For this reason, it is also considered the text to refer to when other texts may disagree – it is “the bible” for mythological genealogy. Hesiod’s Theogony is the one text that most refers to the Greek god, which is no surprise – it was, after all, an attempt at creating a complete family tree of all the Greek gods. Like many of the primordials, very little was written about Erebus, and most of it was contradictory. The most famous example is in Ovid’s Metamorphoses, where the witch, Circe, prays to Erebus and Nyx, “and the gods of the night.” Who Wrote About Erebus? There may also be some confusion as, in some instances, Erebus is prayed to as if they were a physical, human-like god. The Homeric Hymns offer examples of this confusion, with one example stating that Persephone came from Erebus rather than the underworld in which she was queen. After all, the pit is dark, and Erebus is the darkness. Meanwhile, Greek myths often confuse the underworld with Tartarus. While these are two very different places, they both influenced the creation of the Judeo-Christian “Hell,” and so are confused. Many people often compare the underworld of Hades with the depths of Tartarus, the pit. However, before this time, the underworld already existed. Hades, the brother of Zeus, was given the role of god of the underworld after the Titanomachy. Hades and Erebus are definitely not the same god. While the Orphics say that the Greek god came from “the germless egg” created by Khaos, Cicero wrote that Erebus was the father of Eros. ![]() Other sources in Greek mythology, however, state that Aether is a child of Kronos or Khaos.Įros, the Greek god of primordial love and procreation, should not be confused with the Roman god Eros (connected to Cupid). Aristophanes references Erebus as the father of Aether, and Hesiod also makes this claim. However, two of the primordial gods have at least once been referred to as coming from the god of darkness.Īether, the primordial god of the blue sky above and sometimes the god of light, is sometimes referred to as coming from the darkness and thereby a “child” of the brothers Erebus and Nyx. It is not entirely clear which of the primordial gods was a “child” or “sibling” of Erebus. “Chaos,” “Darkness,” and “Light” would make up the world born of “Father Time.” This fragment is the only one that tells this story and speaks of the three as a clear metaphor for describing the nature of the universe in a scientific manner. An Orphic Fragment, possibly of a work by Hieronymus of Rhodes, describes Khaos, Erebus, and Aether as the three brothers born of the serpent Chronos (not to be confused with Cronus). While Erebus was the child of Chaos, Uranus was the child of Gaia. Chaos came to be at the same time as Gaia (the Earth), Tartarus (the Pit) and Eros (primordial Love). Chaos is the god of “the air,” or, more concisely, the gaps between the Heaven ( Uranus) and Earth. Unlike later Greek gods, the primordials were rarely gendered or given other human traits. The word is Proto-Indo-European and likely contributed to the Norse word “Rokkr” and the Gothic “Riqis.” Who Were the Parents of Erebus?Įrebus is a son (or daughter) of Chaos (or Khaos), the ultimate pinnacle of the Greek pantheon. The word “Erebus” means “darkness,” although the first recorded instance refers to the “forming a passage from Earth to Hades.” In this way the word appears to refer not to “absence of light” but the nothingness that is within the universe. What Is the Etymology of the Word “Erebus”? Despite this, it is easy to believe there is something evil within the god, as the name is often used in replacement for Tartarus, or the underworld. ![]() Nor is the darkness they represent in any way evil or punishing. Is Erebus Good or Evil?Īs is true of all the primordial gods of Greek mythology, Erebus is neither good nor evil. However, many Greek writers would use Tartarus and Erebus interchangeably, as occurs in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter. Erebus should not be confused with Nyx, the goddess of night, nor Tartarus, the pit of nothingness. What Is Erebus the God Of?Įrebus is the primordial god of darkness, the complete absence of light. In this way, Erebus is often described as a place, rather than a being, and is given no personality. ![]() Erebus isn’t just a personification of darkness but is darkness itself. In Greek mythology, this means that they do not have a physical form, like Zeus or Hera, but exist as part of the entire universe. Is Erebus a God or Goddess in Greek Mythology?Įrebus is a primordial god. What Is the Etymology of the Word “Erebus”?.Is Erebus a God or Goddess in Greek Mythology?.
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