Erebus
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 by Nyx ; in other Greek cosmogonies, he is the father of Aether, Eros, and Metis, or the first ruler of the gods. In genealogies given by Roman authors, he begets a large progeny of personifications upon Nox, while in an Orphic theogony, he is the offspring of Chronos.
The name "Erebus" is also used to refer either to the darkness of the underworld, the underworld itself, or the region through which souls pass to reach the underworld, and can sometimes be used as a synonym for Tartarus or Hades.
Etymology
The meaning of the word Érebos is "darkness" or "gloom", referring to that of the underworld. It derives from the Proto-Indo-European , and is cognate with the Sanskrit , the Armenian , the Gothic, and the Old Norse .Personification of darkness
In a number of Greek cosmogonies, Erebus is described as one of the first beings to exist. In Hesiod's Theogony, which the Greeks considered the "standard" account of the origin of the gods, he is the offspring of Chaos, alongside Nyx. In the first instance of sexual intercourse, he mates with Nyx, producing Aether and Hemera, the pair of which represent the personified opposites of their parents. The Neoplatonist Damascius attributes to Acusilaus a cosmogony in which Chaos is the first principle, after which comes Erebus and Night, and from this pair are then born Aether, Eros, and Metis. The philosopher Philodemus 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. According to a hymn by the poet Antagoras, one of the possible parentages of Eros is Erebus and Night.Erebus also features in genealogies given by Roman authors. According to Cicero, Erebus and Nox are the parents of Aether and Dies, as well as Amor, Dolus, Metus, Labor, Invidentia, Fatum, Senectus, Mors, Tenebrae, Miseria, Querella, Gratia, Fraus, Pertinacia, the Parcae, the Hesperides, and the Somnia. In the Fabulae by the Roman mythographer Hyginus, Erebus is the offspring of Chaos and Caligo, alongside Dies, Erebus, and Aether. By Nox, he becomes the father of Fatum, Senectus, Mors, Letum, Continentia, Somnus, the Somnia, Epiphron, Hedymeles, Porphyrion, Epaphus, Discordia, Miseria, Petulantia, Nemesis, Euphrosyne, Amicitia, Misericordia, Styx, the Parcae - Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos, and the Hesperides - Aegle, Hesperia, and Erythea.
In a cosmogony given by Aristophanes in his play The Birds, 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 Tartarus. 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, known as the Hieronyman Theogony, Erebus, alongside Aether and Chaos, is the offspring of Chronos, who has the form of a serpent.