Erebus
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In Greek mythology Erebus or Érebos (Έρεβος) was a primordial god, the personification of darkness. He was the offspring of Chaos alone. He was brother of Nyx and father of Aether by himself. With Nyx, he fathered Thanatos, Hypnos, Hemera, Moros, Charon, and the Keres.
According to some later legends, Erebus was part of Hades, the underworld. It was where the dead had to pass immediately after dying. After Charon ferried them across the river Acheron, they entered Tartarus, the underworld proper. Erebus was often used as a synonym for Hades, the Greek god of the underworld. Also, Erebus was the name of the gloomy space through which souls passed on their way to Hades.
The word is probably from Proto-Indo-European language, *h1regwos, cognate to Old Norse rœkkr, Gothic riqis "darkness", Sanskrit rajani "night", Tocharian orkäm "darkness". Another suggestion is a loan from Semitic, c.f. Hebrew erebh and Akkadian erebu "sunset, evening" (hence, "darkness"). The same etymology of "sunset" has been suggested for Europe.
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