Elemental Philosophy

In Greek mythology, there are multiple personifications of light. Helios is the Titan god who represents the sun and drives across the sky with his chariot. This golden chariot was said to carry the sun across the sky from east to west. This is how the phenomenon of the sun rising and setting is explained. Apollo is the god of light and the sun. He was thought to bring warmth and the sun’s light to men. Eos is a Titan goddess and represents dawn. She has total control over light. Her name derives from both Sanskrit and Latin sun goddesses. Lastly, Hemera is the goddess of daylight.

There are also multiple personifications of darkness and shadows in Greek mythology. Achlys is the goddess of eternal night, poison, and the clouding of eyes after death. She symbolizes the mist of death. Artemis is the Greek goddess of the hunt, who is also associated with the moon. Asteria is the Titaness goddess of oracles of darkness and the stars, her daughter is Hecate.  Some examples of oracles of darkness are prophetic dreams, falling stars, and necromancy. Erebus is the personification of darkness; he was born of Chaos and associates with shadows. Chaos symbolizes invisible air and gloomy mist. Hades is the god of the underworld, which is ultimately associated with night and darkness. Hecate is the goddess of witchcraft and ghosts, who is associated with the moon. Hypnos represents sleep, is twins with Thanatos, and is the son of Nyx and Erebus. Nyx is the goddess of night. Selene is the Titaness goddess and personification of the moon. She is also the sister of Eos and Helios. Lastly, Thanatos represents death, specifically nonviolent death. However, his sisters, the Keres, are spirits of slaughter and disease and thrive off of violent deaths.

Hyperthermia and hypothermia are two extreme conditions associated with heat and cold. Hypothermia is when the body drops to dangerously low levels, and hyperthermia is when the body rises to dangerously high levels. Both are the complete opposite of each other, but carry the same amount of life-threatening risk. These are examples of negative effects of heat and cold, however, heat and cold can also prove to be very beneficial in other ways.

One condition of hyperthermia is heat stress. This may then lead to heat exhaustion and a heat stroke, in which people can experience dizziness, weakness, nausea, thirst, and headaches. To combat this, drink lots of water and provide your body with electrolytes. Heat syncope may also occur. This is when blood pressure decreases and the flow of blood to the brain is dramatically reduced, therefore leading to fainting. Other conditions of hyperthermia include heat cramps, heat edema, and heat rash.

Hypothermia is when your body loses heat faster than it can produce it. It occurs when body temperatures drop below 95°F. If hypothermia is not treated immediately, the heart and respiratory system become extremely susceptible to failure and eventually cause death. Shivering is the body’s initial response to cold temperatures. It is an attempt to produce heat and make the body warmer. If this method fails, more symptoms will show such as slurred speech or mumbling, slow, shallow breathing, weak pulse, clumsiness or lack of coordination, drowsiness or very low energy, confusion or memory loss, and loss of consciousness.