Hey everyone,
Welcome to the second installment of Mythology Man. Continuing on from the last video, where
we discussed Thanatos- the Greek God of Death- I’m going to now be taking a look at his
twin brother- Hypnos- the god and personification of sleep. Hypnos, who shared a similar appearance
to Thanatos- is described as a ‘handsome man’ with ‘wings emanating from his shoulders’.
As Hypnos was in fact Thanatos’s FULL-twin, it goes without saying that they shared parents.
The mother of Hypnos was Nyx- the primordial Goddess of the night, and his father was Erebus-
the Protogenos of darkness. Given that Nyx and Erebus both represented ‘darkness’
in some way- it should come as no surprise that Hypnos ended up being the god of sleep.
If you recognize Hypnos’s name, then it’s probably because you’re already privvy to
the term ‘hypnosis’ - a human condition involving focused attention, reduced peripheral
awareness, and an enhanced capacity to respond to suggestion.
Hypnos lived in a cave next to Thanatos in the underworld, a palace where no light was
cast by the sun or moon. Inside of this palace Hypnos was known to sit upon a couch of ivory-
a scene in which he is often depicted. Given that Hypnos was the god of sleep, it should
come as no surprise that just outside his cave grew poppies, and other sleep-inducing
plants. Through the cave flowed the river Lethe (the river of forgetfulness) - providing
water for the plants to grow.
Inside of his cave also lived his wife, Pasithea- one of the youngest of the Graces who also
happened to be the goddess of rest and relaxation- a fitting pair. Pasithea was given to Hypnos
by Hera- the queen of the ancient greek gods and wife of Zeus.
Together Hypnos and Pasithea had 3 sons- Morpheus, Phobetor and Phantasos- who are together referred
to as the Oneiroi (the dreams). Following in the footsteps of their parentage- each
brother acted as a personification of dreams in a different way. Morpheus would send human
shapes of all kinds to the dreamer, Phobetor would send animals and monsters to the dreamer,
and Phantasos would send inanimate objects (relating to the earth) to the dreamer. Together-
their images created full, dynamic dreams.
The family had the complete package- the goddess of relaxation, the god of sleep, and the 3
personifications of dreams. One important thing to mention, however, is that some Greek
writers actually name the Oneiroi as sons of Nyx, rather than Pasithea- making the Oneiroi
the brother of Hypnos.
Though Hypnos’s twin Thanatos was disliked for his merciless nature, Hypnos was actually
quite well-liked as he held the power to put people to sleep- allowing them to forget all
of their worldly worries.
Though he is referenced throughout tales of Greek Mythology, Hypnos makes a prominent
appearance in two particular stories.
The first story involves Hera, Zeus, Hypnos and Heracles. In this tale, Hera persuades
Hypnos to put her husband, Zeus, to sleep so that she might inflict harm upon Heracles,
her husband’s child. When Hypnos put Zeus to sleep, it allowed Hera to unleash angry
winds on the oceans while Heracles was sailing home from Troy. On this occasion however,
Zeus was not in a deep slumber, and quickly recognized the work of Hypnos. In order to
escape the wrath of Zeus, Hypnos escapes to the underworld where he hides with his mother,
Nyx.
The second story once again involves Hera, Hypnos, and Zeus- but also includes Hypnos’s
wife Pasithea and Poseidon- the god of the sea. It all starts when, once again, Hera
requests that Hypnos put her husband Zeus to sleep. Given Hypnos’s unfortunate run-in
with Zeus the first time, he initially refused, but when Hera promises him the marriage of
Pasithea- his beautiful future wife, he agrees. Hera (in an effort to distract Zeus) dressed
beautifully and having a charm that Aphrodite had given to her, went to Zeus, and lied to
him, saying that her parents were quarreling, and that she wanted his approval to go and
stop them. Zeus agreed, but he was so enchanted by her beauty that he took her in his embrace;
at that moment, Hypnos made Zeus fall asleep. While Zeus slept, Poseidon ended up aiding
the Achaeans in the Trojan War- something that Zeus had previously forbade. Zeus never
became privy to the treachery surrounding him.
And that’s it for this video! Did you learn a lot about Hypnos? Which Mythological figure
should I cover next? Let me know in the comment section below.
Until next time
“You cannot know how frightened gods are of pain. There is nothing more foreign to
them, and so nothing they ache more deeply to see.”