God of Sleep in Greek Mythology

In ancient times, people believed that when a person sleeps his soul comes out of the body and travels to different worlds and if it is woken up suddenly, it can lead to death. The God of sleep in Greek mythology was of particular importance, because people revered and feared it. By the way, in no city is there a shrine dedicated to this deity. Those wishing to bow to the god of sleep were doing at home a small altar with quartz and poppy stones.

Ancient Greek god of sleep Hypnos

His parents consider Night and Darkness, which ruled in the dark spaces of the underworld. He also has a twin brother Thanatos, distinguished by his ruthlessness. In myths, there is information that Hypnos lives in a cave where the river of Oblivion originates. In this place there is no light, and there are no sounds. Near the entrance to the cave grows grass, which has a hypnotic effect. Every night the god of sleep in ancient Greece rises in the chariot to heaven.

Most often, Hypnos was portrayed as a naked young man with a small beard and wings on his back or on his temples. There are pictures where the god of sleep sleeps on a bed of feathers, which is covered with black curtains. The symbol of this god is a poppy flower or a horn filled with poppy-based sleeping pills. Hypnos possessed the power to immerse in the sleep of ordinary people, animals and even gods.

God of sleep in the ancient Greeks Morpheus

Another famous god, who was the son of Hypnos and the goddess of the night of Nekta. Represented this goddess with two babies in her arms: with white Morpheus and with black, which was death. Morpheus has the ability to take any form and completely copy its properties. In his appearance, this god remained only during rest. God of sleep among the Greeks, Morpheus was presented in the form of a young man with small wings on temples. He was often portrayed on vases and other products. Morpheus has the ability to send both good and bad dreams. He had two famous brothers: the Fobor appeared to people in the image of animals and birds, and Fantazus, which has the ability to imitate the phenomena of nature and inanimate objects.

It is known that Morpheus was an ancient titan. Many of them were eventually destroyed by Zeus and other gods. Among all the existing titans there was only Morpheus and Hypnos, because they were considered necessary for people and too strong. The god of sleep worshiped people, because he allowed them to see their soul mate in dreams . By the way, the narcotic drug "morphine" was named in honor of this god.