As was the case of the Oneiroi, many of the thousands were not even given individual names. Most, however, were minor characters who were rarely mentioned. Eros, for example, was the personification of love. Some of these daimones became prominent characters in mythology. Most of these beings, called daimones by the Greeks, shared their names with the noun they personified. They represented nearly everything in the world and human experience including ideals, vices, physical attributes, and emotions. While the major gods of Olympus are unique and often complex characters, the more numerous personified spirits made up the majority of the Greek deities. The personified dreams were among many such spirits in the Greek pantheon. Among the thousand Oneiroi, Morpheus was one of the few who was named. The Oneiroi were dark, winged spirits who flew forth every night to bring both true and false dreams to mankind. Hypnos’s mother was Nyx, the primordial goddess of the night, and his brother was Thanatos, the personification of death. Their father was Hypnos, the personified spirit of sleep. Morpheus was the leader of the Oneiroi, the personifications of dreams. What is a mystery, however, is whether Morpheus was a Greek deity at all. One work from ancient literature clearly describes the daimon and his abilities. How Morpheus got his name is not a mystery. He was one of a thousand spirits who carried visions, both true and false, to men as they slept. Morpheus was not, however, the only god of dreams in ancient Greece. While morphe was the word for formation, he was a spirit associated with dreams. One of these was Morpheus, but he was one of the rare personifications whose name did not match what he’s commonly associated with. Harmonia was the personification of harmony, Pheme was fame, and Mania was frenzy. Many of these spirits can be recognized by modern readers because, although they were minor gods, the words that gave them their names have been handed down to us from Greek. Most of these were daimones, the personifications of various concepts, emotions, and ideas. Sleep, in general, is found in several mythologies, such as the one told in the Babylonian poem of creation, where Apsû, the progenitor of the gods and sovereign of deep water, is made fall into deep sleep by Ea, who takes possession of the abysses.Ī curiosity: “Nanna” was the Sumerian name of the god of the Moon.The mythology of ancient Greece contained many minor gods and goddesses. In India, the “Lord of sleep” is Shiva, whose name derives from “Shin”, which actually means sleep. Another story is the one where Bodhvild “warmongering woman warrior” is seduced by Volund in her sleep. Yet, sleeping is at the center of suggestive narrations such as the one of Brunhilde, daughter of Wotan, who is awakened by Siegfried from the magic sleep into which her father had induced her. The Scandinavians, whose cosmogony is dominated by Wotan, have no god of sleep. The legend says that – once that she had fallen in love – her singing made the whole Ireland sleep for 3 days and 3 nights. In the Celtic mythology, the Goddess of sleep is Caer Ibormeith. Also Hermes, the messenger of the gods, has magic powers on the sleep, as Endymion has the ability of sleeping forever.įor the Ancient Romans, the god of sleep and dreams was called Somnus. On the other hand, Hypnos, who – in the iconography – is a naked young man with a winged head, was so powerful that he could put to sleep the gods themselves. Morpheus is the most important brother and is considered the “shaper of dreams”: the one who makes the dreams take shape. Morpheus and his brothers are the “Oneiroi” and regulate the dreams of the mortals. Morpheus, with Momus, Ikelus, Phobetor and Phantasos, is one of the children of the Greek good of sleep, Hypnos (Ὕπνος). No, unlike what people think, Morpheus is not the god of sleep.
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