Hypnos: God Of Sleep Who Owns Much Of Our Lives In Greek Mythology
A. Sutherland - AncientPages.com - In "Theogony," a Greek poet Hesiod who likely lived around 700 BC, tells about Hypnos, the god of sleep, and his twin brother, Thanatos, the god of death, who the Greeks occasionally saw as a harbinger of a peaceful death. Their parents were Nyx, the goddess of the night, and Erebus, the god of darkness.
Hypnos and Thanatos carrying the body of Sarpedon from the battlefield of Troy; detail from an Attic white-ground lekythos, ca. 440 BC. source
The two divine brothers work in good cooperation, and together, they successfully help humans avoid unnecessary suffering and die peacefully during sleep. Hypnos masters people's dreams and owns half of their lives, watching over men's dreams and above all over the gods' dreaming.
Homeric sleep – pleasant but sometimes dangerous
In the "Iliad," Homeric sleep is a good, sweet, and pleasant thing. It brings rest to the exhausted body and brain and helps to forget sorrows.
But sometimes, sleep can also be dangerous when it occurs at the wrong time and place, especially when action is urgently needed. Patroclus, the friend of Achilles, puts on his armor and commands the Myrmidons in a battle against the Trojans. Sadly, he is slain by Hector, one of King Priam's sons. Then, the ghost of Patroclus reproaches Achilles for forgetting his duties towards his dead friend.
In "The Iliad," Homer (c. 800 -c. 701 BC) wrote that to prevent Zeus from joining the Trojan War, Hypnos put Zeus to sleep. Strongly influenced by the goddess Hera's power of persuasion, he did what she wanted. Hera and Thanatos could then bring the body of Sarpedon back to his native Lydia. Sarpedon was a Lycian prince and a hero in the Trojan War, killed before Troy's gates in the battle against the Greeks.
Hypnos successfully outmaneuvered Zeus, and it certainly was a desirable deed, but soon, the father of the gods woke up and knew that he was fooled. He could not even punish Hypnos because "the guilty" already arranged his escape to avoid Zeus' anger and hid in his mother's underworld cave.
Hypnos was usually depicted as a young winged man or boy holding poppy flowers in his hand (or in his hair) and an opium horn.
Among other elements related to Hypnos and his work is an opium horn, which allows him to induce sleep in people.
Hypnos was the God of sleep in Greek mythology. Credit: Adobe Stock - matiasdelcarmine
Tradition has it that he lives in a big cave palace in the underworld. Around his home entrance, grow beautiful poppies and other sleep-inducing plants. Around the cave flows the river Lethe ("Forgetfulness"), one of Hades' underworld's five rivers. Homer's version, the master of people's and gods' dreams, lives on Lemnos, his private dream-island.
He never sets his eyes on the sun, and the night is his kingdom.
The Greeks believed that the consequence of the Hypnos' appearance was the spreading of sleep-weariness, after which came the time of peaceful sleep. Everybody respected Hypnos, and none of the deities (much less human beings) could resist his great power.
Selene, Endymion and Hypnos
An important role plays Hypnos in the tale of Selene and Endymion.
In myth, Endymion is a shepherd who admires the night sky and the moon goddess Selene. Selene falls in love with a handsome boy and often watches over him while he sleeps.
Endymion wanted her love to stay that way forever, but there were problems because Zeus did not want to make Endymion immortal, so Hypnos gave him the power to sleep with his eyes open. From now on, Endymion could constantly watch Selene moving across the night sky.
There was also another reason why Hypnos agreed to give him eternal sleep. The god himself could forever look into Endymion's beautiful eyes and handsome face, and so could Selene.
Legend says that Hypnos travels far and wide across the land and sea with fantastic speed and touches the person's forehead in question with a branch or drops on the eyes, the liquid he carries in his horn of opium.
Three sons of Hypnos
It is believed that he had many sons (the Oneroi), but only three of them are considered as gods of dreams: the first is Morpheus, the assistant of his father Hypnos), delivers dreams to all, but with extreme caution applying the dreams of kings and heroes.
Phobetor appears in dreams "in the form of beast or bird or the long serpent" and delivers terrible dreams, can be a source of phobia), and Phantasos is responsible for surreal dreams or fantasy.
All of them still influence our dreams that can be frightening or pleasant, or good and bad. Humans dream, and so do animals because Hypnos and his sons own much of our lives and are with us forever.
Written by – A. Sutherland - AncientPages.com Senior Staff Writer
Copyright © AncientPages.com All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or part without the express written permission of AncientPages.com
Expand for referencesReferences:
STAFFORD, EMMA J. "ASPECTS OF SLEEP IN HELLENISTIC SCULPTURE" Bulletin of the Institute of Classical Studies, no. 38 (1991): 105-20.
Cotterell, Arthur. A Dictionary of World
More From Ancient Pages
-
Mahabharata Is Much Older Than Previously Thought – Archaeological Discovery Reveals
Archaeology | Oct 22, 2019
-
Legend Of Nebraska’s Salt Witch And Her Deadly Encounter With A Native American Chief
Featured Stories | Sep 11, 2019
-
On This Day In History: First Battle Of Reading Took Place – On Jan 4, 871 AD
News | Jan 4, 2017
-
Man Finds A Viking Sword In His Garden – A Viking Grave Could Also Be Nearby – Scientists Say
Archaeology | Sep 2, 2022
-
Ceibal Is The Oldest Known Ceremonial Site Of The Maya Civilization
Ancient History Facts | Oct 1, 2016
-
Ancient Dragon Stone That Inspired Legends Discovered In Turkey
Archaeology | Dec 12, 2018
-
Ancient Tomb Of Exceptional Priest Kaires – The Sole Friend And Keeper Of The Secret Of The Morning House Discovered In Egypt
Archaeology | Oct 9, 2018
-
2,000-Year-Old Roman Road Discovered In Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Archaeology | Jan 23, 2023
-
Ancient Greek Seven-Room Building And Treasures Found Underwater Off The Coast Of Salamis
Archaeology | Nov 1, 2023
-
Binary System Was Used By Ancient Polynesians 1,000 Years Before The Concept Of A Computer Was Introduced
Ancient Technology | Feb 3, 2015
-
Soap Was Invented In 2800 B.C By Babylonians
Ancient History Facts | Jun 17, 2016
-
The Wild Hunt – Danger Of Seeing The Phantom Army Of Odin
Featured Stories | Nov 7, 2021
-
Evidence Of Millennia-Old Textile Manufacture And Rare Ancient Eagle-Bone Pin Discovered In Oxfordshire
Archaeology | Jun 13, 2023
-
Fenja And Menja: Two Giant Sisters, Magical Grotte Mill And Why The Sea Is Salt
Featured Stories | Feb 15, 2020
-
Ancestral Puebloans Survived Devastating Climate Change Hiding In New Mexico Lava Tubes
Archaeology | Nov 20, 2020
-
CT Scanning And 3D-Modelling Used To ‘Unfold’ Ancient Silver Plate Found In Jerash
Archaeology | Dec 26, 2015
-
Can Aikman Mounds In Arkansas Explain The Hopewell Culture’s Mysterious Disappearance?
Featured Stories | Apr 30, 2019
-
At Least 20 Ancient Colored Wooden Coffins Discovered In Asasif Necropolis, Luxor
Archaeology | Oct 15, 2019
-
Only One In Four Western Roman Emperors Died Of Natural Causes
Archaeology | Oct 15, 2021
-
Accidental Discovery Of Large Trove Of 14th Century Gold And Silver Coins In West Bohemia
Archaeology | Aug 13, 2020