Erebus and Nyx — the firstborn of Chaos, standing as its direct emanations — concrete manifestations of that very void, passive forces of darkness and stillness:
- Erebus (Darkness): the tangible obscurity of subterranean depths, the misty chasm yawning between Earth and the Realm of the Dead. It is the manifestation of the void across space.
- Nyx (Night): personified cosmic Darkness enfolding the world. It is the manifestation of the void across time.
While Erebus lies passively concealed in the deep recesses of the world, Nyx is an active, formidable creative power. In Homer's Iliad, even the supreme sovereign Zeus dares not provoke Nyx to anger: when the sleep god Hypnos seeks sanctuary with his mother to evade the wrath of the Thunderer, Zeus halts his retribution, fearful of defying the will of Sacred Night.
They are not merely darkness and night in the mundane sense — they are the absolute, cosmic archetypes of these concepts: the primeval gloom antecedent to light, the primordial night antecedent to day.
Nyx was envisioned as a woman clad in dark, star-spangled robes, frequently bearing black wings as she soared across the heavens; Erebus, as a dense, clinging fog suffusing the subterranean realm.
Union and Offspring
The union of Erebus and Nyx yields a wondrous cosmogonic paradox: out of absolute primordial Darkness are born the luminous deities of the upper realm:
From the union of Nyx and Erebus arose that which promised transformation to such a dark existence — their opposites — Aether and Hemera, the luminous upper Air and bright Day.
In the Theogony of Hesiod, Nyx and her daughter Hemera (Day) share a single subterranean dwelling behind a bronze threshold, yet never abide within together at the same time. Each day, one departs across the sky while the other returns to the house, brushing past one another only for a fleeting instant at the very threshold. This constitutes the first cosmic rhythm marking the passage of time.
The Retinue of Nyx: Daimons of Human Existence
Nyx also brings forth autonomously a vast multitude of entities (daimons) — predominantly grim, underscoring her stature as the wellspring of all future tribulations and constraints of mortal existence:
- The brothers Thanatos and Hypnos (Death and Sleep)
- The Moirai: the three goddesses of fate, spinning and severing the thread of human life
- Nemesis: the goddess of retributive vengeance against breaches of measure and overweening pride (hubris)
- Eris: the goddess of discord and rivalry
- Geras (Old Age)
- Moros (Doom, impending fate)
- Apate (Deceit)
- Charon (Ferryman of souls)
- The Oneiroi (Dreams, encompassing both prophetic visions and deceptive illusions)
- Momus (Mockery, censure, and bitter blame)
Alternative Traditions and Interpretations
Orphism
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Alcman and Simonides (Lyric Poets)
Nyx is the mother of Eros, rendering him not primeval, but born.
The Roman Tradition (Hyginus)
In Latin cosmogony, Nyx (Nox) and Erebus occupy an even more prominent station. They arise from primeval gloom — Caligo, who also begets Chaos. From the union of Nox and Erebus spring not only radiant Aether and Day (Dies), but also Amor (Eros).
Cult and Veneration
As primeval cosmogonic forces, Erebus and Nyx were seldom the recipients of regular religious worship. The ancient Greeks regarded them as overarching cosmic principles rather than anthropomorphic deities receptive to supplication. Nyx, however, constitutes a partial exception:
- The Oracle at Megara: Pausanias, in his Description of Greece, notes that an oracle and sanctuary dedicated to Night stood upon the acropolis of Megara.
- Chthonic Sacrifices: offerings were presented to Nyx under cover of darkness. Traditional oblations consisted of black-hued victims (most frequently black ewes or black roosters).