In Orphic cosmogony, the creation of the universe begins with Phanes being hatched from a world egg. One version of the myth states that Chronos, the personification of time, created a silver egg which was warmed by a snake. From the silver egg hatched the primordial deity Phanes. As the egg splits, the upper portion becomes the heavens and the lower portion becomes the earth.
Phanes is an androgynous being, being both male and female. He is a deity of creation, procreation and life. He is often depicted with golden wings and with a serpent wrapped around him.