THE GOD EREBUS IN GREEK MYTHOLOGY

Erebus, or Erebos, is a little mentioned deity from Greek mythology. The personification of darkness, Erebus was one of the primordial gods (Protogenoi) of ancient Greece.

The Protogenoi Erebus

​In Greek mythology the beginning of the universe was a confusing one, with many sources stating different ideas on its formation. The most famous timeline though comes from Hesiod in his Theogony. Hesiod saw the universe developing from a primordial god called Chaos. Shortly afterwards Gaia (the earth), Tartarus (the underworld) and Eros (love) came forth. Specifically from Chaos though was also born two other primordial gods, Nyx (night) and Erebus (darkness).

Erebus was therefore the Greek god of darkness, but not just the darkness of night, but the darkness of caves and crevices, as well as the underworld.

Nyx would become wife to Erebus, and the pair would become parents of two other primordial gods, Aether (light) and Hemera (day).

The Role of Erebus

Many tales from Greek mythology are about people making sense of the world around them, and Nyx, Erebus, Aether and Hemera played an important part in this.

Nyx and Erebus worked hand in hand, bringing the darkness of night to the world, but each morning Hemera would push aside her parents, allowing daylight (Aether) to envelop the world.

Some sources, including Aristophanes, also state that Eros was the offspring of Nyx and Erebus, although the likes of Hesiod would obviously contradict this.

A long list of non-primordial gods and demons were also said to have been born to Erebus and Nyx, including Charon, Hypnos and Thanatos, the Moirai and the Hesperides.

Erebus doesn’t figure prominently in any mythological tale although both Hesiod and Ovid make mention of him. In the fleeting mentions of Erebus, he is often used interchangeably with Hades, the Underworld, or as a region of Hades.

If considered a region of the underworld, Erebus is often considered to be the first region through which the departed are said to pass. Additionally though, Erebus is commonly thought of as being the deepest reaches of the underworld, although this is more commonly referred to as Tartarus. It was generally thought that the primordial god is present in all areas of the underworld, causing it to be a dark place.

The existence of Erebus would prove to be a way in which the ancient Greeks could explain why periods of darkness occurred, or why areas underground were dark, whilst those above ground were in light.