Hypnos, the son of Nyx (the goddess of the night and darkness), in Greek folklore is represented as a gentle young man, usually with wings attached to his temples or shoulders.
In Hesiod’s portray, Hypnos and his twin brother Thanatos, the god of Death, were both terrible gods and pretty much inseparable in their acts
Intangible as the sleep is, Hypnos himself could have been both, but in any case he had enormous power over mortals and immortals - including Zeus himself...
Hypnos resides in Erebos, the land of eternal darkness, beyond the gates of the rising sun. As such, he dwells in the underworld and never sets his eyes on the sun, and from there he rises into the sky each night in the train of his mother Nyx (Night)...
Hypnos was also the father of another powerful deity - Morpheus, deity of Dreams... It is also believed the Morpheus has siblings (some experts may say uncles) called the Oneiroi (Dreams)...
There is a delightful interlude in the Iliad that involves Hypnos, Hera, and Zeus:
Hera visits Hypnos, and asks him for a favor - you see, the goddess wants to distract her husband Zeus from the events taking place. So she requests that the god of sleep use his powers on Zeus. However, Hypnos is reluctant to meddle with the ruler of Olympus. Hera then offers Hypnos an irresistible bride as a bribe - Pasithea, one of the younger Graces or Charites. In the end, the god of sleep agrees to cast his spell on Zeus...
Hypnos gave Endymion the power of sleeping with open eyes so he could see his beloved, the moon goddess Selene...
The name of Hypons survives in the modern manifestation of hypnosis...
"… whenever in his imagination a man sees delights, straightaway the vision, slipping through his arms, is gone, winging its flight along the paths of Sleep."
(Argive Elders. Aeschylus, Agamemnon 420)...
More:
See Hera:
See Selene:
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