![]() ![]() Iris as Ambassador in the Realm of Hypnos by Giulio Carpioni (1655–1660) Nor bearded ears in fields, nor sands upon the shore. Stuff’d with black plumes, and on an ebon-sted:īlack was the cov’ring too, where lay the God,Īnd slept supine, his limbs display’d abroad:Īnd mock their forms the leaves on trees not more, On creaking hinges turn’d, to break his sleep.īut in the gloomy court was rais’d a bed, No door there was th’ unguarded house to keep, Night from the plants their sleepy virtue drains,Īnd passing, sheds it on the silent plains: The palace moats, and o’er the pebbles creeps,Īnd with soft murmurs calls the coming sleeps.Īnd all cool simples that sweet rest bestow Nor setting, visits, nor the lightsome noon Later authors gave more picturesque accounts of Hypnos’ home, describing it as nestled in some remote corner of the world and blossoming with all kinds of soporific plants: But from an early period, Hypnos was also associated with the Aegean island of Lemnos. According to Hesiod, the god of sleep lived with his mother Nyx and his brother Thanatos in the dark depths of the Underworld. There were different accounts of where exactly Hypnos made his home. He was also occasionally imagined as the companion of Eros. In some later accounts, he was said to be a follower of Dionysus. The Oneiroi (“Dreams”), for example, were sometimes described as his subjects. In addition to his mother Nyx (“Night”) and his twin brother Thanatos (“Death”), Hypnos had a number of close associates among the gods. Moreover, as the bringer of dreams, Hypnos was sometimes viewed as a deceptive god. On the other hand, Hypnos was closely connected with death-Thanatos, death personified, was his twin brother, after all-and he could therefore be menacing. On the one hand, he was a gentle, kindly force-the embodiment of sweet sleep and a liberator from care and anxiety. He could also bring sleep to gods or mortals by covering them with a veil, or even with his mere presence. The god would typically approach people from the air and could induce sleep using any number of attributes: his wings, a twig, a wand dipped in the waters of the River Lethe, or a horn filled with sleep-inducing drugs. According to the poet Hesiod, he “roam peacefully over the earth and the sea’s broad back and kindly to men.” Gentle Hypnos was typically described as handsome, youthful, and winged (his wings, at least in some accounts, were said to grow out of his temples). He was thus regarded as an extremely powerful deity. He was responsible for bringing sleep to all living things, both mortal and immortal. Hypnos was the god or daemon who personified sleep. ![]() In Roman culture, Hypnos was called Somnus or Sopor (Latin words for “sleep”). Hýpnos) is the Greek word for “sleep.” It is ultimately derived from the Proto-Indo-European * sup- no-, also meaning “sleep.” If you use any of the content on this page in your own work, please use the code below to cite this page as the source of the content.The name “Hypnos” (Greek ῞Υπνος, translit. Thanatos was not the same god as Hades though Hades ruled the underworld, Thanatos was the god who brought peaceful deaths to the underworld. Their spirits were made to deliver humans from sorrow and pain through gentle touch. Thanatos and Hypnos often appear together in both mythology and classic Greek literature. Some other myths contend that Thanatos was a son resulting from the union between Nyx and Erebos. Rather than being the offspring of gods, he was a broken-off piece of Nyx’s essence or spirit. Most literature states that Thanatos was the son of the night goddess Nyx, and that he had no father. Roman sculptures depict Thanatos as a young person with an upside-down torch in his hand and a butterfly or wreath symbolizing the soul of a dead person. In Roman mythology, Thanatos was named Mors or Letum. In the Iliad, there’s a scene where he often appears with Hypnos to carry away Sarpedon’s body. In some rare cases, he was depicted as a young person without any beard. When Thanatos was depicted on vases, he was shown to be a bearded and winged old man. In another myth, Sisyphus was a criminal who trapped Thanatos in a sack so that he wouldn’t die. However, Heracles drove him off through combat. There’s a myth wherein he was sent to bring Alkestis back to the underworld. Thanatos has a dominant role in two Greek myths. Thanatos and Hypnos are twins this is where the saying, “Death, and his brother, sleep,” comes from. The touch of Thanatos was gentle, often compared to the touch of Hypnos, who was the god of sleep. In some myths, he’s considered to be a personified spirit of death rather than a god. His name literally translates to “death” in Greek. Thanatos was the Greek god of nonviolent deaths. ![]()
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