Aither

“Brightness”

Later spelled *aether* and *ether*, it is the high atmosphere above the clouds where the gods
were thought to dwell.

Ganymede adopts this term
from Apelyon, who himself makes
use of “aithereal” describing the invisible-but-physical substance of the Undying. From this revelation Ganymede extrapolates
back-ward, understanding the “unfelt breeze” that over-turned lamps in the Palladion shrine was also *aither*,
as were the imploding star he saw in Horse
House, the dancing of the hearth dwarf in Garden House, and the anxious shimmering of Skamandros. He later describes Athenë and *Arë* in *aithereal* terms, and comes to perceive every
appearance of a god as little more than a willful manipulation of insubstantial
*aither*.

In *Theidai*, duringhis first
moments among the Undying, Ganymede describes the place in which he awakens as
nothing more than golden radiance, equating it to the heart of a cloud
illuminated by sunlight. He also learns that Undying sometimes use the word as a
form of curse, as when Athenë and Diwos separately tell Hera to “return to *aither.*” Diwos refers to their lofty habitation
as an *aithereal* realm.

With
passing time, Ganymede’s understanding of *aither*
increases, such that he comes to perceive it as a natural region of the Earthly
biosphere in which mundane matter meets and mingles with solar and cosmic radiations,
giving rise to a perpetual energy pool that surrounds the planet. The first Undying
therefore emerged from *aither* to
interact with the living beings they perceived inhabiting the world below. Upon
returning to *aither*, these “spirit-gods”
became re-absorbed into the energy pool, losing their unique identities.

Over
time, individual gods learned they did not need to return to *aither* to renew their strength, provided
that they could feed on human adoration, prayer, and devotion. Elder gods did
this only periodically, remaining in a sleep-like state for much of the year,
only to awaken on proscribed festival occasions to feast upon orgiastic
worship. Kubileya and the Seven Rivers seem to have followed this pattern, with
the Rites of Ida being held each spring.

The
so-called younger gods, by contrast, learned they could avoid such periods of torpor
by harboring their strength, adopting many names and forms for adoration in different
places, and thereby maintain their potency year-round. The direct result of
this symbiosis between *aithereal* and material
was the creation of early religion.

Ganymede
finally surmises that modern science is very close to being able to detect and
ultimately manipulate *aither*; an
advancement that can only lead humanity into direct confrontation with the
Undying and destruction of long-held religious delusions.

**Myth & Legend:** Aether or Aither is the personification
of the “pure” upper air that gods breathe, as opposed to the mundane air (*aer*) that mortals know. In *Theogony*,
Aither is the son of Erebus and Nyx, and the brother of Hemera. Hyginus
however makes Aether the son of Chaos
and Caligo.

In Hesiod’s tradition, Aether and Day produced Earth, Heaven,
and Sea. The children of Aether and Earth were Grief, Deceit, Wrath,
Lamentation, Falsehood, Oath, Vengeance, Intemperance, Altercation,
Forgetfulness, Sloth, Fear, Pride, Incest, and Combat; Okeanos, Themis,
Tartaros, Pontos; the Titans Briareos,
Gyges, Steropes, Atlas,
Hyperion, and Polus, Saturn (Kronos), Ops (Rheia), Moneta, Dionë;
and the Furies, Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone.

The fifth Orphic Hymn
describes Aether as “the high-reigning, ever indestructible power of Zeus,” “the best element,” and “the
life-spark of all creatures.”