Hypnos and Morpheus – Mythical Gods of Sleep and Dreams

 

 

Hypnos and Morpheus were a father and son team; Hypnos, god of sleep, sent people off to dreamland where his son, Morpheus, god of dreams, awaited ready to “Morph” himself into their dreams.

(In many versions of this sleepy myth Hypnos is commonly confused with his son Morpheus).

The ancient Greeks regarded dreams not only as a portal to another unknown world but as visions of events about to happen in the here and now or as messages from their dearly departed who were now living another existence.

They believed existence does not end with death; there is no death, only a transition from one state of being to another; every human died only to live again on another level of existence.

From Hypnos, god of sleep, we have the word “hypnosis”, when someone is put into a sleep-like state and the word for medications known as “hypnotics”, which induce sleep, is also derived from the ancient Greek god of sleep.

The opiate we know today as morphine with its dream-inducing power derives its name from the god of dreams, Morpheus, as does the word “morph,” meaning to change or transform.

 

Hypnos

God of Sleep

 

 

 Hynpos in some versions of the myth was the son of Nyx (personification of night) and Erebus (personification of darkness) however in other versions Hypnos does not have a father, he was born only from Nyx.

 

 

Hypnos had many brothers and sisters but was most closely associated with his twin brother Thanatos, the personification of death.

 

 

The twins Hypnos and Thanatos often appear together in Greek mythology and classic Greek literature.

They delivered man from sorrow and pain, Hypnos through sleep and Thanatos through peaceful death.

 

Hypnos and His Wife Pasithea

 

 Pasithea (goddess of relaxation and meditation) was the wife of Hypnos.

She was one of the youngest of the Charites (or Graces) who were three or more minor goddesses of charm, beauty, nature, human creativity, goodwill and fertility.

 

 

Hera, goddess of women, marriage and childbirth, had bestowed Pasithea upon Hypnos as a thank you after he had assisted the goddess by putting her husband Zeus into a deep sleep during the Trojan Wars.

The Trojan wars were fought between the Greeks (Achaeans) and the inhabitants of the city of Troy.

Hera and Zeus were on opposing sides, Zeus with the Trojans and Hera with the Greeks, so with Zeus fast asleep, thanks to Hypnos, Hera was free to help  her side, the Greeks.

With the aid of Hypnos the Greeks were victorious.

Hypnos and his wife Pasithea were the parents of three sons; Morpheus, Phobetor and Phantasos.

They were also the parents of the “Oneiroi” the dream spirits said to number one thousand.

 

 The “Oneiroi” (Dream spirits)

 

 

 In some version of the myth Morpheus, Phobetor and Phantasos are not included in the “Oneiroi” in other versions they are.

Each night these dreamy night spirits would fly out over the world delivering their dreams to those who had already had a visit from Hypnos.

 

Morpheus – God of Dreams

Leader of the Oneiroi

 

 

Morpheus was so adept at shape-shifting himself into life-like images he could fool anyone which is why the Greek gods often chose him as their messenger to appear in the dreams of mortals.

As Morpheus had this gift of being able to influence the dreams of Gods, heroes and kings, he was not only the leader of the one thousand dream spirits (The Oneiroi) but was the leader of his brothers, Phobetor and Phantasus as well.

Phobetor, god of nightmares, had the ability to appear in dreams, usually in the form of monsters.

He played on people’s greatest fears and was the creator of fearful dreams and from his name derives the word phobia.

Phantasus, the god of unreal dreams, created illusional dreams with no form, however, he also ruled over good dreams, unlike his brother, Phobetor,  whose dreams were meant to confuse people.

Words such as “fantasy” and “phantasmagoria” come from the name Phantasos.

The name Morpheus, from the Greek μεταμόρφωσις (metamorphosis), portrays his role in Greek mythology where he had the ability of appearing in the dreams of mortals in any form and as his name suggests he was the one who shaped and formed their dreams.

You may have heard the phrase “in the arms of Morpheus”, meaning that in the arms of the god of dreams you would sleep soundly whilst at the same time dream about the future.

 

 

Morpheus created realistic and lifelike dreams by the way of images in human form and stories constructed as dreams.

These dreams convinced the dreamer they were experiencing reality.

In most accounts of the myth, Morpheus doesn’t have a wife, but when he does he’s said to be married to Iris, a messenger of the gods and the personification of rainbows.

 

The World of Sleep and Dreams

 

 

The whole gang including Hypnos with his wife and his twin brother Thanatos, his children Morpheus, Phobetor,  Phantasos and all the “The Oneiroi”, the dream Spirits, lived in the part of the Underworld known as Erebus.

Here, whist inducing sleep and shaping dreams, they slept in a cave of red poppies, flowers which symbolized deep sleep and dreams to the ancient Greeks.

Flowing through the cave of poppies and other sleep-inducing plants, was the River Lethe, the river of forgetfulness and oblivion.

 

 

Both sides of the gates of Erebus were guarded by two terrifying monsters to deter anyone who dared to try and enter uninvited.

Each night, as they left Erebus, each one of the Oneiroi would pass through one of two gates, one made of horn and the other of ivory.

Whichever gate they passed through determined what sort of dream it would carry on that particular night.

Leaving through the gate made from horn meant prophetic dreams were distributed by the gods, dreams that always came true.

However, if the Oneiroi passed through the gate of ivory, the dreams were full of untruths which confused mortals, sending them off on a wild goose chase.

The gods not only had the power to order the Oneiroi which gate to pass through but could instruct them to deliver prophetic dreams to a specific person.

Post Script:

As happens with most Greek myths, there’s always another story and so it is with this one.

According to the ancient Greek poet, Homer, Hypnos, god of sleep, did not inhabit Erebus but spent his time on Lemnos, an island in the northern Aegean Sea; his very own dream-island!

 

Myths Involving Hypnos & Co

 

Hypnos and Thanatos play a part in Homer’s Poem “The Iliad”

 

 

During the Trojan War, an event concerning Hypnos and his brother, Thanatos, is recorded in Homer’s poem, the Iliad.

Zeus’ son, King Sarpedon of Lycia, a Trojan supporter and hero, is felled by Patroclus during the final year of the ten year Trojan War.

Not being able to bear the sight of Sarpedon’s body deserted on the battlefield, Zeus, king of all gods, instructs Apollo to summon Thanatos and Hypnos to escort his son’s body back to Lycia where he could be given a decent burial in his homeland.

 

Thanatos  and Sisyphus

 

 

Sisyphus, maybe the most well-known inhabitant of the Underworld, was the greedy and conniving king and founder of Ephyra (now known as Corinth in the Peloponnese).

To prove his power, Sisyphus would kill visitors and travellers just for fun, which incurred the wrath of Zeus, king of Greek gods.

Things came to a head between between Sisyphus and zeus when he interfered in a dispute between Zeus and Asopus, the river god of Sikyonia in the Peloponnese.

Asopus’ daughter, Aegina, had disappeared and Sisyphus knew she had been abducted and seduced by Zeus.

Sysyphus then made a deal Asopus; in return for revealing the whereabouts of his daughter, Asopus was to create a much-needed eternal freshwater spring in Corinth.

Upon finding out that Sisyphus had sold him out to Asopus, his anger knew no bounds and he killed him with one shot of a thunderbolt.

He then ordered Thanatos, the personification of Death, to chain up Sisyphus once he arrived in Tartarus (the Underworld).

 

 

Thanatos was waiting and as soon as his victim arrived he got to work binding Sysyphus in chains.

Watching slyly, Sisyphus asked Thanatos to show him how the chains worked; stupidly, without thinking, Thanatos did as he was asked.

Sisyphus, not one to miss a chance, grabbed the chains and proceeded to truss up Thantos instead.

 

Hypnos and Endymion

 

 

Selene, Goddess of moonlight, is known for her many romances, the one that stands out though, is her passionate romance with the young, mortal shepherd boy, Endymion, whom Selene had spotted from on high and set her heart on whilst he was sleeping next to his cattle, in a cave on Mount Latmus.

Mad with passion and lust, Selene wished to gaze on Endymion’s beauty forever and so, to prevent him from dying, she begged Hypnos to bestow upon him eternal youth by putting him into a state of everlasting sleep in his cave on Mount Latmus.

 

 

Hypnos kept Endymion in a perpetual state of sleep, which enabled Selene to descend from the sky each night to be with Endymion, looking at his sleeping body and showering her love on him without disturbing him or waking him up.

 

Hypnos, Morpheus and the Love Story of Ceyx and Alcyone

 

 

Long ago in ancient Greece, Ceyx and Alcyone (Halcyon) fell madly in love; a love so passionate it became a legend, known all over the ancient lands.

The couple jokingly called each other Zeus and Hera, after the king and queen of Greek Gods, who were famous for their passionate love for each other.

Taking the name of gods in vain was classed as sacrilege and through the grapevine it didn’t take long to reach Zeus’s ears.

“Alcyone and Ceyx must be punished for their audacity” thought Zeus, “I’ll bide my time, the moment is sure to present itself”.

One stormy morning, Ceyx set sail to visit The Oracle at Delphi, as was the norm in those days, when advice and forethought were needed about pressing matters.

Alcyone, worried about the stormy weather, begged him not to go, or at least take her with him.

Ceyx, said not to worry, he would be fine and be home before she knew it, little did either of them know, that Zeus had been keeping his eye on the couple and here was his chance to punish them.

 

The Drowning of Ceyx

 

 

Alcyone was left alone on the shore to watch Ceyx disappear into the misty, darkening sea.

Ceyx was not long out to sea when tragedy struck.

A terrific storm blew up (no doubt the doings of Zeus), tossing his ship around in the furious waves, the ship was wrecked and Ceyx drowned.

His last thought being of his true love, Alcyone and with his dying breath he pleaded with the sea-god, Poseidon, to return his body to the arms of his love.

Meanwhile, Alcyone, not knowing of the terrible fate of Ceyx, prayed to the goddess Hera, wife of Zeus, to keep him safe and send him home quickly.

Upon hearing Alcyone’s prayers, Hera, feeling sorry for her as she already knew of the death of Ceyx, sent her messenger, Iris, to Hypnos, the God of sleep.

 

 

The message Hera sent with Iris was requesting Hypnos to send a vision to Alcyone, revealing the death of Ceyx.

Hypnos, then sent his son Morpheus, God of dreams, to visit Alcyone.

Morpheus appeared at Alcyone’s bedside in the form of Ceyx and recounted the story of the shipwreck and his death.

 

 

On awakening and finding herself alone Alcyone rushed to the shore where she recognized something floating in the sea.

 It was the body of Ceyx.

 Consumed with grief Alcyone threw herself into the sea.

Before she had chance to drown, Zeus, who had been watching the drama from high above, took pity on the couple and  transformed both her and Ceyx into Halcyons, a type of kingfisher.

The two lovers, united again, flew off into the horizon.

 

Good Night and Sweet Dreams

 

 

I hope tonight, after you have been visited by Hypnos and are lying in the arms of Morpheus, the dream spirits are instructed to leave home through the gate made of horn and that all your dreams may be good ones.

 

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