Greek mythology A major branch of classical mythology, Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the Cosmogony, origin and Cosmology#Metaphysical co ...

, Erebus (; grc, Ἔρεβος, Érebos, "darkness, gloom"), or Erebos, is the personification of darkness. In

Hesiod Hesiod (; grc-gre, Ἡσίοδος ''Hēsíodos'') was an ancient Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. He is generally regarded by western authors as 'the first written poet i ...

's ''

Theogony The ''Theogony'' (, , , i.e. "the genealogy or birth of the gods") is a poem by Hesiod (8th–7th century BC) describing the origins and genealogies of the Greek gods, composed . It is written in the Epic dialect of Ancient Greek and contains 10 ...

'', he is the offspring of

Chaos Chaos or CHAOS may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional elements * Chaos (''Kinnikuman'') * Chaos (''Sailor Moon'') * Chaos (''Sesame Park'') * Chaos (''Warhammer'') * Chaos, in ''Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy'' * Cha ...

, and the father of Aether and

Hemera In Greek mythology, Hemera (; grc, Ἡμέρα, Hēméra, Day ) was the personification of day. According to Hesiod, she was the daughter of Erebus (Darkness) and Nyx (Night), and the sister of Aether. Though separate entities in Hesiod's ...

(Day) by

Nyx Nyx (; , , "Night") is the Greek goddess and personification of night. A shadowy figure, Nyx stood at or near the beginning of creation and mothered other personified deities, such as Hypnos (Sleep) and Thanatos (Death), with Erebus (Darknes ...

(Night); in other Greek cosmogonies, he is the father of Aether,

Eros In Greek mythology, Eros (, ; grc, Ἔρως, Érōs, Love, Desire) is the Greek god of love and sex. His Roman counterpart was Cupid ("desire").''Larousse Desk Reference Encyclopedia'', The Book People, Haydock, 1995, p. 215. In the earli ...

, and

Metis Metis or Métis may refer to: Ethnic groups * Métis, recognized Indigenous communities in Canada and America whose distinct culture and language emerged after early intermarriage between First Nations peoples and early European settlers, primar ...

, 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 Orphism (more rarely Orphicism; grc, Ὀρφικά, Orphiká) is the name given to a set of religious beliefs and practices originating in the ancient Greek and Hellenistic world, associated with literature ascribed to the mythical poet Orpheus ...

theogony, he is the offspring of

Chronos Chronos (; grc-gre, Χρόνος, , "time"), also spelled Khronos or Chronus, is a personification of time in pre-Socratic philosophy and later literature. Chronos is frequently confused with, or perhaps consciously identified with, the Tit ...

(Time). The name "Erebus" is also used to refer either to the darkness of the

Underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. ...

, the Underworld itself, or the region through which souls pass to reach

Hades Hades (; grc-gre, ᾍδης, Háidēs; ), in the ancient Greek religion and myth, is the god of the dead and the king of the underworld, with which his name became synonymous. Hades was the eldest son of Cronus and Rhea, although this also ...

, and can sometimes be used as a synonym for

Tartarus In Greek mythology, Tartarus (; grc, , }) is the deep abyss that is used as a dungeon of torment and suffering for the wicked and as the prison for the Titans. Tartarus is the place where, according to Plato's ''Gorgias'' (), souls are judg ...

or Hades.

Etymology

The meaning of the word ''Érebos'' ( Ἔρεβος) is "darkness" or "gloom", referring to that of the

. It derives from the

Proto-Indo-European Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo-E ...

' ("darkness"), and is cognate with the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

'' rájas'' ("dark (lower) air, dust"), the

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

erek Arak ( ar, آراك, also spelled Urak or Araq) is a village in eastern Syria, administratively part of the Homs Governorate. It is situated on an oasis in the Syrian Desert along the road between Palmyra which is 28 kilometers to the southwest and ...

'' ("evening"), the

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

'' riqis'', and the

Old Norse Old Norse, Old Nordic, or Old Scandinavian, is a stage of development of North Germanic languages, North Germanic dialects before their final divergence into separate Nordic languages. Old Norse was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and t ...

'' røkkr'' ("dark, dust").

Personification of darkness

In a number of Greek cosmogonies, Erebus is described as one of the first beings to exist. In

's ''

'' (late 8th century BC), which the Greeks considered the "standard" account of the origin of the gods, he is the offspring of

, alongside

(Night). In the first instance of sexual intercourse, he mates with Nyx, producing Aether and

(Day), the pair of which represent the personified opposites of their parents. The Neoplatonist

Damascius Damascius (; grc-gre, Δαμάσκιος, 458 – after 538), known as "the last of the Athenian Neoplatonists," was the last scholarch of the neoplatonic Athenian school. He was one of the neoplatonic philosophers who left Athens after laws ...

attributes to

Acusilaus Acusilaus, Acusilas, or Akousilaos ( grc-gre, Ἀκουσίλαος) of Argos, son of Cabas or Scabras, was a Greek logographer and mythographer who lived in the latter half of the 6th century BC but whose work survives only in fragments and summ ...

(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,

, and

. The philosopher

Philodemus Philodemus of Gadara ( grc-gre, Φιλόδημος ὁ Γαδαρεύς, ''Philodēmos'', "love of the people"; c. 110 – prob. c. 40 or 35 BC) was an Arabic Epicurean philosopher and poet. He studied under Zeno of Sidon in Athens, before moving ...

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). According to a hymn by the poet

Antagoras Antagoras of Rhodes ( grc-gre, Ἀνταγόρας ὁ Ῥόδιος, born on Rhodes about 270 B.C.) William Smith (ed) (1870) Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology ''from within'' was a Greek poet. He was also noted for his cooker ...

(3rd century BC), one of the possible parentages of Eros is Erebus and Night. Erebus also features in genealogies given by Roman authors. According to

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...

(1st century BC), Erebus and Nox (the Roman equivalent of Nyx) are the parents of Aether and

Dies Dies may refer to: * Dies (deity), the Roman counterpart of the Greek goddess Hemera, the personification of day, daughter of Nox (Night) and Erebus (Darkness). * Albert Christoph Dies (1755–1822), German painter, composer, and biographer * Jos ...

(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 In Greek mythology, the Hesperides (; , ) are the nymphs of evening and golden light of sunsets, who were the "Daughters of the Evening" or "Nymphs of the West". They were also called the Atlantides () from their reputed father, the Titan Atlas ...

, and the Somnia (Dreams). In the ''

Fabulae Gaius Julius Hyginus (; 64 BC – AD 17) was a Latin author, a pupil of the scholar Alexander Polyhistor, and a freedman of Caesar Augustus. He was elected superintendent of the Palatine library by Augustus according to Suetonius' ''De Grammati ...

'' by the Roman mythographer

Hyginus Gaius Julius Hyginus (; 64 BC – AD 17) was a Latin author, a pupil of the scholar Alexander Polyhistor, and a freedman of Caesar Augustus. He was elected superintendent of the Palatine library by Augustus according to Suetonius' ''De Grammatic ...

(1st century BC/AD), Erebus is the offspring of Chaos and Caligo (Mist), alongside Dies (Day), Erebus (Darkness), and Aether. 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 In Greek mythology, Styx (; grc, Στύξ ) is a river that forms the boundary between Earth (Gaia) and the Underworld. The rivers Acheron, Cocytus, Lethe, Phlegethon, and Styx all converge at the centre of the underworld on a great marsh, whic ...

, the Parcae (Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos), and the Hesperides (Aegle, Hesperia, and Erythea). In a cosmogony given by

Aristophanes Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme In Ancient Greece, a deme or ( grc, δῆμος, plural: demoi, δημοι) was a suburb or a subdivision of Athens and other city-states ...

in his play '' The Birds'' (414 BC), 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

. 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'' (''On First Principles''), known as the Hieronyman Theogony (2nd century BC?), Erebus, alongside Aether and Chaos, is the offspring of

(Time), who has the form of a serpent.

Name or region of the Underworld

The name "Erebus" is often used by ancient authors to refer either to the darkness of the Underworld, to the Underworld itself, or to the subterranean region through which souls of the dead travel to reach Hades, and it is sometimes used synonymously with Tartarus or

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

uses the term to refer to the Underworld: in the ''

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major Ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek Epic poetry, epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by moder ...

'', souls of the dead are described as "gather ngfrom out of Erebus", on the shore of

Oceanus In Greek mythology, Oceanus (; grc-gre, , Ancient Greek pronunciation: , also Ὠγενός , Ὤγενος , or Ὠγήν ) was a Titan son of Uranus and Gaia, the husband of his sister the Titan Tethys, and the father of the river gods a ...

at the edge of the Earth, while in the ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odysse ...

'' Erebus is the location in which the

Erinyes The Erinyes ( ; sing. Erinys ; grc, Ἐρινύες, pl. of ), also known as the Furies, and the Eumenides, were female chthonic deities of vengeance in ancient Greek religion and mythology. A formulaic oath in the ''Iliad'' invokes ...

live, and from which

Heracles Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive ...

must fetch

Cerberus In Greek mythology, Cerberus (; grc-gre, Κέρβερος ''Kérberos'' ), often referred to as the hound of Hades, is a multi-headed dog that guards the gates of the Underworld to prevent the dead from leaving. He was the offspring of the mo ...

. In the ''

'', it is the subterraneous place to which Zeus casts the Titan

Menoetius Menoetius or Menoetes (; grc-gre, Μενοίτιος, Μενοίτης ''Menoitios''), meaning ''doomed might'', is a name that refers to three distinct beings from Greek mythology: * Menoetius, a second generation Titan, son of Iapetus an ...

(here meaning either Tartarus or Hades), and from which he later brings up the

Hecatoncheires In Greek mythology, the Hecatoncheires ( grc-gre, Ἑκατόγχειρες, , Hundred-Handed Ones), or Hundred-Handers, also called the Centimanes, (; la, Centimani), named Cottus, Briareus (or Aegaeon) and Gyges (or Gyes), were three monstrous ...

. In the ''

Homeric Hymn The ''Homeric Hymns'' () are a collection of thirty-three anonymous ancient Greek hymns celebrating individual gods. The hymns are "Homeric" in the sense that they employ the same epic meter—dactylic hexameter—as the ''Iliad'' and ''Odyssey'', ...

Demeter In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Demeter (; Attic: ''Dēmḗtēr'' ; Doric: ''Dāmā́tēr'') is the Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over crops, grains, food, and the fertility of the earth. Although s ...

'', Erebus is used to refer to Hades, the location in which the god

and his wife

Persephone In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Persephone ( ; gr, Περσεφόνη, Persephónē), also called Kore or Cora ( ; gr, Κόρη, Kórē, the maiden), is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She became the queen of the underworld after ...

reside, while in

Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful e ...

' play ''

Orestes In Greek mythology, Orestes or Orestis (; grc-gre, Ὀρέστης ) was the son of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon, and the brother of Electra. He is the subject of several Ancient Greek plays and of various myths connected with his madness and ...

'', it is where the goddess Nyx lives. Later, in Roman literature,

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

calls

Proserpina Proserpina ( , ) or Proserpine ( ) is an ancient Roman goddess whose iconography, functions and myths are virtually identical to those of Greek Persephone. Proserpina replaced or was combined with the ancient Roman fertility goddess Libera, whos ...

the "queen of Erebus", and other authors use Erebus as a name for Hades.

Petronius Gaius Petronius Arbiter"Gaius Petronius Arbiter"
Satyricon The ''Satyricon'', ''Satyricon'' ''liber'' (''The Book of Satyrlike Adventures''), or ''Satyrica'', is a Latin work of fiction believed to have been written by Gaius Petronius, though the manuscript tradition identifies the author as Titus Petro ...

'
254 (pp. 354, 355)

Silius Italicus Tiberius Catius Asconius Silius Italicus (, c. 26 – c. 101 AD) was a Roman senator, orator and Epic poetry, epic poet of the Silver Age of Latin literature. His only surviving work is the 17-book ''Punica (poem), Punica'', an epic poem about th ...

, ''

Punica ''Punica'' is a small genus of fruit-bearing deciduous shrubs or small trees in the flowering plant family Lythraceae. The better known species is the pomegranate (''Punica granatum''). The other species, the Socotra pomegranate (''Punica pro ...

'
1.92 (pp. 10, 11)
see also

Claudian Claudius Claudianus, known in English as Claudian (; c. 370 – c. 404 AD), was a Latin poet associated with the court of the Roman emperor Honorius at Mediolanum (Milan), and particularly with the general Stilicho. His work, written almost ent ...

, ''Rape of Proserpina'
32 (pp. 294, 295)

Seneca Seneca may refer to: People and language * Seneca (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname * Seneca people, one of the six Iroquois tribes of North America ** Seneca language, the language of the Seneca people Places Extrat ...

, '' Hercules on Oeta'
1369 (pp. 454, 455)

Notes

References

* Almqvist, Olaf, ''Chaos, Cosmos and Creation in Early Greek Theogonies: An Ontological Exploration'', London, Bloomsbury Academic, 2022. . *

, ''

Birds Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

'' in ''Birds. Lysistrata. Women at the Thesmophoria'', edited and translated by Jeffrey Henderson,

Loeb Classical Library The Loeb Classical Library (LCL; named after James Loeb; , ) is a series of books originally published by Heinemann in London, but is currently published by Harvard University Press. The library contains important works of ancient Greek and L ...

No. 179, Cambridge, Massachusetts,

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retirem ...

, 2000.
Online version at Harvard University Press
* Athanassakis, Apostolos N., and Benjamin M. Wolkow, ''The Orphic Hymns'', Johns Hopkins University Press, 2013.
Internet ArchiveGoogle Books
* Beekes, Robert S. P., ''Etymological Dictionary of Greek'', 2 vols, Leiden,

Brill Brill may refer to: Places * Brielle (sometimes "Den Briel"), a town in the western Netherlands * Brill, Buckinghamshire, a village in England * Brill, Cornwall, a small village to the west of Constantine, Cornwall, UK * Brill, Wisconsin, an un ...

, 2009. . * Bernabé, Alberto, ''Poetae epici Graeci: Testimonia et fragmenta, Pars II: Orphicorum et Orphicis similium testimonia, Fasc 1'',

Bibliotheca Teubneriana The Bibliotheca Teubneriana, or ''Bibliotheca Scriptorum Graecorum et Romanorum Teubneriana'', also known as Teubner editions of Greek and Latin texts, comprise one of the most thorough modern collection published of ancient (and some medieval) ...

, Munich and Leipzig, K. G. Saur Verlag, 2004.
Online version at De Gruyter
* Brisson, Luc, ''Orphée et l'Orphisme dans l'Antiquité gréco-romaine'', Aldershot, Variorum, 1995. . * Cicero, Marcus Tullius, ''

De Natura Deorum ''De Natura Deorum'' (''On the Nature of the Gods'') is a philosophical dialogue by Roman Academic Skeptic philosopher Cicero written in 45 BC. It is laid out in three books that discuss the theological views of the Hellenistic philosophies of ...

'' in ''Cicero: On the Nature of the Gods. Academics'', translated by H. Rackham,

No. 268, Cambridge, Massachusetts,

, first published 1933, revised 1951.
Online version at Harvard University PressInternet Archive
* Chrysanthou, Anthi, ''Defining Orphism: The Beliefs, the Teletae and the Writings'',

De Gruyter Walter de Gruyter GmbH, known as De Gruyter (), is a German scholarly publishing house specializing in academic literature. History The roots of the company go back to 1749 when Frederick the Great granted the Königliche Realschule in Be ...

, 2020.
Online version at De Gruyter
*

, ''Rape of Proserpina'' in ''On Stilicho's Consulship 2-3. Panegyric on the Sixth Consulship of Honorius. The Gothic War. Shorter Poems. Rape of Proserpina'', translated by M. Platnauer,

No. 136, Cambridge, Massachusetts,

, 1922.
Online version at Harvard University Press
* Coulter, Charles Russell, and Patricia Turner, ''Encyclopedia of Ancient Deities'', Routledge, 2012. . *

, ''

'' in ''Helen, Phoenician Women, Orestes'', edited and translated by David Kovacs,

No. 11, Cambridge, Massachusetts,

, 2002.
Online version at Harvard University Press
* Fowler, R. L. (2000), ''Early Greek Mythography: Volume 1: Text and Introduction'', Oxford University Press, 2000.
Google Books
* Fowler, R. L. (2013), ''Early Greek Mythography: Volume 2: Commentary'', Oxford University Press, 2013. . * Gantz, Timothy, ''Early Greek Myth: A Guide to Literary and Artistic Sources'', Johns Hopkins University Press, 1996, Two volumes: (Vol. 1), (Vol. 2). * Hard, Robin, ''The Routledge Handbook of Greek Mythology: Based on H.J. Rose's "Handbook of Greek Mythology"'', Psychology Press, 2004,
Google Books
*

, ''

'', in ''The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White'', Cambridge, Massachusetts,

; London, William Heinemann Ltd., 1914
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
*

, ''The Iliad with an English Translation by A. T. Murray, Ph.D. in two volumes'', Cambridge, Massachusetts,

; London, William Heinemann, Ltd., 1924
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
*

, ''The Odyssey with an English Translation by A. T. Murray, Ph.D. in two volumes'', Cambridge, Massachusetts,

; London, William Heinemann, Ltd., 1919
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
* ''

'' 2 ''to Demeter'', in ''The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White'', Cambridge, Massachusetts,

; London, William Heinemann Ltd., 1914
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
* Hyginus, Gaius Julius, ''

'' in ''Apollodorus' ''Library'' and Hyginus' ''Fabulae'': Two Handbooks of Greek Mythology, Translated, with Introductions by R. Scott Smith and Stephen M. Trzaskoma'', Hackett Publishing Company, 2007. . * Kern, Otto, ''Orphicorum Fragmenta'', Berlin, 1922
Internet Archive
* Liddell, Henry George, Robert Scott, ''

A Greek-English Lexicon A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

'', revised and augmented throughout by Sir Henry Stuart Jones with the assistance of Roderick McKenzie,

Clarendon Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

Oxford, 1940
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
* Luján, Eugenio R., "The Cosmic Egg (OF 64, 79, 114)", in ''Tracing Orpheus: Studies of Orphic Fragments'', pp. 85–92, edited by Miguel Herrero de Jáuregui et al.,

, 2011.
Online version at De GruyterGoogle Books
* Marshall, Peter K., ''Hyginus : Fabulae'',

, Munich and Leipzig, K. G. Saur Verlag, 2002.
Online version at De Gruyter
* Meisner, Dwayne A., ''Orphic Tradition and the Birth of the Gods'',

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 2018.
Online version at Oxford University PressGoogle Books
* Montanari, Franco, ''The Brill Dictionary of Ancient Greek'', edited by Madeleine Goh and Chad Schroeder, Leiden,

, 2015.
Online version at Brill
* Morford, Mark P. O., Robert J. Lenardon, ''Classical Mythology'', Eighth Edition, Oxford University Press, 2007. . *

, ''

Metamorphoses The ''Metamorphoses'' ( la, Metamorphōsēs, from grc, μεταμορφώσεις: "Transformations") is a Latin narrative poem from 8 CE by the Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the wo ...

, Volume I: Books 1-8'', translated by Frank Justus Miller, revised by G. P. Goold,

No. 42, Cambridge, Massachusetts,

, 1977, first published 1916.
Online version at Harvard University Press
*

'' in ''Petronius, Seneca. Satyricon. Apocolocyntosis'', edited and translated by Gareth Schmeling,

No. 15, Cambridge, Massachusetts,

, 2020.
Online version at Harvard University Press
*

, '' Hercules on Oeta'' in Tragedies, Volume II: Oedipus. Agamemnon. Thyestes. Hercules on Oeta. Octavia'', edited and translated by John G. Fitch,

No. 78, Cambridge, Massachusetts,

, 2018.
Online version at Harvard University Press
*

, '' Octavia'' in ''Tragedies, Volume II: Oedipus. Agamemnon. Thyestes. Hercules on Oeta. Octavia'', edited and translated by John G. Fitch,

No. 78, Cambridge, Massachusetts,

, 2018.
Online version at Harvard University Press
*

, ''

, Volume I: Books 1-8'', translated J. D. Duff,

No. 277, Cambridge, Massachusetts,

, 1934.
Online version at Harvard University Press
* Smith, William, ''

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' (1849, originally published 1844 under a slightly different title) is an encyclopedia/biographical dictionary. Edited by William Smith, the dictionary spans three volumes and 3,700 p ...

'', London (1873)
Online version at the Perseus Digital Library
* Tripp, Edward, ''Crowell's Handbook of Classical Mythology'', Thomas Y. Crowell Co; First edition (June 1970).
Internet Archive
* West, M. L. (1966), ''Hesiod: Theogony'', Oxford University Press, 1966. . * West, M. L. (1983), ''The Orphic Poems'',

Oxford, 1983. . {{Authority control Darkness Greek primordial deities Locations in the Greek underworld Personifications in Greek mythology Personifications in Roman mythology Underworld gods