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{{Short description|Personification of darkness in Greek mythology}} |
{{Short description|Personification of darkness in Greek mythology}} |
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{{About}} |
{{About}}{{use dmy dates|date=March 2024}} |
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{{Greek myth (primordial)}} |
{{Greek myth (primordial)}} |
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In [[Greek mythology]], '''Erebus''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɛr|ə|b|ə|s}};<ref>Tripp |
In [[Greek mythology]], '''Erebus''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|ɛr|ə|b|ə|s}};<ref>{{harvp|Tripp|1970|p= [https://archive.org/details/crowellshandbook00trip/page/618/mode/2up?view=theater 618] }}</ref> {{lang-grc|Ἔρεβος|Érebos|"darkness, gloom"}}),<ref> |
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{{harvp|Montanari|2015|p=815}}: {{math|έρεβος}} |
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</ref> |
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or '''Erebos''', is the personification of darkness. In [[Hesiod]]'s ''[[Theogony]]'', he is the offspring of [[Chaos (mythology)|Chaos]], and the father of [[Aether (mythology)|Aether]] and [[Hemera]] (Day) by [[Nyx]] (Night); in other Greek cosmogonies, he is the father of Aether, [[Eros]], and [[Metis (mythology)|Metis]], 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 literature|Orphic]] theogony he is the offspring of [[Chronos]] (Time). The name "Erebus" is also used to refer either to the darkness of the [[Greek underworld|Underworld]], the Underworld itself, or the region through which souls pass to reach [[Hades]], and can sometimes be used as a synonym for [[Tartarus]] or Hades. |
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== Etymology == |
== Etymology == |
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The meaning of the word ''Erebos'' ([[wikt:Ἔρεβος|{{math|Ἔρεβος}}]]) is "darkness" or "gloom", referring to that of the [[Greek underworld|Underworld]].<ref>{{harvp|Montanari|2015|p=815}}: {{math|έρεβος}}</ref> |
The meaning of the word ''Erebos'' ([[wikt:Ἔρεβος|{{math|Ἔρεβος}}]]) is "darkness" or "gloom", referring to that of the [[Greek underworld|Underworld]].<ref> |
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{{harvp|Montanari|2015|p=815}}: {{math|έρεβος}} |
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</ref> |
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It derives from the [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] ''{{PIE|[[wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₁régʷos|*h₁regʷ-os-]]}}'' ("darkness"), and is cognate with the [[Sanskrit]] ''[[wikt:रजस्|rájas]]'' ("dark (lower) air, dust"), the [[Armenian language|Armenian]] ''[[wikt:երէկ|erek]]'' ("evening"), the [[Gothic language|Gothic]] ''[[wikt:𐍂𐌹𐌵𐌹𐍃|riqis]]'', and the [[Old Norse]] ''[[wikt:røkkr|røkkr]]'' ("dark, dust").<ref> |
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{{harvp|Beekes|2009|p=451}}: {{math|έρεβος}} |
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</ref> |
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== Personification of darkness == |
== Personification of darkness == |
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In a number of Greek cosmogonies, Erebus is described as one of the first beings to exist. In [[Hesiod]]'s ''[[Theogony]]'' (late 8th century BC), which the Greeks considered the "standard" account of the origin of the gods,<ref> |
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In a number of Greek cosmogonies, Erebus is described as one of the first beings to exist. In [[Hesiod]]'s ''[[Theogony]]'' (late 8th century BC), which the Greeks considered the "standard" account of the origin of the gods,<ref>Hard, [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&pg=PA21 p. 21].</ref> he is the offspring of [[Chaos (mythology)|Chaos]], alongside [[Nyx]] (Night).<ref>Gantz, p. 4; Hard, [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&pg=PA23 p. 23]; [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0020.tlg001.perseus-eng1:104-138 123].</ref> In the first instance of sexual intercourse, he mates with Nyx, producing [[Aether (mythology)|Aether]] and [[Hemera]] (Day),<ref>Gantz, p. 4; [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0020.tlg001.perseus-eng1:104-138 124–5].</ref> the pair of which represent the personified opposites of their parents.<ref>Almqvist, p. 37.</ref> The Neoplatonist [[Damascius]] attributes to [[Acusilaus]] (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, [[Eros]], and [[Metis (mythology)|Metis]].<ref>Fowler 2013, [https://books.google.com/books?id=scd8AQAAQBAJ&pg=PA5 pp. 5–6]; [[Acusilaus]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=j0nRE4C2WBgC&pg=PA6 fr. 6b Fowler, p. 6] [= ''[[Brill's New Jacoby|BNJ]]'' [https://scholarlyeditions.brill.com/reader/urn:cts:greekLit:fgrh.0002.bnjo-3-tr1-eng:f6b 2 F6b] = [[Damascius]], ''De Principiis'' 124].</ref> 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 (though others have suggested this figure may be Eros).<ref>''[[Brill's New Jacoby|BNJ]]'' [https://scholarlyeditions.brill.com/reader/urn:cts:greekLit:fgrh.0020.bnjo-3-comm3-eng:f2 commentary on 20 F2]; ''[[Brill's New Jacoby|BNJ]]'' [https://scholarlyeditions.brill.com/reader/urn:cts:greekLit:fgrh.0020.bnjo-2-tr1-eng:f2 20 F2].</ref> According to a hymn by the poet [[Antagoras of Rhodes|Antagoras]] (3rd century BC), one of the possible parentages of Eros is Erebus and Night.<ref>Athanassakis and Wolkow, [https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780891301196/page/172/mode/2up?view=theater p. 172].</ref> |
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{{harvp|Hard|2004|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&pg=PA21 21]}} |
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</ref> |
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he is the offspring of [[Chaos (mythology)|Chaos]], alongside [[Nyx]] (Night).<ref> |
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{{harvp|Gantz|1996|p=4}}; |
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{{harvp|Hard|2004|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&pg=PA23 23]}}; |
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[[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0020.tlg001.perseus-eng1:104-138 123] |
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</ref> In the first instance of sexual intercourse, he mates with Nyx, producing [[Aether (mythology)|Aether]] and [[Hemera]] (Day),<ref> |
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{{harvp|Gantz|1996|p=4}}; |
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[[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0020.tlg001.perseus-eng1:104-138 124–125] |
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</ref> |
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the pair of which represent the personified opposites of their parents.<ref> |
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{{harvp|Almqvist|2022|p=37}} |
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</ref> |
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The Neoplatonist [[Damascius]] attributes to [[Acusilaus]] (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, [[Eros]], and [[Metis (mythology)|Metis]].<ref> |
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{{harvp|Fowler|2013|pp= [https://books.google.com/books?id=scd8AQAAQBAJ&pg=PA5 5–6]}}; |
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[[Acusilaus]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=j0nRE4C2WBgC&pg=PA6 fr. 6b Fowler, p. 6] [= ''[[Brill's New Jacoby|BNJ]]'' [https://scholarlyeditions.brill.com/reader/urn:cts:greekLit:fgrh.0002.bnjo-3-tr1-eng:f6b 2 F6b] = [[Damascius]], ''De Principiis'' 124] |
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</ref> |
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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 (though others have suggested this figure may be Eros).<ref> |
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''[[Brill's New Jacoby|BNJ]]'' [https://scholarlyeditions.brill.com/reader/urn:cts:greekLit:fgrh.0020.bnjo-3-comm3-eng:f2 commentary on 20 F2]; |
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''[[Brill's New Jacoby|BNJ]]'' [https://scholarlyeditions.brill.com/reader/urn:cts:greekLit:fgrh.0020.bnjo-2-tr1-eng:f2 20 F2] |
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</ref> |
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According to a hymn by the poet [[Antagoras of Rhodes|Antagoras]] (3rd century BC), one of the possible parentages of Eros is Erebus and Night.<ref> |
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Athanassakis and Wolkow, [https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780891301196/page/172/mode/2up?view=theater p. 172] |
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</ref> |
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Erebus also features in genealogies given by Roman authors. According to [[Cicero]] (1st century BC), Erebus and Nox (the Roman equivalent of Nyx) are the parents of Aether and [[Dies (mythology)|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]], and the Somnia (Dreams).<ref>[[Cicero]], ''[[De Natura Deorum]]'' [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/marcus_tullius_cicero-de_natura_deorum/1933/pb_LCL268.329.xml 3.44 (pp. 328, 329)] |
Erebus also features in genealogies given by Roman authors. According to [[Cicero]] (1st century BC), Erebus and Nox (the Roman equivalent of Nyx) are the parents of Aether and [[Dies (mythology)|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]], and the Somnia (Dreams).<ref> |
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[[Cicero]], ''[[De Natura Deorum]]'' [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/marcus_tullius_cicero-de_natura_deorum/1933/pb_LCL268.329.xml 3.44 (pp. 328, 329)] |
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</ref> |
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In the ''[[Fabulae]]'' by the Roman mythographer [[Hyginus]] (1st century BC/AD), Erebus is the o1ffspring of Chaos and Caligo (Mist), alongside Dies (Day), Erebus (Darkness), and Aether.<ref> |
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[[Hyginus]], ''[[Fabulae]]''; |
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[[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'', 1.2–3 (Smith & Trzaskoma / {{harvp|Hyginus|2007|p= 95 }}; Marshall / {{harvp|Hyginus|2002|p= 10 }}) |
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</ref> |
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By Nox, he becomes the father of Fatum (Fate), Senectus (Old Age), Mors (Death), Letum (Destruction), Continentia (Strife), Somnus (Sleep), the Somnia (Dreams), Lysimeles (Thoughtfulness), Epiphron (Hedymeles), Porphyrion, Epaphus, Discordia (Discord), Miseria (Misery), Petulantia (Petulance), Nemesis, Euphrosyne (Cheerfulness), Amicitia (Friendship), Misericordia (Pity), [[Styx]], the Parcae (Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos), and the Hesperides (Aegle, Hesperia, and Erythea).<ref> |
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[[Hyginus]], ''[[Fabulae]]''; |
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[[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'', 1.2–8 (Smith & Trzaskoma / {{harvp|Hyginus|2007|p= 95 }}; Marshall / {{harvp|Hyginus|2002|p= 10 }}) |
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</ref> |
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In a cosmogony given by [[Aristophanes]] in his play ''[[The Birds (play)|The Birds]]'' (414 BC), which is often believed to be a parody of an Orphic theogony,<ref> |
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In a cosmogony given by [[Aristophanes]] in his play ''[[The Birds (play)|The Birds]]'' (414 BC), which is often believed to be a parody of an Orphic theogony,<ref>Brisson, I pp. 390–1; Bernabé 2004, p. 73 on fr. 64; Chrysanthou, p. 303.</ref> 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.<ref>Brisson, pp. 3–4; Luján, p. 86; [[Aristophanes]], ''[[The Birds (play)|Birds]]'' [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/aristophanes-birds/2000/pb_LCL179.117.xml 693–9 (pp. 116, 117)] [= Orphic fr. 64V Bernabé (pp. 73–5) = [https://archive.org/details/orphicorumfragme00orphuoft/page/80/mode/2up?view=theater fr. 1 Kern]]. Luján, pp. 86–7 compares this progression of "Erebos – Egg – Eros" to the Indian ''[[Rigveda]]'' 10.129.3a–4b, in which Darkness exists in the beginning, and out of Darkness comes the "One", from which arises Desire.</ref> In an Orphic theogony recorded by Damascius in his work ''De principiis'' (''On First Principles''), known as the [[Hieronyman Theogony]] (2nd century BC?),<ref>See Meisner, [https://books.google.com/books?id=wgJfDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1 p. 1 with n. 3]. Damascius states that the text is "referred to by Hieronymus and Hellanicus, unless he is the same person"; see Meisner, [https://books.google.com/books?id=wgJfDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA122 p. 122].</ref> Erebus, alongside Aether and Chaos, is the offspring of [[Chronos]] (Time), who has the form of a serpent.<ref>Meisner, pp. [https://books.google.com/books?id=wgJfDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA126 126], [https://books.google.com/books?id=wgJfDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA129 129]; West, pp. 198–9; Brisson, I p. 395; Orphic fr. 78 Bernabé (p. 88) [= [https://archive.org/details/orphicorumfragme00orphuoft/page/130/mode/2up?view=theater fr. 54 Kern]]. Meisner, [https://books.google.com/books?id=wgJfDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA144 p. 144] says that Chronos produces these children by [[Ananke]] (Necessity), though West, p. 198 and Brisson, I p. 396 consider Chronos alone to be the parent. Brisson, V p. 55 also sees Orphic fr. 106 Bernabé (p. 114), from the later Orphic [[Rhapsodies (Orphic literature)|Rhapsodies]], as alluding to Erebus; see also West, pp. 230–1.</ref> |
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{{harvp|Brisson|1995|at=I pp. 390–391}}; |
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{{harvp|Bernabé|2004|p=73}} on fr. 64; |
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Chrysanthou, p. 303 |
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</ref> |
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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.<ref> |
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{{harvp|Brisson|1995|pp=3–4}}; |
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{{harvp|Luján|2011|p=86}}; |
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[[Aristophanes]], ''[[The Birds (play)|Birds]]'' [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/aristophanes-birds/2000/pb_LCL179.117.xml 693–699 (pp. 116, 117)] |
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[= Orphic fr. 64V {{harvp|Bernabé|2004|pp=73–75}} = [https://archive.org/details/orphicorumfragme00orphuoft/page/80/mode/2up?view=theater fr. 1 Kern]] |
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</ref>{{efn| |
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{{harvp|Luján|2011|pp=86–87}} compares this progression of "Erebos – Egg – Eros" to the Indian ''[[Rigveda]]'' 10.129.3a–4b, in which Darkness exists in the beginning, and out of Darkness comes the "One", from which arises Desire. |
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}} |
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In an Orphic theogony recorded by [[Damascius]] in his work ''De principiis'' (''On First Principles''), known as the [[Hieronyman Theogony]] (2nd century BC?).<ref> |
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{{harvp|Meisner|2018|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=wgJfDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA1 1, note 3 ] }} |
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</ref> |
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Damascius states that the text is "referred to by Hieronymus and Hellanicus, unless he is the same person".<ref> |
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{{harvp|Meisner|2018|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=wgJfDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA122 122] }} |
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</ref> |
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Erebus, alongside Aether and Chaos, is the offspring of [[Chronos]] (Time), who has the form of a serpent.<ref> |
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{{harvp|Meisner|2018|pp= [https://books.google.com/books?id=wgJfDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA126 126], [https://books.google.com/books?id=wgJfDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA129 129] }}; |
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{{harvp|West|1966|p=198–199}}; |
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{{harvp|Brisson|1995|at=I p. 395}}; |
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Orphic fr. 78 {{harvp|Bernabé|2004|p=88}} [= [https://archive.org/details/orphicorumfragme00orphuoft/page/130/mode/2up?view=theater fr. 54 Kern]] |
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</ref><ref group=lower-alpha> |
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<!-- |
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{{harvp|Meisner|2018|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=wgJfDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA144 144]}} says that Chronos produces these children by [[Ananke]] (Necessity), though {{harvp|West|1966|p=198}} and {{harvp|Brisson|1995|at=I p. 396}} consider Chronos alone to be the parent. {{harvp|Brisson|1995|at=V p. 55}} |
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--> also sees Orphic fr. 106 [{{harvp|Bernabé|2004|p=114}}], from the later Orphic [[Rhapsodies (Orphic literature)|Rhapsodies]], as alluding to Erebus. |
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see also {{harvp|West|1966|pp=230–231}} |
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</ref> |
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== Name or region of the Underworld == |
== Name or region of the Underworld == |
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The name "Erebus" is often used by ancient authors to refer either to the darkness of the Underworld,<ref> |
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The name "Erebus" is often used by ancient authors to refer either to the darkness of the Underworld,<ref>Tripp, [https://archive.org/details/crowellshandbook00trip/page/228/mode/2up?view=theater s.v. Erebus, p. 228]; Hard, [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&pg=PA23 p. 23]; Montanari, s.v. έρεβος, p. 815.</ref> to the Underworld itself,<ref>Hard, [https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&pg=PA23 pp. 23–4]; Morford, p. 371.</ref> or to the subterranean region which souls of the dead travel through to reach Hades,<ref>Smith, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0104:entry=erebos-bio-1 s.v. E'rebos]; Coulter and Turner, s.v. Erebus, p. 170; cf. [[LSJ]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D*)%2Ferebos s.v. Ἔρεβος]: "a place of nether darkness, forming a passage from Earth to Hades".</ref> and it is sometimes used synonymously with Tartarus or [[Hades]].<ref>Tripp, [https://archive.org/details/crowellshandbook00trip/page/228/mode/2up?view=theater s.v. Erebus, p. 228]; ''[[Brill's New Pauly]]'', [https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/brill-s-new-pauly/underworld-e1225130 s.v. Underworld]; Morford, p. 57; Coulter and Turner, s.v. Erebus, p. 170.</ref> [[Homer]] uses the term to refer to the Underworld:<ref>Gantz, p. 4.</ref> in the ''[[Odyssey]]'', souls of the dead are described as "gather[ing] from out of Erebus", on the shore of [[Oceanus]] at the edge of the Earth,<ref>Gantz, p. 123; [[Homer]], ''[[Odyssey]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg002.perseus-eng1:11.1-11.50 11.37].</ref> while in the ''[[Iliad]]'' Erebus is the location in which the [[Erinyes]] live,<ref>[[Homer]], ''[[Iliad]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg001.perseus-eng1:9.538-9.580 9.571–2]; see also [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]], ''[[Octavia (play)|Octavia]]'' [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/seneca_younger-octavia/2018/pb_LCL078.615.xml 965 (pp. 614, 615)], which calls the Furies the "goddesses of Erebus".</ref> and from which [[Heracles]] must fetch [[Cerberus]].<ref>[[Homer]], ''[[Iliad]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg001.perseus-eng1:8.335-8.380 8.368].</ref> In the ''[[Theogony]]'', it is the subterraneous place to which Zeus casts the Titan [[Menoetius]] (here meaning either Tartarus or Hades),<ref>Gantz, p. 154; Hard, p. 49; [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0020.tlg001.perseus-eng1:507-544 514–5]. According to Gantz, "it is not clear whether Hesiod means by this Tartaros, or that Menoitios met the fate of a mortal", while West 1966, p. 310 on line 515 states that "whether [Erebus] means Tartarus or Hades here [...] depends on whether Hesiod thought of Menoitios as god or mortal", while Hard says that it refers to "the nether darkness, presumably of Tartaros".</ref> and from which he later brings up the [[Hecatoncheires]].<ref>Gantz, p. 4; [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0020.tlg001.perseus-eng1:654-686 669].</ref> In the ''[[Homeric Hymn]] to [[Demeter]]'', Erebus is used to refer to Hades, the location in which the god [[Hades]] and his wife [[Persephone]] reside,<ref>West 1966, p. 310 on line 515; ''[[Homeric Hymn]] to [[Demeter]]'' (2), [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0013.tlg002.perseus-eng1:292-346 335]; see also [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0013.tlg002.perseus-eng1:347-397 349], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0013.tlg002.perseus-eng1:398-448 409].</ref> while in [[Euripides]]' play ''[[Orestes (play)|Orestes]]'', it is where the goddess Nyx lives.<ref>[[Euripides]], ''[[Orestes (play)|Orestes]]'' [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/euripides-orestes/2002/pb_LCL011.431.xml 176 (pp. 430, 431)].</ref> Later, in Roman literature, [[Ovid]] calls [[Proserpina]] the "queen of Erebus",<ref>[[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/ovid-metamorphoses/1916/pb_LCL042.277.xml 5.543 (pp. 276, 275)].</ref> and other authors use Erebus as a name for Hades.<ref>[[Petronius]], ''[[Satyricon]]'' [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/petronius-satyricon/2020/pb_LCL015.355.xml 254 (pp. 354, 355)]; [[Silius Italicus]], ''[[Punica (poem)|Punica]]'' [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/silius_italicus-punica/1934/pb_LCL277.11.xml 1.92 (pp. 10, 11)]; see also [[Claudian]], ''Rape of Proserpina'' [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/claudian_claudianus-rape_proserpine/1922/pb_LCL136.295.xml 32 (pp. 294, 295)]; [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]], ''[[Hercules on Oeta]]'' [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/seneca_younger-hercules_oeta/2018/pb_LCL078.455.xml 1369 (pp. 454, 455)].</ref> |
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{{harvp|Tripp|1970|p= [https://archive.org/details/crowellshandbook00trip/page/228/mode/2up?view=theater 228] }} s.v. "Erebus"; |
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{{harvp|Hard|2004|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&pg=PA23 23]}}; |
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{{harvp|Montanari|2015|p=815}}: {{math|έρεβος}} |
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</ref> |
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to the Underworld itself,<ref> |
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{{harvp|Hard|2004|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=r1Y3xZWVlnIC&pg=PA23 23–24]}}; |
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Morford, p. 371 |
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</ref> |
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or to the subterranean region which souls of the dead travel through to reach Hades,<ref> |
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{{harvp|Smith|1873|at= [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0104:entry=erebos-bio-1 s.v. "E'rebos"] }}; |
|||
{{harvp|Coulter|Turner|2012|p=170}} s.v. "Erebus"; |
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cf. [[LSJ]], [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3D*)%2Ferebos s.v. "{{math|Ἔρεβος}}"]: "a place of nether darkness, forming a passage from Earth to Hades". |
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</ref> |
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and it is sometimes used synonymously with Tartarus or [[Hades]].<ref> |
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{{harvp|Tripp|1970|p= [https://archive.org/details/crowellshandbook00trip/page/228/mode/2up?view=theater 228] }} s.v. "Erebus"; |
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''[[Brill's New Pauly]]'', [https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/brill-s-new-pauly/underworld-e1225130 s.v. "Underworld"]; |
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Morford, p. 57; |
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{{harvp|Coulter|Turner|2012|p=170 }} s.v. "Erebus" |
|||
</ref> |
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[[Homer]] uses the term to refer to the Underworld:<ref>{{harvp|Gantz|1996|p=4}}</ref> in the ''[[Odyssey]]'', souls of the dead are described as "gather[ing] from out of Erebus", on the shore of [[Oceanus]] at the edge of the Earth,<ref> |
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{{harvp|Gantz|1996|p=123}}; |
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[[Homer]], ''[[Odyssey]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg002.perseus-eng1:11.1-11.50 11.37] |
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</ref> |
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while in the ''[[Iliad]]'' Erebus is the location in which the [[Erinyes]] live,<ref> |
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[[Homer]], ''[[Iliad]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg001.perseus-eng1:9.538-9.580, 9.571–572]; |
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see also {{harvp|Seneca|2018b|at= "''Octavia''" }} [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/seneca_younger-octavia/2018/pb_LCL078.615.xml pp 614–615 ln. 965 ] ; which calls the Furies the "goddesses of Erebus". |
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</ref> |
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and from which [[Heracles]] must fetch [[Cerberus]].<ref> |
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[[Homer]], ''[[Iliad]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg001.perseus-eng1:8.335-8.380 8.368] |
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</ref> |
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In the ''[[Theogony]]'', it is the subterraneous place to which Zeus casts the Titan [[Menoetius]] (here meaning either Tartarus or Hades),<ref> |
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{{harvp|Gantz|1996|p=154}}; |
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{{harvp|Hard|2004|p=49}}; [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0020.tlg001.perseus-eng1:507-544 514–515] |
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</ref>{{efn| |
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According to {{harvp|Gantz|1996|p=154}}, "it is not clear whether Hesiod means by this Tartaros, or that Menoitios met the fate of a mortal", while {{harvp|West|1966|p=310, ln. 515}} states that "whether [Erebus] means Tartarus or Hades here [...] depends on whether Hesiod thought of Menoitios as god or mortal", while {{harvp|Hard|2004}} says that it refers to "the nether darkness, presumably of Tartaros". |
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}} |
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and from which he later brings up the [[Hecatoncheires]].<ref> |
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{{harvp|Gantz|1996|p=4}}; |
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[[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0020.tlg001.perseus-eng1:654-686 669] |
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</ref> |
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In the ''[[Homeric Hymn]] to [[Demeter]]'', Erebus is used to refer to Hades, the location in which the god [[Hades]] and his wife [[Persephone]] reside,<ref> |
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{{harvp|West|1966|p=310, ln 515}} ''[[Homeric Hymn]] to [[Demeter]]'' (2), [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0013.tlg002.perseus-eng1:292-346 335]; |
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see also [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0013.tlg002.perseus-eng1:347-397 349], [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0013.tlg002.perseus-eng1:398-448 409] |
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</ref> |
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while in [[Euripides]]' play ''[[Orestes (play)|Orestes]]'', it is where the goddess Nyx lives.<ref>[[Euripides]], ''[[Orestes (play)|Orestes]]'' [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/euripides-orestes/2002/pb_LCL011.431.xml 176 (pp. 430, 431)] |
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</ref> |
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Later, in Roman literature, [[Ovid]] calls [[Proserpina]] the "queen of Erebus",<ref> |
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[[Ovid]], ''[[Metamorphoses]]'' [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/ovid-metamorphoses/1916/pb_LCL042.277.xml 5.543 (pp. 276, 275)] |
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</ref> |
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and other authors use ''Erebus'' as a name for Hades.<ref> |
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[[Petronius]], ''[[Satyricon]]'', [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/petronius-satyricon/2020/pb_LCL015.355.xml 254 (pp. 354, 355)]; |
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[[Silius Italicus]], ''[[Punica (poem)|Punica]]'', [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/silius_italicus-punica/1934/pb_LCL277.11.xml 1.92 (pp. 10, 11)]; |
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''see also'' [[Claudian]], ''Rape of Proserpina'' [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/claudian_claudianus-rape_proserpine/1922/pb_LCL136.295.xml 32 (pp. 294, 295)]; |
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[[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]], ''[[Hercules on Oeta]]'', [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/seneca_younger-hercules_oeta/2018/pb_LCL078.455.xml 1369 (pp. 454, 455)] |
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</ref> |
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== |
== Footnotes == |
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{{ |
{{notelist}} |
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== References == |
== References == |
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{{reflist|25em}} |
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== Sources == |
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{{refbegin|25em|small=yes}} |
{{refbegin|25em|small=yes}} |
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* {{cite book |
* {{cite book |
||
|last=Almqvist |first=Olaf |title=Chaos, Cosmos and Creation in Early Greek Theogonies: An ontological exploration |place=London, UK |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |
|last=Almqvist |first=Olaf |year=2022 |title=Chaos, Cosmos and Creation in Early Greek Theogonies: An ontological exploration |place=London, UK |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |ISBN=978-1-350-22184-0}} |
||
* {{cite book |
* {{cite book |
||
Line 36: | Line 166: | ||
* {{cite book |editor-link=Robert S. P. Beekes |editor-last=Beekes |editor-first=R.S.P. |year=2009 |title=Etymological Dictionary of Greek |place = Leiden, NL |publisher = [[Brill Publishing]] |ISBN=978-90-04-17418-4 }} (2 vols.) |
* {{cite book |editor-link=Robert S. P. Beekes |editor-last=Beekes |editor-first=R.S.P. |year=2009 |title=Etymological Dictionary of Greek |place = Leiden, NL |publisher = [[Brill Publishing]] |ISBN=978-90-04-17418-4 }} (2 vols.) |
||
* {{cite book |last=Bernabé |first=Alberto |title=Poetae epici Graeci: Testimonia et fragmenta |section=Pars II: Orphicorum et Orphicis similium testimonia [''Part 2: Writings of the Orphicists and Orphic-like texts''] |lang=la |trans-title=Greek Epic Poets: Full texts and fragments |at=Fasc 1 |series=[[Bibliotheca Teubneriana]] |place=Munich, DE / Leipzig, DE |publisher=K.G. Saur Verlag |
* {{cite book |last=Bernabé |first=Alberto |year=2004 |title=Poetae epici Graeci: Testimonia et fragmenta |section=Pars II: Orphicorum et Orphicis similium testimonia [''Part 2: Writings of the Orphicists and Orphic-like texts''] |lang=la |trans-title=Greek Epic Poets: Full texts and fragments |at=Fasc 1 |series=[[Bibliotheca Teubneriana]] |place=Munich, DE / Leipzig, DE |publisher=K.G. Saur Verlag |ISBN=978-3-598-71707-9 |doi=10.1515/9783110943702 }} |
||
* {{cite book |author-link=Luc Brisson |last=Brisson |first=L. |title=Orphée et l'Orphisme dans l'Antiquité gréco-romaine |lang=fr |trans-title=Orpheus and the Orphicists from Greco-Roman Antiquity |publisher=Aldershot Variorum |
* {{cite book |author-link=Luc Brisson |last=Brisson |first=L. |year=1995 |title=Orphée et l'Orphisme dans l'Antiquité gréco-romaine |lang=fr |trans-title=Orpheus and the Orphicists from Greco-Roman Antiquity |publisher=Aldershot Variorum |ISBN = 0-86078-453-3 }} |
||
* {{cite book |author-link=Cicero |last=Cicero |first=Marcus Tullius |section=[[De Natura Deorum]] |title=Cicero: On the Nature of the Gods. Academics |translator=Rackham, H. |series=[[Loeb Classical Library]] |volume=268 |place=Cambridge, MA |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |orig-year=first published 1933 |edition=revised |year=1951 |ISBN=978-0-674-99296-2 |url=https://archive.org/stream/denaturadeorumac00ciceuoft#page/n5/mode/2up |via=[[Internet Archive]] (archive.org) }} {{cite web |title=''De Natura Deorum'' |type=online 1933 vers. |id=LCL 268 |website=Harvard University Press (loebclassics.com) |url=https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL268/1933/volume.xml }} |
* {{cite book |author-link=Cicero |last=Cicero |first=Marcus Tullius |section=[[De Natura Deorum]] |title=Cicero: On the Nature of the Gods. Academics |translator=Rackham, H. |series=[[Loeb Classical Library]] |volume=268 |place=Cambridge, MA |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |orig-year=first published 1933 |edition=revised |year=1951 |ISBN=978-0-674-99296-2 |url=https://archive.org/stream/denaturadeorumac00ciceuoft#page/n5/mode/2up |via=[[Internet Archive]] (archive.org) }} {{cite web |title=''De Natura Deorum'' |type=online 1933 vers. |id=LCL 268 |website=Harvard University Press (loebclassics.com) |url=https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL268/1933/volume.xml }} |
||
Line 46: | Line 176: | ||
* {{cite book |author=[[Claudian]] |section=The Rape of Proserpina |title=On Stilicho's Consulship 2-3 / Panegyric on the Sixth Consulship of Honorius / The Gothic War / Shorter Poems / Rape of Proserpina |translator=Platnauer, M. |series=[[Loeb Classical Library]] |volume=136 |place=Cambridge, MA |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |year=1922 |ISBN = 978-0-674-99151-4 }} {{cite web |url=https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL136/1922/volume.xml |title=Claudian |type=Online version |website=Harvard University Press (loebclassics.com) }} |
* {{cite book |author=[[Claudian]] |section=The Rape of Proserpina |title=On Stilicho's Consulship 2-3 / Panegyric on the Sixth Consulship of Honorius / The Gothic War / Shorter Poems / Rape of Proserpina |translator=Platnauer, M. |series=[[Loeb Classical Library]] |volume=136 |place=Cambridge, MA |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |year=1922 |ISBN = 978-0-674-99151-4 }} {{cite web |url=https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL136/1922/volume.xml |title=Claudian |type=Online version |website=Harvard University Press (loebclassics.com) }} |
||
* {{cite book |last1=Coulter |first1=Charles Russell |first2=Patricia |last2=Turner |title=Encyclopedia of Ancient Deities |publisher=Routledge |
* {{cite book |last1=Coulter |first1=Charles Russell |first2=Patricia |last2=Turner |year=2012 |title=Encyclopedia of Ancient Deities |publisher=Routledge |ISBN = 1-57958-270-2 }} |
||
* {{cite book |author=[[Euripides]] |section=[[Orestes (play)|Orestes]] |title=Helen / Phoenician Women / Orestes |editor=Kovacs, David |series=[[Loeb Classical Library]] |volume=11 |place=Cambridge, MA |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |year=2002 |ISBN=978-0-674-99600-7 |url=https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL011/2002/volume.xml |via = Harvard University Press (loebclassics.com) }} |
* {{cite book |author=[[Euripides]] |section=[[Orestes (play)|Orestes]] |title=Helen / Phoenician Women / Orestes |editor=Kovacs, David |series=[[Loeb Classical Library]] |volume=11 |place=Cambridge, MA |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]] |year=2002 |ISBN=978-0-674-99600-7 |url=https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL011/2002/volume.xml |via = Harvard University Press (loebclassics.com) }} |
||
Line 72: | Line 202: | ||
* {{cite book |editor1-link = Henry George Liddell |editor1-last = Liddell |editor1-first = H.G. |editor2-link = Robert Scott (philologist) |editor2-last = Scott |editor2-first=R. |title=A Greek-English Lexicon |quote=Revised and augmented throughout by Sir Henry Stuart Jones with the assistance of Roderick McKenzie |publisher = [[Clarendon Press]] |place = Oxford, UK |year = 1940 |url = https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text;jsessionid=E61EDD48E4F1A22F839AA4DC149C0955?doc=Perseus%3atext%3a1999.04.0057 |via = [[Perseus Digital Library]] }} ''Also see'' Wikipedia article: [[A Greek-English Lexicon]]. |
* {{cite book |editor1-link = Henry George Liddell |editor1-last = Liddell |editor1-first = H.G. |editor2-link = Robert Scott (philologist) |editor2-last = Scott |editor2-first=R. |title=A Greek-English Lexicon |quote=Revised and augmented throughout by Sir Henry Stuart Jones with the assistance of Roderick McKenzie |publisher = [[Clarendon Press]] |place = Oxford, UK |year = 1940 |url = https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text;jsessionid=E61EDD48E4F1A22F839AA4DC149C0955?doc=Perseus%3atext%3a1999.04.0057 |via = [[Perseus Digital Library]] }} ''Also see'' Wikipedia article: [[A Greek-English Lexicon]]. |
||
* {{cite book |last = Luján |first = Eugenio R. |section = The cosmic egg (O.F.s 64, 79, 114) |title = Tracing Orpheus: Studies of Orphic fragments |pages = 85–92 |editor1-first = Miguel |editor1-last = Herrero de Jáuregui |display-editors=etal |publisher = [[de Gruyter]] |
* {{cite book |last = Luján |first = Eugenio R. | year = 2011 |section = The cosmic egg (O.F.s 64, 79, 114) |title = Tracing Orpheus: Studies of Orphic fragments |pages = 85–92 |editor1-first = Miguel |editor1-last = Herrero de Jáuregui |display-editors=etal |publisher = [[de Gruyter]] |ISBN = 978-3-110-26053-3 |doi = 10.1515/9783110260533 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=D4tDMNaqKfIC |via = Google books }} |
||
* {{cite book |editor-last = Marshall |editor-first = Peter K. | |
* {{cite book |author-link = Hyginus |author=Hyginus |editor-last = Marshall |editor-first = Peter K. |year = 2002 |title = Hyginus “Mythographus”: Fabulae |series = [[Bibliotheca Teubneriana]] |place = Munich, DE / Leipzig, DE |publisher = K.G. Saur Verlag |ISBN = 978-3-598-71237-1 |doi = 10.1515/9783110975512 }} |
||
* {{cite book |last = Meisner |first = Dwayne A. |title = Orphic Tradition and the Birth of the Gods |publisher = [[Oxford University Press]] |
* {{cite book |last = Meisner |first = Dwayne A. |year = 2018 |title = Orphic Tradition and the Birth of the Gods |publisher = [[Oxford University Press]] |ISBN = 978-0-190-66352-0 |url=https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/oso/9780190663520.001.0001/oso-9780190663520 |via = Oxford University Press }} {{cite web |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=wgJfDwAAQBAJ |title = ''Orphic Tradition ...'' |via = Google books }} |
||
* {{cite book |last = Montanari |first = Franco |title = The Brill Dictionary of Ancient Greek |editor1-first = Madeleine |editor1-last = Goh |editor2-first = Chad |editor2-last = Schroeder |place = Leiden, NL |publisher = [[Brill Publishing]] |
* {{cite book |last = Montanari |first = Franco | year = |title = The Brill Dictionary of Ancient Greek |editor1-first = Madeleine |editor1-last = Goh |editor2-first = Chad |editor2-last = Schroeder |place = Leiden, NL |publisher = [[Brill Publishing]] |ISBN = 978-90-04-19318-5 |url = https://dictionaries.brillonline.com/montanari |via = Brill }} |
||
* {{cite book |last1 = Morford |first1 = Mark P.O. |first2 = Robert J. |last2 = Lenardon |title = Classical Mythology |edition = 8th |publisher = Oxford University Press |year = 2007 |ISBN = 978-0-19-530805-1 }} |
* {{cite book |last1 = Morford |first1 = Mark P.O. |first2 = Robert J. |last2 = Lenardon |title = Classical Mythology |edition = 8th |publisher = Oxford University Press |year = 2007 |ISBN = 978-0-19-530805-1 }} |
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* {{cite book |author = [[Petronius]] |section = [[Satyricon]] |title = Petronius / Seneca / Satyricon / Apocolocyntosis |editor = Schmeling, Gareth |series = [[Loeb Classical Library]] |volume = 15 |place = Cambridge, MA |publisher = [[Harvard University Press]] |year = 2020 |ISBN = 978-0-674-99737-0 |url = https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL015/2020/volume.xml |via = Harvard University Press (loebclassics.com) }} |
* {{cite book |author = [[Petronius]] |section = [[Satyricon]] |title = Petronius / Seneca / Satyricon / Apocolocyntosis |editor = Schmeling, Gareth |series = [[Loeb Classical Library]] |volume = 15 |place = Cambridge, MA |publisher = [[Harvard University Press]] |year = 2020 |ISBN = 978-0-674-99737-0 |url = https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL015/2020/volume.xml |via = Harvard University Press (loebclassics.com) }} |
||
* {{cite book |author = |
* {{cite book |author-link = Seneca the Younger |author = Seneca |year = 2018a |section = [[Hercules on Oeta]] |title = Tragedies: Volume II: Oedipus / Agamemnon / Thyestes / Hercules on Oeta / Octavia |editor = Fitch, John G. |series = [[Loeb Classical Library]] |volume = 78 |place = Cambridge, MA |publisher = [[Harvard University Press]] |ISBN = 978-0-674-99718-9 |url = https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL078/2018/volume.xml |via = Harvard University Press (loebclassics.com) }} |
||
* {{cite book |author = |
* {{cite book |author-link = Seneca the Younger |author = Seneca |year = 2018b |section = [[Octavia (play)|Octavia]] |title = Tragedies: Volume II: Oedipus / Agamemnon / Thyestes / Hercules on Oeta / Octavia |editor = Fitch, John G. |series = [[Loeb Classical Library]] |volume = 78 |place = Cambridge, MA |publisher = [[Harvard University Press]] |ISBN = 978-0-674-99718-9 |url = https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL078/2018/volume.xml |via = Harvard University Press (loebclassics.com) }} |
||
* {{cite book |author = [[Silius Italicus]] |year = 1934 |title = [[Punica (poem)|Punica]] |section = Volume I: Books 1-8 |translator = Duff, J.D. |series = [[Loeb Classical Library]] |volume = 277 |place = Cambridge, MA |publisher = [[Harvard University Press]] |ISBN = 978-0-674-99305-1 |section-url = https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL277/1934/volume.xml |via = Harvard University Press (loebclassics.com) }} |
* {{cite book |author = [[Silius Italicus]] |year = 1934 |title = [[Punica (poem)|Punica]] |section = Volume I: Books 1-8 |translator = Duff, J.D. |series = [[Loeb Classical Library]] |volume = 277 |place = Cambridge, MA |publisher = [[Harvard University Press]] |ISBN = 978-0-674-99305-1 |section-url = https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL277/1934/volume.xml |via = Harvard University Press (loebclassics.com) }} |
Revision as of 23:36, 24 March 2024
Greek deities series |
---|
Primordial deities |
In Greek mythology, Erebus (/ˈɛrəbəs/;[1] Ancient Greek: Ἔρεβος, romanized: Érebos, lit. '"darkness, gloom"'),[2] 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 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 (the Roman equivalent of Nyx), while in an Orphic theogony he is the offspring of Chronos (Time). 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 Hades, and can sometimes be used as a synonym for Tartarus or Hades.
Etymology
The meaning of the word Erebos (Ἔρεβος) is "darkness" or "gloom", referring to that of the Underworld.[3] It derives from the Proto-Indo-European *h₁regʷ-os- ("darkness"), and is cognate with the Sanskrit rájas ("dark (lower) air, dust"), the Armenian erek ("evening"), the Gothic riqis, and the Old Norse røkkr ("dark, dust").[4]
Personification of darkness
In a number of Greek cosmogonies, Erebus is described as one of the first beings to exist. In Hesiod's Theogony (late 8th century BC), which the Greeks considered the "standard" account of the origin of the gods,[5] he is the offspring of Chaos, alongside Nyx (Night).[6] In the first instance of sexual intercourse, he mates with Nyx, producing Aether and Hemera (Day),[7] the pair of which represent the personified opposites of their parents.[8] The Neoplatonist Damascius attributes to Acusilaus (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, Eros, and Metis.[9] 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 (though others have suggested this figure may be Eros).[10] According to a hymn by the poet Antagoras (3rd century BC), one of the possible parentages of Eros is Erebus and Night.[11]
Erebus also features in genealogies given by Roman authors. According to Cicero (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, and the Somnia (Dreams).[12] In the Fabulae by the Roman mythographer Hyginus (1st century BC/AD), Erebus is the o1ffspring of Chaos and Caligo (Mist), alongside Dies (Day), Erebus (Darkness), and Aether.[13] By Nox, he becomes the father of Fatum (Fate), Senectus (Old Age), Mors (Death), Letum (Destruction), Continentia (Strife), Somnus (Sleep), the Somnia (Dreams), Lysimeles (Thoughtfulness), Epiphron (Hedymeles), Porphyrion, Epaphus, Discordia (Discord), Miseria (Misery), Petulantia (Petulance), Nemesis, Euphrosyne (Cheerfulness), Amicitia (Friendship), Misericordia (Pity), Styx, the Parcae (Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos), and the Hesperides (Aegle, Hesperia, and Erythea).[14]
In a cosmogony given by Aristophanes in his play The Birds (414 BC), which is often believed to be a parody of an Orphic theogony,[15] 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.[16][a]
In an Orphic theogony recorded by Damascius in his work De principiis (On First Principles), known as the Hieronyman Theogony (2nd century BC?).[17] Damascius states that the text is "referred to by Hieronymus and Hellanicus, unless he is the same person".[18] Erebus, alongside Aether and Chaos, is the offspring of Chronos (Time), who has the form of a serpent.[19][b]
Name or region of the Underworld
The name "Erebus" is often used by ancient authors to refer either to the darkness of the Underworld,[20] to the Underworld itself,[21] or to the subterranean region which souls of the dead travel through to reach Hades,[22] and it is sometimes used synonymously with Tartarus or Hades.[23] Homer uses the term to refer to the Underworld:[24] in the Odyssey, souls of the dead are described as "gather[ing] from out of Erebus", on the shore of Oceanus at the edge of the Earth,[25] while in the Iliad Erebus is the location in which the Erinyes live,[26] and from which Heracles must fetch Cerberus.[27] In the Theogony, it is the subterraneous place to which Zeus casts the Titan Menoetius (here meaning either Tartarus or Hades),[28][c] and from which he later brings up the Hecatoncheires.[29] In the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, Erebus is used to refer to Hades, the location in which the god Hades and his wife Persephone reside,[30] while in Euripides' play Orestes, it is where the goddess Nyx lives.[31] Later, in Roman literature, Ovid calls Proserpina the "queen of Erebus",[32] and other authors use Erebus as a name for Hades.[33]
Footnotes
- ^ Luján (2011), pp. 86–87 compares this progression of "Erebos – Egg – Eros" to the Indian Rigveda 10.129.3a–4b, in which Darkness exists in the beginning, and out of Darkness comes the "One", from which arises Desire.
- ^ also sees Orphic fr. 106 [[[#CITEREFBernabé2004|Bernabé (2004)]], p. 114], from the later Orphic Rhapsodies, as alluding to Erebus. see also West (1966), pp. 230–231
- ^ According to Gantz (1996), p. 154, "it is not clear whether Hesiod means by this Tartaros, or that Menoitios met the fate of a mortal", while West (1966), p. 310, ln. 515 states that "whether [Erebus] means Tartarus or Hades here [...] depends on whether Hesiod thought of Menoitios as god or mortal", while Hard (2004) says that it refers to "the nether darkness, presumably of Tartaros".
References
- ^ Tripp (1970), p. 618
- ^ Montanari (2015), p. 815 : έρεβος
- ^ Montanari (2015), p. 815 : έρεβος
- ^ Beekes (2009), p. 451: έρεβος
- ^ Hard (2004), p. 21
- ^ Gantz (1996), p. 4; Hard (2004), p. 23; Hesiod, Theogony 123
- ^ Gantz (1996), p. 4; Hesiod, Theogony 124–125
- ^ Almqvist (2022), p. 37
- ^ Fowler (2013), pp. 5–6; Acusilaus, fr. 6b Fowler, p. 6 [= BNJ 2 F6b = Damascius, De Principiis 124]
- ^ BNJ commentary on 20 F2; BNJ 20 F2
- ^ Athanassakis and Wolkow, p. 172
- ^ Cicero, De Natura Deorum 3.44 (pp. 328, 329)
- ^ Hyginus, Fabulae; Hesiod, Theogony, 1.2–3 (Smith & Trzaskoma / Hyginus (2007), p. 95; Marshall / Hyginus (2002), p. 10)
- ^ Hyginus, Fabulae; Hesiod, Theogony, 1.2–8 (Smith & Trzaskoma / Hyginus (2007), p. 95; Marshall / Hyginus (2002), p. 10)
- ^ Brisson (1995), I pp. 390–391; Bernabé (2004), p. 73 on fr. 64; Chrysanthou, p. 303
- ^ Brisson (1995), pp. 3–4; Luján (2011), p. 86; Aristophanes, Birds 693–699 (pp. 116, 117) [= Orphic fr. 64V Bernabé (2004), pp. 73–75 = fr. 1 Kern]
- ^ Meisner (2018), p. 1, note 3
- ^ Meisner (2018), p. 122
- ^ Meisner (2018), pp. 126, 129; West (1966), p. 198–199 ; Brisson (1995), I p. 395; Orphic fr. 78 Bernabé (2004), p. 88 [= fr. 54 Kern]
- ^ Tripp (1970), p. 228 s.v. "Erebus"; Hard (2004), p. 23; Montanari (2015), p. 815 : έρεβος
- ^ Hard (2004), p. 23–24; Morford, p. 371
- ^ Smith (1873), s.v. "E'rebos"; Coulter & Turner (2012), p. 170 s.v. "Erebus"; cf. LSJ, s.v. "Ἔρεβος": "a place of nether darkness, forming a passage from Earth to Hades".
- ^ Tripp (1970), p. 228 s.v. "Erebus"; Brill's New Pauly, s.v. "Underworld"; Morford, p. 57; Coulter & Turner (2012), p. 170 s.v. "Erebus"
- ^ Gantz (1996), p. 4
- ^ Gantz (1996), p. 123; Homer, Odyssey 11.37
- ^ Homer, Iliad 9.571–572; see also Seneca (2018b), "Octavia" pp 614–615 ln. 965 ; which calls the Furies the "goddesses of Erebus".
- ^ Homer, Iliad 8.368
- ^ Gantz (1996), p. 154; Hard (2004), p. 49; Hesiod, Theogony 514–515
- ^ Gantz (1996), p. 4; Hesiod, Theogony 669
- ^ West (1966), p. 310, ln 515 Homeric Hymn to Demeter (2), 335; see also 349, 409
- ^ Euripides, Orestes 176 (pp. 430, 431)
- ^ Ovid, Metamorphoses 5.543 (pp. 276, 275)
- ^ Petronius, Satyricon, 254 (pp. 354, 355); Silius Italicus, Punica, 1.92 (pp. 10, 11); see also Claudian, Rape of Proserpina 32 (pp. 294, 295); Seneca, Hercules on Oeta, 1369 (pp. 454, 455)
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{{cite book}}
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