Some versions of the myth say that he was the fatherless son of Nyx. There are a couple of different accounts involving the birth of Hypnos. She was a dreadful and powerful goddess, drawing the ire of Zeus himself. Nyx was one of the key primordial goddesses, representing the night. The Origins of HypnosĪccording to the poem Theogony by Hesiod, the god Hypnos was just one of many children born from Nyx. Hypnos represented sleep, serving as a calm and gentle god that mortals throughout Greece owed half their lives. He belongs to a group of gods that personified concepts of human existence. Hypnos was born from some of the first beings to come into existence. The children of the primordial gods bridged the gap, playing a part in memorable myths while extending the genealogies outlined in the Theogony. Instead, they were the personification of abstract concepts. Unlike more familiar gods like the Twelve Olympians, older deities had fewer human-like features and characteristics. Occasionally, other children were named by these other sources where there were no contradictions including the goddess Eleos, personification of compassion, Sophrosyne, moderation, Epiphron, prudence, and Hybris, insolence although, aside from Hybris, these deities were not in keeping with the dark nature of most children of Nyx.In Greek Mythology, the first gods and goddesses represented fundamental forces and the foundations of the physical world. Similar contradictions occur with the naming of Hecate, goddess of magic, (Perses and Asteria), the Erinyes, The Furies (Gaia from blood of Ouranos), Deimos, fear, (Aphrodite and Ares), Ponos, hard labour, (Eris), Styx, (Oceanus and Tethys), Eros, love or procreation (Aphrodite or Chaos), Dolos, trickery (Aether and Gaia), and Eurphrosyne, one of the Charites, (Zeus and Euronyme), as children of Nyx. Similarly, in the Orphic tradition, the Astra Planeta, the gods of the Wandering Stars, were also children of Nyx, but again more commonly these gods were the children of Astraeus, the Titan god of the Stars, and Eos (Dawn). In the Orphic tradition, Ouranos, the Greek god of the Sky was named a child of Nyx, although more commonly Ouranos was considered to be a child of Gaia (Earth). Hesiod was of course not the only writer in antiquity to tell of the genealogy of the gods, and whilst many tell of the same children of Nyx as Hesiod, some also had names, whilst others also name other children which Hesiod told were offspring of other deities. Normally portrayed as a decrepit old man, Geras showed the dichotomy of the virtue of achieving an old age and the pain and infirmity that ultimately came with it. Geras – In Greek mythology, another son of Nyx was Geras, the personification of old age. Thanatos appeared regularly in Greek mythology for he was dispatched to take Sisyphus to the Underworld, before he was tricked by the king, and also Heracles would wrestle Thanatos to prevent Death from taking Alcestis away. Thanatos though was specifically the Greek god of non-violent death, for violent death was more the dominion of the Keres. Thanatos - Hypnos had a twin brother in the form of Thanatos, the Greek god of Death. Hypnos’ name of course lives on today in English words such as Hypnosis, but in Greek mythology Hypnos was considered to be a companion of his mother, bring rest each night to mortals, and as such resided in a cave in Tartarus near to Nyx.Īmongst the most famous tales of Hypnos are those when he is put to use by Hera, as Hera attempts to put her husband Zeus into deep sleeps. Hypnos – Amongst the most famous of all children of Nyx was Hypnos, the Greek god of Sleep.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |