Chaos

Chaos (χάος), also known as Khaos, is the first primordial deity. Besides being a deity, Chaos is also a shapeless void below even the depths of Tartarus, the realm of his son of the same name. Once one enters Chaos, he or she becomes nothing, dissolved by the void. From Chaos emerged the Protogenoi (in some myths, with Aether).

Beginning of Creation


Chaos was the initial state of the universe before creation; a gloomy, soupy mist containing all the matter in the cosmos. Eventually, some of it collected to form the earth (Gaea), the sky (Ouranos), the seas (Pontus), and the Pit (Tartarus). Later, Nyx (Night) would also be born from Chaos in union with Tartarus.

Hera's Punishment


After beginning an Olympian riot against her husband Zeus, Hera and the other gods were punished for their rebellion. While Apollo and Poseidon were temporarily stripped of their godly powers, Hera was given the worst punishment of all: she was chained right above the terrifying abyss of Chaos. Every day, Zeus would visit his wife with the Master Bolt and threaten to let her tumble into the void. Hephaestus could hear the wails of his mother all the way from Mount Olympus, which infuriated him, as he could not bear to hear her suffering such a harsh punishment. As a result, he finally set her free. Hera tearfully embraced him, and promised to never to call Hephaestus ugly ever again.

The House of Hades
While in Tartarus, Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase confronted Akhlys at the "verge of final death, where Night meets the void below Tartarus." Annabeth reacted with surprise that anything was below Tartarus. Akhlys explained that even Tartarus had to rise from somewhere. She showed the two demigods that below them they would see her mother, the earliest darkness, and her father, Chaos. Later, while confronting Nyx and her children, Percy and Annabeth leapt through the Mansion of Night, risking tumbling into Chaos - which would have meant a true death, as their very souls would be destroyed. They managed to make it past both Chaos and the River Acheron into the heart of Tartarus, the current home of the Doors of Death.

Abilities
As the first of the Protogenoi, Chaos is immortal and has existed before the world began. He is also the creator of the other Protogenoi and the indirect creator of the world. This is for the other primordial gods becomes the concepts of reality or parts of the world itself. Chaos is believed to be one of the few things, able to truly kill an immortal. As Zeus held Hera over Chaos after her rebellion, threatening to drop her into the void.

Children

 * Gaea (Earth)
 * Nyx (Night)
 * Tartarus (Abyss)
 * Ouranos (Heavens)
 * Akhlys (Misery, Poison)
 * Erebos (Darkness)

Trivia

 * Chaos only appears in Percy Jackson's Greek Gods.
 * Some myths name Chaos as the father of Eros. However, in most myths and Riordan's series, he is considered to be the son of Aphrodite and Ares.
 * In Percy Jackson's Greek Gods, after her unsuccessful Olympian riot, Hera is chained by Zeus right above the Void of Chaos. However, she is later rescued by her son Hephaestus.
 * Most myths list Akhlys as a primordial goddess born even before Chaos, rather than his daughter. Though, some of the myths that list Chaos as the first Protogenoi don't speak about Akhlys.
 * However, this does not appear to be the case in Rick Riordan's books, since Akhlys refers to herself as a daughter of Chaos.