Who is Aion?
Aion (Αἰών) is a Hellenistic deity associated with time, the orb or circle encompassing the universe, and the zodiac. The "time" which Aion represents is perpetual, unbounded, ritual, and cyclic: the future is a returning version of the past. Philosophically and mythologically, especially in the context of the mysteries, Aion is understood as the ontological personification of eternity: the time of indestructible permanence, which is in essence the duration of the fact of existence, understood as eternal and immutable.
Iconography and Symbolism
Aion is usually identified as a nude or mostly nude young man within a circle representing the zodiac, symbolic of eternal and cyclical time. Examples include Roman mosaics from Sentinum and Hippo Regius, and the Parabiago plate. Because he represents time as a cycle, he may also be presented as an old man. In the Dionysiaca, Nonnus associates Aion with the Horae and describes him as changing the burden of old age like a snake shedding its old skin, rejuvenating while washing in the swells of the laws of time.
Historical Significance
In the latter part of the Classical era, Aion became associated with mystery religions concerned with the afterlife, such as the mysteries of Cybele, the Dionysian mysteries, Orphic religion, and the Mithraic mysteries. In Latin, the concept of the deity may appear as Aeternitas, Anna Perenna, or Saeculum. He is typically in the company of an earth or mother goddess such as Tellus or Cybele, as seen on the Parabiago plate.
Philosophical Meaning
Aion represents the concept of eternal, cyclical time as opposed to Chronos, who represents linear, sequential time. While Chronos measures the passage of time in hours, days, and years, Aion embodies the eternal, unbounded nature of time itself—the great cycle of ages that encompasses all existence. This distinction makes Aion a fundamental concept in understanding how the ancient Greeks perceived the nature of time and eternity.