Ancient Gods – When Darkness Ruled the World

Darkness is the opposite of brightness and it is characterized by the absence of visible light. The emotional response of humans to darkness has led to many culturally different metaphorical usages.

For example, in Christianity the first narrative of creation begins with darkness. Darkness is said to have existed before the world, then light was introduced. Ultimately, the separation of light from darkness followed. In Exodus 10:21, darkness appears as the “second to last plague” and, in Mathew 8:12, darkness is the location of “weeping and gnashing of teeth”.

In the Qur’an (Nab 78.25), the individuals who transgress the boundaries of what is right are doomed to “burning despair and ice-cold darkness”. These perceptions of darkness largely associate it with evil. However, this was not always so. In the past, darkness was seen as something that existed since the beginning of time, and there are many deities associated with darkness as well as with the night.

Greek Mythology

The best example is probably Erebus from Greek mythology. His name comes from the Greek “Erebos” meaning “deep darkness” or “shadow”. Erebus was a primordial deity seen as the personification or embodiment of darkness. He is one of the first five beings in existence born from Chaos.

Along with his sister Nyx, Erebus fathered other deities such as Hypnos (Sleep) and Thanatos (Death). Aether, Hemera, the Hesperides, the Moirai, Geras, Styx, and Charon are other children that resulted from the same union. It is interesting to note here the fact that Nyx was the goddess of the night. She was very beautiful and powerful and it is said that even Zeus himself, the chief of all the gods, feared her. In his “Theogony”, Hesiod writes:

“From Chaos came forth Erebus and black Night; but of Night were born Aether and Day, whom she conceived and bore from union in love with Erebus”.