Phanes (Ancient Greek: Φάνης, genitive Φάνητος), or Protogonos (Greek: Πρωτογόνος, "First-born"), was the mystic primeval deity of procreation and the generation of new life, who was introduced into Greek mythology by the Orphic tradition; other names for this Classical Greek Orphic concept included Ericapaeus (Ἠρικαπαῖος or Ἠρικεπαῖος "power") and Metis ("thought"). The "Protogonos Theogony" is known through the commentary in the Derveni papyrus and references in Empedocles and Pindar.