Erebus

Erebus is a figure in Greek mythology associated with darkness. He is a primordial deity who personifies the deep shadow that fills the cosmos. In some traditions he arises from Chaos or is a child of Nyx (Night); in other accounts Erebus and Nyx are siblings who together produce Night and Day or the light-bearing beings Aether and Hemera. The various genealogies reflect ancient attempts to describe how darkness and its opposite emerged and interacted within the early world.

Mount Erebus is a volcano on Ross Island in Antarctica. It stands at about 3,794 meters (12,448 feet) and is one of the continent’s most active volcanoes, featuring a persistent lava lake in its inner crater. It was first observed by European explorers during James Clark Ross’s 1841 expedition and was named after the mythological Erebus due to its dark, volcanic nature. The mountain is a prominent landmark in Antarctic geology and exploration history.

HMS Erebus was a Royal Navy exploration ship used in the 19th century. Alongside HMS Terror, it conducted significant Antarctic surveys under James Clark Ross during the 1839–1843 expedition. The two ships later participated in the ill-fated 1845 Franklin Expedition to locate the Northwest Passage; they disappeared with the crews. The wrecks of Erebus and Terror were later located, Erebus in 2014 and Terror in 2016, providing important archaeological insights into polar exploration.

The name Erebus remains associated with darkness, mystery, and exploration, and has been applied to other geographic features and vessels as a symbolic reference to these ideas.