Erebus
From Freepedia
| Greek deities series | |
|---|---|
| Titans and Olympians | |
| Aquatic deities | |
| Chthonic deities | |
| Personified concepts | |
| Other deities | |
| Primordial deities | |
In Greek mythology, Erebus, or Érebos was a primordial god, personification of darkness, offspring of Chaos alone. He was brother of Nyx and father of Aether by himself and, with Nyx, Hemera, Moros, Charon, Eros and the Keres.
According to some later legends, Erebus was part of Hades, the underworld. It was where the dead had to pass immediately after dying. After Charon ferried them across the river Acheron, they entered Tartarus, the underworld proper. Erebus was often used as a synonym for Hades, the Greek god of the underworld. Also, Erebus was the name of the gloomy space through which souls passed on their way to Hades.
The word is probably from Proto-Indo-European language, *h1regwos, cognate to Old Norse rœkkr, Gothic riqis "darkness", Sanskrit rajani "night", Tocharian orkäm "darkness". Another suggestion is a loan from Semitic , c.f. Hebrew erebh "sunset, evening" (hence, "darkness"). The same etymology of "sunset" has been suggested for Europe.
See also
- The HMS Erebus and the HMS Terror were the ships carrying Sir John Franklin's failed expedition to find the Northwest Passage.
- Mount Erebus is an Antarctic volcano.
- The Mount Erebus disaster was an aircraft accident that occurred in 1979.
- Erebus Magazine was a highly influential internet magazine covering dark/underground music.
- Erebus Comic is a fledgling webcomic that focuses on the quirky antics of 4 guys.
