AETHER (Aither) - Greek Primordial God of Light & the Heavenly Ether
Aether was the primordial god (protogenos) of light and the bright, blue ether of the heavens. His mists filled the space between the solid dome of the sky and below the transparent mists of the earth-bound air. In the evening his mother Nyx drew her dark veil across the sky, obscuring the ether and bringing night. In the morn his sister and wife Hemera dispersed night's mist to reveal the shining blue ether of day.
Greek Mythology >> Greek Gods >> Primordial Gods >> Sky Gods >> Aether (Aither) AITHER Greek Name Αιθηρ Transliteration Aithêr Latin Spelling Aether Translation Ether (Bright upper-air) AITHER (Aether) was the primordial god (protogenos) of light and the bright, blue ether of the heavens. His mists filled the space between the solid dome of the sky (ouranos) and the transparent mists of the earth-bound air (khaos, aer). In the evening his mother Nyx drew her dark veil across the sky, obscuring the ether and bringing night. In the morn his sister and wife Hemera dispersed night's mist to reveal the shining blue ether of day. In the ancient cosmogonies night and day were regarded as elements separate from the sun. Aither was one of the three "airs". The middle air was aer or khaos, a colourless mist which enveloped the mortal world. The lower air was erebos, the mists of darkness, which enveloped the dark places beneath the earth and the realm of the dead. The third was the upper air of aither, the mist of light and blue of the heavenly ether. The aither enveloped the mountain peaks, clouds, stars, sun and moon. Aether's female counterpart was Aithre (Aethra), Titaness of the clear blue sky and mother of the sun and moon. FAMILY OF AETHER PARENTS [1.1] EREBOS & NYX (Hesiod Theogony 124, Cicero De Natura Deorum 3.17) [1.2] EREBOS (Aristophanes Birds 1189) [2.1] KHRONOS & ANANKE (Orphic Argonautica 12, Orphic Fragment 54) [2.2] KHRONOS (Orphic Rhapsodies 66) [3.1] KHAOS (Hyginus Preface) OFFSPRING PROTOGENOI [1.1] OURANOS (Alcman Frag 61, Callimachus Frag 498, Cicero De Natura Deorum 3.17) [2.1] GAIA, OURANOS, THALASSA (by Hemera) (Hyginus Preface) [3.1] NEPHELAI (Aristophanes Clouds 563) OFFSPRING DAIMONES [1.1] ALGOS (DOLOR), DOLOS (DOLUS), LYSSA (IRA), PENTHOS (LUCTUS), PSEUDOLOGOS (MENDACIUM), HORKOS (JUSIURANDUM), POINE (ULTIO), ? (INTEMPERANTIA), AMPHILOGIA (ALTERCATIO), LETHE (OBLIVIO), AERGIA (SOCORDIA), DEIMOS (TIMOR), ? (SUPERBIA), ? (INCESTUM), HYSMINE (PUGNA) (by Gaia) (Hyginus Preface) ENCYCLOPEDIA AETHER (Aithêr), a personified idea of the mythical cosmogonies. According to that of Hyginus (Fab. Pref. p. 1, ed. Staveren), he was, together with Night, Day, and Erebus, begotten by Chaos and Caligo (Darkness). According to that of Hesiod (Theog. 124), Aether was the son of Erebus and his sister Night, and a brother of Day. (Comp. Phornut. De Nat. Deor. 16.) The children of Aether and Day were Land, Heaven, and Sea, and from his connexion with the Earth there sprang all the vices which destroy the human race, and also the Giants and Titans. (Hygin. Fab. Prof. p. 2, &c.) These accounts shew that, in the Greek cosmogonies, Aether was considered as one of the elementary substances out of which the Universe was formed. In the Orphic hymns(4) Aether appears as the soul of the world, from which all life emanates, an idea which was also adopted by some of the early philosophers of Greece. In later times Aether was regarded as the wide space of Heaven, the residence of the gods, and Zeus as the Lord of the Aether, or Aether itself personified. (Pacuv. ap. Cic. de Nat. Deor. ii. 36, 40; Lucret. v. 499; Virg. Aen. xii. 140, Georg. ii. 325.) Source: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. ALTERNATE NAMES Greek Name Ακμων Transliteration Akmôn Latin Spelling Acmon Translation Zenith (akmê), Untiring (akmês) CLASSICAL LITERATURE QUOTES AETHER & THE BIRTH OF THE COSMOS I. THE COSMOGONY OF HESIOD Hesiod, Theogony 124 ff (trans. Evelyn-White) (Greek epic C8th or C7th B.C.) : "Of Nyx (Night) were born Aither (Aether, Light) and Hemera (Day), whom she conceived and bare from union in love with Erebos (Erebus, Darkness)." Cicero, De Natura Deorum 3. 17 (trans. Rackham) (Roman rhetorician C1st B.C.) : "[If Ouranos (Uranus) is a god then] the parents of Caelus (Sky) [Ouranos], Aether (Upper Air) and Dies (Day) [Hemera], must be held to be gods . . . these are fabled to be the children of Erebus (Darkness) and Nox (Night) [Nyx]." Pseudo-Hyginus, Preface (trans. Grant) (Roman mythographer C2nd A.D.) : "From Chaos [was born] : Caligine (Darkness). From Chaos [was born] : Nox (Night) [Nyx], Dies (Day) [Hemera], Erebus, Aether. From Aether and Dies (Day) [Hemera] [were born] : Terra (Earth) [Gaia (Gaea)], Caelum (Sky) [Ouranos (Uranus)], Mare (Sea) [Thalassa]. From Aether and Terra (Earth) [Gaia] [were born] : Dolor (Grief), Dolus (Deceit), Ira (Wrath), Luctus (Lamentation), Mendacium (Falsehood), Jusiurandum (Oath), Vltio (Vengeance), Intemperantia (Intemperance), Altercatio (Altercation), Obliuio (Forgetfulness), Socordia (Sloth), Timor (Fear), Superbia (Pride), Incestum (Incest), Pugna (Combat), [From Caelum? and Terra? :] Oceanus, Themis, Tartarus, Pontus; and Titanes: Briareus, Gyes, Steropes, Atlas, Hyperion and Polus [Koios (Coeus)], Saturnus [Kronos (Cronus)], Ops [Rhea], Moneta [Mnemosyne], Dione; and three Furiae (Furies) [Erinyes], namely Alecto, Megaera, Tisiphone." II. THE COSMOGONY OF ALCMAN Alcman...