Aether played a significant role in Orphic cosmogony.West 1983, pp. 70, 198–200; Meisner (throughout, see index); Athanassakis and Wolkow, pp. 5, 80 (citing Orphic frr. 78, 111 Bernabé); Orphic frr. 30 [= Chrysippus, apud Philodemus, De Pietate (On Piety) pp. 80–81 Gomperz], 54 [= Damascius, De principiis 123.31–80], 60 [= Damascius, De principiis 123.8–30], 65 [= John Malalas, Chronographia 4.9 p. 74 Dindorf], 66 [= Proclus, Commentary on Plato's Republic 2.138.8 Kroll], 70 [= Damascius, De principiis 55], 72 [= Proclus, Commentary on Plato's Republic 2.138.18 Kroll], 73 [= Lactantius, Divine Institutes I, 5, 4–6 p. 13, 13 Brandt.], 74 [= Proclus, Commentary on Plato's Timaeus 31 a (I 433, 31 Diehl)], 75 [= Etymologicum Magnum p. 787.29, 76 [= Hermias, Commentary on Plato's Phaedrus 246e], 79 [= Proclus, Commentary on Plato's Timaeus 30 c, d (I 427, 20 Diehl)], 168 Kern; Orphic test. 224 Kern [= Orphic Argonautica 7–46. There are a large number of ancient texts which have been called "Orphic", a few are extant, such as the Orphic Hymns, but most are not.West 1983, pp. 1–3; Meisner, pp. 4–5; Athanassakis and Wolkow, p. xi. Several important Orphic texts, which exist now only in fragments, have been called theogonies, since they contained material, similar to Hesiod's Theogony, which described the origin of the gods. At least three of these, the so called "Derveni Theogony", the "Hieronyman Theogony", and the "Rhapsodic Theogony" or Rhapsodies,West 1983, pp. 68–69; Meisner, p. 1; Athanassakis and Wolkow, pp. xi–xii. contained references to Aether the personification as well as aether the material element.
