Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

, Erebus (; ), or Erebos, is the personification of darkness. In

Hesiod Hesiod ( or ; ''Hēsíodos''; ) was an ancient Greece, Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer.M. L. West, ''Hesiod: Theogony'', Oxford University Press (1966), p. 40.Jasper Gr ...

's ''

Theogony The ''Theogony'' () is a poem by Hesiod (8th–7th century BC) describing the origins and genealogy, genealogies of the Greek gods, composed . It is written in the Homeric Greek, epic dialect of Ancient Greek and contains 1,022 lines. It is one ...

'', he is the offspring of

Chaos Chaos or CHAOS may refer to: Science, technology, and astronomy * '' Chaos: Making a New Science'', a 1987 book by James Gleick * Chaos (company), a Bulgarian rendering and simulation software company * ''Chaos'' (genus), a genus of amoebae * ...

, and the father of

Aether Aether, æther or ether may refer to: Historical science and mythology * Aether (mythology), the personification of the bright upper sky * Aether (classical element), the material believed to fill the universe above the terrestrial sphere ** A ...

and

Hemera In Greek mythology, Hemera (; ) was the personification of day. According to Hesiod, she was the daughter of Erebus (Darkness) and Nyx (Night), and the sister of Aether. Though separate entities in Hesiod's ''Theogony'', Hemera and Eos (Dawn ...

(Day) by

Nyx In Greek mythology, Nyx (; ) is the goddess and personification of the night. In Hesiod's ''Theogony'', she is the offspring of Chaos, and the mother of Aether and Hemera (Day) by Erebus (Darkness). By herself, she produces a brood of children ...

(Night); in other Greek cosmogonies, he is the father of Aether,

Eros Eros (, ; ) is the Greek god of love and sex. The Romans referred to him as Cupid or Amor. In the earliest account, he is a primordial god, while in later accounts he is the child of Aphrodite. He is usually presented as a handsome young ma ...

, and

Metis Metis or Métis, meaning "mixed" in French, may refer to: Ethnic groups * Métis, recognized Indigenous communities in Canada and the United States whose distinct culture and language emerged after early intermarriage between First Nations peopl ...

, or the first ruler of the gods. In genealogies given by Roman authors, he begets a large progeny of personifications upon Nox (the Roman equivalent of Nyx), while in an

Orphic Orphism is the name given to a set of religious beliefs and practices originating in the ancient Greek and Hellenistic world, associated with literature ascribed to the mythical poet Orpheus, who descended into the Greek underworld and returned ...

theogony, he is the offspring of

Chronos Chronos (; ; , Modern Greek: ), also spelled Chronus, is a personification of time in Greek mythology, who is also discussed in pre-Socratic philosophy and later literature. Chronos is frequently confused with, or perhaps consciously identified ...

(Time). The name "Erebus" is also used to refer either to the darkness of the

Underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. ...

, the Underworld itself, or the region through which souls pass to reach

Hades Hades (; , , later ), in the ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, is the god of the dead and the king of the Greek underworld, underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea ...

, and can sometimes be used as a synonym for

Tartarus In Greek mythology, Tartarus (; ) is the deep abyss that is used as a dungeon of torment and suffering for the wicked and as the prison for the Titans. Tartarus is the place where, according to Plato's '' Gorgias'' (), souls are judged after ...

or Hades.

Etymology

The meaning of the word ''Érebos'' (

Ἔρεβος In Greek mythology, Erebus (; ), or Erebos, is the personification of darkness. In Hesiod's ''Theogony'', he is the offspring of Chaos, and the father of Aether and Hemera (Day) by Nyx (Night); in other Greek cosmogonies, he is the father of Ae ...

) is "darkness" or "gloom", referring to that of the

. It derives from the

Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. No direct record of Proto-Indo-European exists; its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-Euro ...

' ("darkness"), and is cognate with the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

'' rájas'' ("dark (lower) air, dust"), the

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

'' erek'' ("evening"), the Gothic '' riqis'', and the

Old Norse Old Norse, also referred to as Old Nordic or Old Scandinavian, was a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants ...

'' røkkr'' ("dark, dust").

Personification of darkness

In a number of Greek cosmogonies, Erebus is described as one of the first beings to exist. In

's ''

'' (late 8th century BC), which the Greeks considered the "standard" account of the origin of the gods, he is the offspring of

, alongside

(Night). In the first instance of sexual intercourse, he mates with Nyx, producing

and

(Day), the pair of which represent the personified opposites of their parents. The Neoplatonist

Damascius Damascius (; ; 462 – after 538), known as "the last of the Athenian Neoplatonists", was the last scholarch of the neoplatonic Athenian school. He was one of the neoplatonic philosophers who left Athens after laws confirmed by emperor Jus ...

attributes to

Acusilaus Acusilaus, Acusilas, Acousileos, or Akousilaos () of Argos, Peloponnese, Argos, son of Cabas or Scabras, was a Greece, Greek logographer (history), logographer and mythographer who lived in the latter half of the 6th century BC but whose work surv ...

(6th century BC) a cosmogony in which Chaos is the first principle, after which comes Erebus and Night, and from this pair are then born Aether,

, and

. The philosopher

Philodemus Philodemus of Gadara (, ''Philodēmos'', "love of the people"; – prob. or 35 BC) was an Epicurean philosopher and poet. He studied under Zeno of Sidon in Athens, before moving to Rome, and then to Herculaneum. He was once known chiefly for h ...

records that in the work ''On the Gods'' by one "Satyros", Erebus is the first of five rulers of the gods, and is succeeded as sovereign by Chaos (though others have suggested this figure may be Eros). According to a hymn by the poet

Antagoras Antagoras of Rhodes (, born on Rhodes about 270 B.C.)William Smith (ed) (1870) Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology ''from within'' was a Greek poet. He was also noted for his cookery. Biographical information Antagoras wrote a ...

(3rd century BC), one of the possible parentages of Eros is Erebus and Night. Erebus also features in genealogies given by Roman authors. According to

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...

(1st century BC), Erebus and Nox (the Roman equivalent of Nyx) are the parents of Aether and Dies (Day), as well as Amor (Love), Dolus (Guile), Metus (Fear), Labor (Toil), Invidentia (Envy), Fatum (Fate), Senectus (Old Age), Mors (Death), Tenebrae (Darkness), Miseria (Misery), Querella (Lamentation), Gratia (Favour), Fraus (Fraud), Pertinacia (Obstinacy), the Parcae, the

Hesperides In Greek mythology, the Hesperides (; , ) are the nymphs of evening and golden light of sunsets, who were the "Daughters of the Evening" or "Nymphs of the West". They were also called the Atlantides () from their reputed father, Atlas (mytholog ...

, and the Somnia (Dreams). In the ''

Fabulae The ''Fabulae'' is a Latin handbook of mythology, attributed to an author named Hyginus, who is generally believed to have been separate from Gaius Julius Hyginus. The work consists of some three hundred very brief and plainly, even crudely, told ...

'' by the Roman mythographer

Hyginus Hyginus may refer to: People *Hyginus, the author of the '' Fabulae'', an important ancient Latin source for Greek mythology. *Hyginus, the author of the ''Astronomia'', a popular ancient Latin guide on astronomy, probably the same as the author ...

(1st century BC/AD), Erebus is the offspring of Chaos and Caligo (Mist), alongside Dies (Day), Erebus (Darkness), and Aether. By Nox, he becomes the father of Fatum (Fate), Senectus (Old Age), Mors (Death), Letum (Destruction), Continentia (Strife), Somnus (Sleep), the Somnia (Dreams), Epiphron (Thoughtfulness), Hedymeles, Porphyrion, Epaphus, Discordia (Discord), Miseria (Misery), Petulantia (Petulance), Nemesis, Euphrosyne (Cheerfulness), Amicitia (Friendship), Misericordia (Pity),

Styx In Greek mythology, Styx (; ; lit. "Shuddering"), also called the River Styx, is a goddess and one of the rivers of the Greek Underworld. Her parents were the Titans Oceanus and Tethys, and she was the wife of the Titan Pallas and the moth ...

, the

Parcae In Religion in ancient Rome, ancient Roman religion and Roman mythology, myth, the Parcae (singular, Parca) were the female personifications of destiny who directed the lives (and deaths) of humans and gods. They are often called the Fates in En ...

- Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos (Fate), and the

- Aegle, Hesperia, and Erythea (Twilight). In a cosmogony given by

Aristophanes Aristophanes (; ; ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek Ancient Greek comedy, comic playwright from Classical Athens, Athens. He wrote in total forty plays, of which eleven survive virtually complete today. The majority of his surviving play ...

in his play '' The Birds'' (414 BC), which is often believed to be a parody of an Orphic theogony, Erebus is one of the first deities to exist, alongside Chaos, Night, and

. At the beginning of creation, Night lays a "wind-egg" in the "boundless bosom of Erebus", from which springs golden-winged Eros. In an Orphic theogony recorded by Damascius in his work ''De principiis'' (''On First Principles''), known as the

Hieronyman Theogony Orphism is the name given to a set of religious beliefs and practices originating in the ancient Greek and Hellenistic world, associated with literature ascribed to the mythical poet Orpheus, who descended into the Greek underworld and returned ...

(2nd century BC?), Erebus, alongside Aether and Chaos, is the offspring of

(Time), who has the form of a serpent.

Name or region of the Underworld

The name "Erebus" is often used by ancient authors to refer either to the darkness of the Underworld, to the Underworld itself, or to the subterranean region through which souls of the dead travel to reach Hades, and it is sometimes used synonymously with Tartarus or

Homer Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his autho ...

uses the term to refer to the Underworld: in the ''

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; ) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the ''Iliad'', the ''Odyssey'' is divi ...

'', souls of the dead are described as "gather ngfrom out of Erebus", on the shore of

Oceanus In Greek mythology, Oceanus ( ; , also , , or ) was a Titans, Titan son of Uranus (mythology), Uranus and Gaia, the husband of his sister the Titan Tethys (mythology), Tethys, and the father of the River gods (Greek mythology), river gods ...

at the edge of the Earth, while in the ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; , ; ) is one of two major Ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odyssey'', the poem is divided into 24 books and ...

'' Erebus is the location in which the

Erinyes The Erinyes ( ; , ), also known as the Eumenides (, the "Gracious ones"), are chthonic goddesses of vengeance in ancient Greek religion and mythology. A formulaic oath in the ''Iliad'' invokes them as "the Erinyes, that under earth tak ...

live, and from which

Heracles Heracles ( ; ), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a Divinity, divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of ZeusApollodorus1.9.16/ref> and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive descent through ...

must fetch

Cerberus In Greek mythology, Cerberus ( or ; ''Kérberos'' ), often referred to as the hound of Hades, is a polycephaly, multi-headed dog that guards the gates of the Greek underworld, underworld to prevent the dead from leaving. He was the offspring o ...

. In the ''

'', it is the subterraneous place to which Zeus casts the Titan

Menoetius Menoetius or Menoetes (; ''Menoitios''), meaning ''doomed might'', is a name that refers to three distinct persons from Greek mythology: * Menoetius, a second generation Titan, son of Iapetus and Clymene or Asia, and a brother of Atlas, Pro ...

(here meaning either Tartarus or Hades), and from which he later brings up the

Hecatoncheires In Greek mythology, the Hecatoncheires (), also called Hundred-Handers or Centimanes (; ), were three monstrous giants, of enormous size and strength, each with fifty heads and one hundred arms. They were individually named Cottus (the furious), ...

. In the ''

Homeric Hymn The ''Homeric Hymns'' () are a collection of thirty-three ancient Greek hymns and one epigram. The hymns praise deities of the Greek pantheon and retell mythological stories, often involving a deity's birth, their acceptance among the gods ...

Demeter In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Demeter (; Attic Greek, Attic: ''Dēmḗtēr'' ; Doric Greek, Doric: ''Dāmā́tēr'') is the Twelve Olympians, Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over cro ...

'', Erebus is used to refer to Hades, the location in which the god

and his wife

Persephone In ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion, religion, Persephone ( ; , classical pronunciation: ), also called Kore ( ; ) or Cora, is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She became the queen of the Greek underworld, underworld afte ...

reside, while in Euripides' play ''Orestes (play), Orestes'', it is where the goddess Nyx lives. Later, in Roman literature, Ovid calls Proserpina the "queen of Erebus", and other authors use Erebus as a name for Hades.Petronius, ''Satyricon'
254 (pp. 354, 355)
Silius Italicus, ''Punica (poem), Punica'
1.92 (pp. 10, 11)
see also Claudian, ''Rape of Proserpina'
32 (pp. 294, 295)
Seneca the Younger, Seneca, ''Hercules on Oeta'
1369 (pp. 454, 455)

Notes

References

* Almqvist, Olaf, ''Chaos, Cosmos and Creation in Early Greek Theogonies: An Ontological Exploration'', London, Bloomsbury Academic, 2022. . *

, ''The Birds (play), Birds'' in ''Birds. Lysistrata. Women at the Thesmophoria'', edited and translated by Jeffrey Henderson, Loeb Classical Library No. 179, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 2000.
Online version at Harvard University Press
* Apostolos Athanassakis, Athanassakis, Apostolos N., and Benjamin M. Wolkow, ''The Orphic Hymns'', Johns Hopkins University Press, 2013.
Internet ArchiveGoogle Books
* Robert S. P. Beekes, Beekes, Robert S. P., ''Etymological Dictionary of Greek'', 2 vols, Leiden, Brill Publishing, Brill, 2009. . * Bernabé, Alberto, ''Poetae epici Graeci: Testimonia et fragmenta, Pars II: Orphicorum et Orphicis similium testimonia, Fasc 1'', Bibliotheca Teubneriana, Munich and Leipzig, K. G. Saur Verlag, 2004.
Online version at De Gruyter
* Luc Brisson, Brisson, Luc, ''Orphée et l'Orphisme dans l'Antiquité gréco-romaine'', Aldershot, Variorum, 1995. . * Cicero, Cicero, Marcus Tullius, ''De Natura Deorum'' in ''Cicero: On the Nature of the Gods. Academics'', translated by H. Rackham, Loeb Classical Library No. 268, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, first published 1933, revised 1951.
Online version at Harvard University PressInternet Archive
* Chrysanthou, Anthi, ''Defining Orphism: The Beliefs, the Teletae and the Writings'', De Gruyter, 2020.
Online version at De Gruyter
* Claudian, ''Rape of Proserpina'' in ''On Stilicho's Consulship 2-3. Panegyric on the Sixth Consulship of Honorius. The Gothic War. Shorter Poems. Rape of Proserpina'', translated by M. Platnauer, Loeb Classical Library No. 136, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 1922.
Online version at Harvard University Press
* Coulter, Charles Russell, and Patricia Turner, ''Encyclopedia of Ancient Deities'', Routledge, 2012. . * Euripides, ''Orestes (play), Orestes'' in ''Helen, Phoenician Women, Orestes'', edited and translated by David Kovacs, Loeb Classical Library No. 11, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 2002.
Online version at Harvard University Press
* Robert Fowler (academic), Fowler, R. L. (2000), ''Early Greek Mythography: Volume 1: Text and Introduction'', Oxford University Press, 2000.
Google Books
* Robert Fowler (academic), Fowler, R. L. (2013), ''Early Greek Mythography: Volume 2: Commentary'', Oxford University Press, 2013. . * Timothy Gantz, Gantz, Timothy, ''Early Greek Myth: A Guide to Literary and Artistic Sources'', Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, Two volumes: (Vol. 1), (Vol. 2). * Hard, Robin, ''The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology: Based on H.J. Rose's "Handbook of Greek Mythology"'', Psychology Press, 2004,
Google Books
*

, ''

'', in ''The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White'', Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd., 1914
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
*

, ''The Iliad with an English Translation by A. T. Murray, Ph.D. in two volumes'', Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd., 1924
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
*

, ''The Odyssey with an English Translation by A. T. Murray, Ph.D. in two volumes'', Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd., 1919
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
* ''Homeric Hymns, Homeric Hymn'' 2 ''to Demeter'', in ''The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White'', Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd., 1914
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
* Gaius Julius Hyginus, Hyginus, Gaius Julius, ''

'' in ''Apollodorus' ''Library'' and Hyginus' ''Fabulae'': Two Handbooks of Greek Mythology, Translated, with Introductions by R. Scott Smith and Stephen M. Trzaskoma'', Hackett Publishing Company, 2007. . * Otto Kern, Kern, Otto, ''Orphicorum Fragmenta'', Berlin, 1922
Internet Archive
* Henry George Liddell, Liddell, Henry George, Robert Scott (philologist), Robert Scott, ''A Greek-English Lexicon'', revised and augmented throughout by Sir Henry Stuart Jones with the assistance of Roderick McKenzie, Clarendon Press Oxford, 1940
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
* Luján, Eugenio R., "The Cosmic Egg (OF 64, 79, 114)", in ''Tracing Orpheus: Studies of Orphic Fragments'', pp. 85–92, edited by Miguel Herrero de Jáuregui et al., De Gruyter, 2011.
Online version at De GruyterGoogle Books
* Marshall, Peter K., ''Hyginus : Fabulae'', Bibliotheca Teubneriana, Munich and Leipzig, K. G. Saur Verlag, 2002.
Online version at De Gruyter
* Meisner, Dwayne A., ''Orphic Tradition and the Birth of the Gods'', Oxford University Press, 2018.
Online version at Oxford University PressGoogle Books
* Montanari, Franco, ''The Brill Dictionary of Ancient Greek'', edited by Madeleine Goh and Chad Schroeder, Leiden, Brill Publishing, Brill, 2015.
Online version at Brill
* Morford, Mark P. O., Robert J. Lenardon, ''Classical Mythology'', Eighth Edition, Oxford University Press, 2007. . * Ovid, ''Metamorphoses, Volume I: Books 1-8'', translated by Frank Justus Miller, revised by G. P. Goold, Loeb Classical Library No. 42, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 1977, first published 1916.
Online version at Harvard University Press
* Petronius, ''Satyricon'' in ''Petronius, Seneca. Satyricon. Apocolocyntosis'', edited and translated by Gareth Schmeling, Loeb Classical Library No. 15, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 2020.
Online version at Harvard University Press
* Seneca the Younger, Seneca, ''Hercules on Oeta'' in Tragedies, Volume II: Oedipus. Agamemnon. Thyestes. Hercules on Oeta. Octavia'', edited and translated by John G. Fitch, Loeb Classical Library No. 78, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 2018.
Online version at Harvard University Press
* Seneca the Younger, Seneca, ''Octavia (play), Octavia'' in ''Tragedies, Volume II: Oedipus. Agamemnon. Thyestes. Hercules on Oeta. Octavia'', edited and translated by John G. Fitch, Loeb Classical Library No. 78, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 2018.
Online version at Harvard University Press
* Silius Italicus, ''Punica (poem), Punica, Volume I: Books 1-8'', translated J. D. Duff, Loeb Classical Library No. 277, Cambridge, Massachusetts, Harvard University Press, 1934.
Online version at Harvard University Press
* William Smith (lexicographer), Smith, William, ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', London (1873)
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
* Edward Tripp, Tripp, Edward, ''Crowell's Handbook of Classical Mythology'', Thomas Y. Crowell Co; First edition (June 1970).
Internet Archive
* Martin Litchfield West, West, M. L. (1966), ''Hesiod: Theogony'', Oxford University Press, 1966. . * Martin Litchfield West, West, M. L. (1983), ''The Orphic Poems'', Clarendon Press Oxford, 1983. . {{Authority control Darkness Greek primordial deities Personifications in Greek mythology Personifications in Roman mythology Greek underworld