Aither

Aither (Aether) was the primordial god (protogenos) of light and the bright, blue ether of the heavens. His mists filled the space between the solid dome of the sky (ouranos) and the transparent mists of the earth-bound air (khaos, aer). In the evening his mother Nyx drew her dark veil across the sky, obscuring the ether and bringing night. In the morn, his sister and wife Hemera dispersed night's mist to reveal the shining blue ether of day. In the ancient cosmogonies night and day were regarded as elements separate from the sun.


Aither was one of the three "airs". The middle air was aer or khaos, a colourless mist which enveloped the mortal world. The lower air was erebos, the mists of darkness, which enveloped the dark places beneath the earth and the realm of the dead. The third was the upper air of aither, the mist of light and blue of the heavenly ether. The aither enveloped the mountain peaks, clouds, stars, sun and moon.