Aether is the primordial god of light and the bright blue ether of the heavens. His fog and mists fill the space between the solid dome of the sky, ouranos, and the transparent wisps of earth-bound air, khaos (Khaos) and aer.
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Tales of Aether vary over time and region. Aether (Aither, Ether) is the god of light in Greek mythology. His parents are Erebus (Darkness) and Nyx (Night). Aether is one of the primordial deities of Greece. He's the personification of ambrosial air breathed by the Gods.
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Aether is considered one of the elementary substances from which the Universe is made. In the Orphic hymns Aether appears as the soul of the world, from which all life emanates. This idea is adopted by some early Greek philosophers.
According to Epiphanius of Salamis (310 - 403 AD), the world begins as a great cosmic egg, encircled by Time (Chronos) and Inevitability (Ananke, powerful primordial goddess of necessity, compulsion and fate) both in Serpent form.
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Together they constrict the egg, squeezing with great force, until the world divides into two hemispheres. The finer, lighter atoms float above and become Bright Air (Aether and/or Ouranos) and the Rarefied Wind.
Khaos (Chaos) is the feminine principle known as the first primordial diety (protogenos) to emerge at the dawn of creation. In countless cosmologies the world is born of Chaos. From Khaos of the Greeks emerge Gaia (Earth), Tartaros (the Pit Below) and Eros (Procreation).
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Erebus and Nyx are children of Khaos. They in turn give birth to Aether and his sister wife Hemera, the personification of day.
In ancient Greek myth the day and night are seen as separate from the sun. Aether is one of the three "airs".
The lower air is erebos, mists of darkness, which occupy the shadow places underneath the earth and in the realm of the dead. The middle air is aer or khaos (Khaos), a colorless mist surrounding the mortal world. The essence of Khaos also appears in the darkness.
The third is the upper aither, mist of light heavenly air. The aither encompasses mountain peaks, clouds, stars, sun and moon. Heavier, dirtier atoms of creation sink and became the Earth (Gaia) and the Ocean (Pontos and/or Oceanus).
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Aether's female counterpart is Aithre (Aethra). A Titaness, she personifies the clear blue sky. Her children are the sun and moon.
In the evening Aether's mother Nyx draws her veils across the sky, obscuring the ether and bringing the shadows of night. In the morning his sister wife Hemera disperses the fogs of darkness, revealing the clear brilliance of daylight.
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The children of Aether and Hemera are Land, Heaven and Sea. From Aether's connection with the Earth arise all vices. They destroy the human race, as well as the Giants and Titans.
Another origin comes from Athenian scholar Damascius (458 - 550 AD). Siblings Aether, Erebus and Chaos are children of Chronos (Father Time). According to that of Hyginus he was, together with Night, Day, and Erebus, begotten by Chaos and Caligo (Darkness).
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In later times Aether is regarded as the wide space of Heaven, the residence of the gods. Zeus becomes the Lord of the Aether, or Aether itself personified.
In ancient and medieval science or alchemy, aether is the fifth element or quintessence. It's the material filling the universe beyond the terrestrial sphere. The concept of aether is used theoretically to explain natural phenomena, such as propagation of light, and gravity.
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