Phanes is the Greek primordial god of procreation and the generation of new life. In the Greek myths, Phanes is portrayed as being a deity emerging from a cosmic egg, entwined with a serpent. He had a helmet and broad, golden wings. Time, who is also called Aion, created the silver egg of the universe, in which hatches the first-born, Phanes. Earlier Greek myths show that Phanes was believed to have been hatched from the World-Egg of Chronos and Ananke or Nyx in the black bird form and wind. He was called Protogenus by his older wife Nyx. According to Aristophanes, where he is called Eros, he was born from an egg created by Nyx and placed in the boundless lap of Erebus. He then mates with Chaos which led to creation of the birds. This passage states that the birds are considered older than all other living creatures, even older than the other gods.