Skip to content
Aether, a MythSource painting
Greek

Aether

Primordial God of Light · Lord of the Upper Air · Mighty King

01Identity

Aether in Greek tradition

As the primordial deity of heavenly light, Aether embodies the bright upper air and the celestial heavens above the earthly air. Nyx and Erebus united and produced Aether and Hemera, or day, bringing brightness and daylight into the world. His birth marked a division between the illuminated upper air and Erebus, the primordial being associated with darkness and underworld gloom.

Top questions

The quick answers

  • Who is Aether?

    Aether is a Greek deity associated with the upper air, heavenly light, the bright celestial atmosphere, the heavens above the earthly air.
    Source

    Source

    • Greek Myths & Tales
    • Greek Mythology
    • Greek religion
    • Dictionary of Mythology

  • What is Aether the god of?

    the upper air, heavenly light, the bright celestial atmosphere, the heavens above the earthly air
    Source

    Source

    • Greek Myths & Tales
    • Greek Mythology
    • Greek religion

  • What family links are recorded for Aether?

    Father: Erebos, Mother: Nyx, Spouse: Dies, 12 children, 1 sibling.
02Family

Aether’s family, at a glance

Parents above, children below, and the figure’s consorts named in between, the same family data as the fact box, laid out as a chart instead of a field list.

ErebosNyx
AetherHemera

with Dies, Hemera

AergiaAltercatioAuraCaelusDioneDolorDolosEros
GaiaTerraThalassaUranus
03The names

The names Aether answers to

Aither

Greek form of the name

SourceGreek religion

Aether

Latinized form of the name

SourceGreek Myths & Tales

Ether

English variant referring to the celestial upper air

SourceDictionary of Mythology

04The myths

The myths of Aether

1 myth, each traced to its primary text and corpus sources.

The Birth of Aether

Nyx, Night, joined with Erebus, Darkness, and bore Aether, the bright upper air, and Hemera, the day. Their birth brought light and daylight from the powers of darkness. The poets used this genealogy to express the coming of light after night.

Before their union, all things lay in a confused mass. Land, sea, and air were mixed together. The earth was not solid, the sea was not fluid, and the air was not transparent. Chaos reigned over this shapeless state. Nyx, the dark goddess of Night, shared his throne. Erebus was associated with the darkness that has no sunlight, distinct from Nyx, who contains the possibility of day.

In one account, Chaos and Nyx called Erebus, their son, to help them. Erebus overthrew Chaos and took Nyx as his consort. Their union produced Aether and Hemera. Nyx was also described as living in a palace in the dark regions of the lower world. She appeared as a woman in dark robes and a long veil, travelling in a chariot drawn by black horses, with the stars following her. The birth of Aether and Hemera marked the separation of upper brightness and daylight from the darkness of Nyx and Erebus.

The Birth of Aether, a MythSource painting of the scene

In the modern world

No modern rework confirmed yet.

2 sources· checked 2026-08-18

  1. 1Greek Myths & TalesT1
  2. 2Hesiod, TheogonyT1

    Quote

    “Chaos first gave rise to Erebus and Night, and Night, joined with Erebus, bore Aether and Day.”

    Hesiod, Theogony

Also appears in

The myths across MythSource where Aether features, each on that figure’s page.

The film

The Underdrawing video on Aether embeds here once it publishes.

Continue the road

More of Aether’s family, sourced

GaiaChild