Five ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Erebus after Erebus, the dark region of Hades in Greek Mythology. The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the senior service of the British armed services being the oldest of its three branches. ... In Greek mythology, Erebus, or Érebos was a primordial god, the personification of darkness, offspring of Chaos alone. ... Hades, Greek god of the underworld, enthroned, with his bird-headed staff, on a red-figure vase made in the 4th century BC. Hades (From , Hadēs, or , Háidēs, Greek for unseen) refers to both the ancient Greek abode of the dead and the god of that underworld. ... // Greek mythology consists of a large collection of narratives that explain the origins of the world and detail the lives and adventures of a wide variety of gods, goddesses, heroes, and heroines. ...

• The first Erebus was a rocket vessel built in 1807, converted to an 18-gun sloop in 1808, to a fire ship in 1809, and to a 24-gun sixth-rate in 1810. She was sold in 1819.
• The second Erebus was a 14-gun bomb vessel launched at Pembroke in 1826. She and her sister ship Terror took part in James Clark Ross's expedition to Antarctica from 1839 to 1843. The two ships were converted to screw propulsion in 1844, and took part in John Franklin's expedition to the Arctic in 1845, where they became trapped in ice near King William Island and were abandoned in 1848.
• The third Erebus was an iron screw floating battery of 16 guns, launched in 1856 and sold in 1884.
• The fourth Erebus was originally the iron screw ship Invincible, renamed in 1904 and sold in 1906.
• The fifth Erebus (I02), launched in 1916, was the first monitor of the Erebus class. The ship participated in both World War I and World War II.

HMS Erebus was a Royal Navy rocket vessel built in 1807, converted to an 18-gun sloop in 1808, to a fire ship in 1809, and to a 24-gun sixth-rate in 1810. ... A ship firing Congreve rockets A rocket vessel was a ship equipped with rockets as a weapon. ... USS Constellation, a United States Navy sloop-of-war. ... This article is not about the fireboats that fight fire Defeat of the Spanish Armada, 1588-08-08 by Philippe-Jacques de Loutherbourg, painted 1796, depicts Drakes fire ship attack on the Spanish Armada. ... This is one of six ratings (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th) in the rating system of the Royal Navy. ... HMS Erebus was a Hecla-class bomb vessel constructed by the Royal Navy in Pembroke Dockyard, Wales in 1826. ... Pembroke is the name of a number of towns around the world: Pembroke, Ontario, Canada Pembroke, Malta Pembroke, Bermuda Pembroke, Pembrokeshire, in west Wales, United Kingdom Pembroke, Georgia, United States of America Pembroke, Kentucky, United States of America Pembroke, Maine, United States of America Pembroke, Massachusetts, United States of America... The oldest surviving photograph, Nicéphore Niépce, circa 1826 1826 (MDCCCXXVI) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... HMS Terror in the Arctic HMS Terror was a bomb vessel designed by Sir Henry Peake and constructed by the Royal Navy in the Davy shipyard in Topsham, Devon. ... Sir James Clark Ross (April 15, 1800 – April 3, 1862), was a British naval officer and explorer. ... For the American historian, see John Hope Franklin Sir John Franklin, FRGS (April 15, 1786 – June 11, 1847) was an English sea captain and Arctic explorer, whose expedition disappeared whilst gathering magnetic readings in the Artic. ... The red line indicates the 10°C isotherm in July, commonly used to define the Arctic region border The Arctic is the area around the Earths North Pole. ... King William Island, Nunavut NASA Landsat satellite image of King William Island King William Island is a Canadian Arctic island, in the Nunavut Territory. ... HMS Invincible was an Audacious class ironclad battleship of the Royal Navy. ... HMS Erebus (I02) was a World War I monitor launched on 1916-06-19. ... 1916 (MCMXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... USS Monitor became the prototype of a form of ship built by several navies for coastal defence in the 1860s and 1870s and known as a monitor. ... The Erebus class of monitors of the Royal Navy consisted of two ships: HMS Erebus and HMS Terror. ... Combatants Allies: Serbia, Russia, France, Romania, Belgium, British Empire, United States, Italy, and others Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Ottoman Empire Casualties Military dead: 5 million Civilian deaths: 3 million Total of dead: 8 million Military dead: 4 million Civilian deaths: 3 million Total dead: 7 million The First... Combatants Allies: Poland, British Commonwealth, France/Free France, Soviet Union, United States, China, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, and others Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military dead: 8 million Civilian dead: 4 million Total dead: 12 million World War II...

References

• J. J. Colledge, Ships of the Royal Navy, Greenhill Books, 1987.