That was Eros—the source of love and desire.
The love and desire separated from Uranus's body was still wrapped in a vast quantity of primordial spiritual seeds and the Sky-Father's divine blood, slowly drifting down from endless heights, radiating an energy that unsettled the gods.
None of the gods dared touch it, for fear that this immense primordial spirituality and the embodiment of love and desire would strike them with such force that they would lose themselves and become slaves to desire.
At the same time, the Sky-Father's divine blood dripped unceasingly like golden raindrops upon the earth. Within this spiritual fluid that had been separated from Him there remained the Sky-Father's final ferocity and resentment.
The great swathes of spiritual fluid that first fell upon the ground, under the Earth-Mother Gaia's nurturing, became the three Erinyes—Furies—who would one day be feared by all.
They were spirits of vengeance, their hearts filled with the fury of retribution; their mission was to punish crimes that violated oaths and blood kinship.
They would never let any cruel and violent deed rest, especially the crime of murdering one's own relatives—they would pursue such guilt to the end.
The arrogant and overbearing, those who broke their word and slighted guests, would also suffer their merciless punishment.
They were: Alecto (Alecto / Αληκτώ): meaning "She Who Never Ceases," whose vengeance is without end.
Megaera (Megaera / Μεγάιρα): meaning "Jealousy" or "She Who Resents," whose anger burns like a blazing fire.
Tisiphone (Tisiphone / Τισιφόνη): meaning "The Voice of Vengeance" or "She Who Atones Blood with Blood," whose voice heralds the end of evil.
Mortals of later ages, out of fear, did not dare call them "Furies" directly, but respectfully addressed them with fair names such as the Kindly Goddesses, the Venerable Goddesses, the August Goddesses, hoping that, when facing judgment, they might receive a sliver of merciful leniency.
After this, the divine blood that fell upon the earth turned into the Gigantes (Gigantes, Greek: Γίγαντες; also translated as "giant spirits").
They possessed terrifying power, embodiments and symbols of Uranus's violence, their bodies containing destructive force.
Finally, where scattered spiritual fluid dripped onto the earth, groves of ash trees (white ash) sprang up; ash is the best wood for making spears.
From these ash trees were born many ash-tree nymphs; they were symbols of war, emblematic of the world's conflicts.
These were the three kinds of life last evolved by the Sky-Father Uranus, His final imprint left upon the cosmos.
The Earth-Mother did not care about these newly born beings. Even if they were gods, in the Mother's eyes they were no different from ordinary things.
What the Mother now feared was the love and desire that was slowly descending and about to arrive upon the earth.
She did not dare imagine what uncontrollable existence would be born if love and desire once again merged with the earth!
All the more so when that love and desire was now entwined with a vast quantity of primordial spirituality and Uranus's divine blood; this combined power filled her with unease.
She urged her children again and again—the Titan deities who had now taken hold of cosmic order—to quickly find a way to deal with this embodiment of love and desire.
At this moment, the gods were all at a loss—afraid that love and desire would cause them to lose themselves, and fearful of what unforeseeable existence might be born if the earth combined with love and desire.
But to make them come into contact with that chaotic and mighty power—that they absolutely did not dare.
In the end, it was still Kronos who stepped forward.
He demanded that all the gods each perform their duty, so that the cosmos might resume healthy operation and stabilize its order.
Then he used his divine authority to make the earth grow plants that blotted out the sky and the sun, and he wrapped himself with endless spiritual flora, crafting from it a suit of armor that covered his entire body.
Then, cradling love and desire in his hands, he resolutely ran toward the edge of the world.
On the way, the spiritual plants upon him, upon touching that pure spirituality and divine blood, continually transformed into nymphs (flower-and-grass nymphs), forever beautiful and full of life.
Watching Kronos rush to the world's edge, the gods could not fathom what he intended—until Oceanus sensed something amiss, and an unprecedented sense of crisis flooded his heart.
At the very instant Kronos reached the world's edge, he hurled love and desire, the immense primordial spirituality, and the remaining divine blood—without hesitation—into the vast encircling ocean current that had already resumed its operation!
Oceanus had no time to be horrified, not even time to utter a single scream; under the impact of that overwhelming spiritual love and desire, his vast consciousness was almost instantly on the verge of annihilation!
At that most critical moment, it was Tethys, the goddess of nourishing fresh water, who, without hesitation, merged into the ocean current; together with Oceanus, she bore that dreadful spiritual onslaught.
Under her authority to moisten and order the world's sources, she diverted this endless spirituality onto the earth.
In that instant, the two of them conceived three thousand Potamoi (Potamoi, meaning "the rivers," a collective term for the river gods, all sons) and three thousand Oceanids (Oceanids, the collective term for the ocean nymphs, all daughters).
Here, "three thousand" is a virtual number, signifying the infinite. From then on, all rivers and lakes in the cosmos, every freshwater resource, were engendered by Oceanus and Tethys.
All rivers fell under the dominion of the Potamoi; all other freshwater resources were under the Oceanids.
The Oceanids may also be called the ocean nymphs, the encircling-river nymphs; they belong to the ranks of the nymphs, and are also specially called the Maidens' Divine Race.
The Potamoi and the Oceanids form vast cohorts with an enormous range between the upper and lower bounds. At the upper limit they can duel one-on-one with the primordial Titans; at the lower limit they cannot defeat demigods, or even heroes.
Because Tethys sacrificed herself to save him, Oceanus barely managed to preserve his selfhood, not utterly destroyed in his self-awareness.
Moreover, he could be said to have found blessing in misfortune—greatly expanding his influence in the cosmos and gaining more authority over the waters.
More importantly, because of this he and Tethys were joined together; from then on, their relationship was intimate and inseparable.
Gentle by nature, both Oceanus and Tethys, for the sake of the world that had only just steadied, did not turn on Kronos—who had nearly sent him off—Oceanus temporarily swallowed this bitter anger.
But in his heart he no longer dared trust Kronos; from this point on, a hatred with Kronos was set.
Be that as it may, all problems and threats had been resolved, and the cosmos temporarily returned to calm.
Yet the universe could not be without a coordinator of order. In this war to overthrow Uranus, Kronos—who had rendered the greatest service—became, without dispute, the new God-King.
His courage and his sense of duty won him the power to rule everything in the cosmos.
As the gods swore fealty to Kronos, the cosmos at last once more returned to its proper course.
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