Erebus
| Greek deities series |
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| Titans and Olympians | |
| Aquatic deities | |
| Chthonic deities | |
| Personified concepts | |
| Other deities | |
| Primordial deities | |
In Greek mythology, Erebus (
/ˈɛrəbəs/), also Erebos (Ancient Greek: Ἔρεβος, "deep darkness, shadow"), was often conceived as a primordial deity, representing the personification of darkness; for instance, Hesiod's Theogony places him as the first five beings to come into existence from Chaos. Erebus features little in Greek mythological tradition and literature, but is said to have fathered several other deities by Nyx; depending on the source of the mythology, this union includes Aether, Hemera, the Hesperides, Hypnos, the Moirai, Geras, Styx, and Thanatos.
In Greek literature the name Erebus is also used to refer to a region of the Underworld where the dead had to pass immediately after dying, and is sometimes used interchangeably with Tartarus.[1][2][3][4][5]
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[edit] Etymology
The perceived meaning of Erebus is "darkness"; the first recorded instance of it was "place of darkness between earth and Hades". Hebrew עֶרֶב (ˤerev) 'sunset, evening' is sometimes cited as a source.[1][6] However, an Indo-European origin, at least for the name Ἔρεβος itself, is likelier.
[edit] Classical literature
According to the Greek oral poet Hesiod's Theogony, Erebus is the offspring of Chaos, and brother to Nyx.
From Chaos came forth Erebus and black Night; but of Night were born Aether and Day, whom she conceived and bore from union in love with Erebus.
— Hesiod,Theogony (120-125)[7]
The Roman writer Hyginus, in his Fabulae described Erebus as the father of Geras the god of old age.[8]
In William Shakespeare's, The Cronicle History of Henry the Fifth, one of Henry's soldiers, Pistol directs his anger towards Mistress Dorothy:
I 'll see her damned first; to Pluto's damned lake, by this hand, to the infernal deep, with Erebus and tortures vile also. Hold hook and line, say I. Down, down, dogs! down, faitors! Have we not Hiren here?
— Shakespeare, King Henry IV (2.4)[9]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b Elizabeth, Alice (1896). The Sources of Spenser's Classical Mythology. New York: Silver, Burdett and Company. pp. 52, 55. http://books.google.com/books?id=5g1LAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false.
- ^ Morford, Mark P. O. (1999). Classical Mythology: Sixth Edition. New York: Oxford University Press US. pp. 36, 84, 253, 263, 271. ISBN 0195143388, 9780195143386.
- ^ Peck, Harry Thurston (1897). Harper's Dictionary of Classical Literature and Antiquities, Volume 1. New York: Harper. pp. 620. http://books.google.com/books?id=RacKAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false.
- ^ Rengel, Marian (2009). Greek and Roman Mythology A to Z. Infobase Publishing. pp. 51. ISBN 1604134127, 9781604134124.
- ^ Turner, Patricia (2001). Dictionary of Ancient Deities. Oxford University Press. pp. 170. ISBN 0195145046, 9780195145045.
- ^ Harper, Douglas. "Online Etymology Dictionary: Erebus". http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=erebus&searchmode=none. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
- ^ Evelyn-White, Hugh G. (1914). The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0130:card=104.
- ^ Atsma, Aaron. "Hyginus, Fabulae 1-49". Theoi E-Texts Library. http://www.theoi.com/Text/HyginusFabulae1.html#Preface. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
- ^ Clark, W. G.. "William Shakespeare, King Henry IV., Part II". The Perseus Digital Library Project. http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.03.0042:act=2:scene=4. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
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