Editing Hypnos

{{Short description|Personification of sleep in Greek mythology}}
{{Other uses}}
[[File:Euphronios krater side A MET L.2006.10.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Hypnos (left) and [[Thanatos]] (right) carry the body of [[Sarpedon (Trojan War hero)|Sarpedon]] while Hermes watches, [[Euphronios Krater]], an Attic red-figure calyx-krater, c. 515&ndash;510 BC<ref>''[[Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae|LIMC]]'', [https://archive.org/details/limc_20210516/Lexicon%20Iconographicum%20Mythologiae%20Classicae/LIMC%20VII-1%20Oidipous-Theseus/page/n363/mode/2up p. 697]; [[Digital LIMC]] [https://app.dasch.swiss/resource/080E/do2zOMFQXdSPFnDcOAOvsg 9752 (Sarpedon 4)].</ref>]]
In [[Greek mythology]], '''Hypnos''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|h|ɪ|p|n|ɒ|s}}; [[Ancient Greek]]: {{lang|grc|Ὕπνος}}, 'sleep'),<ref>{{LSJ|u(/pnos|ὕπνος|ref}}.</ref> also spelled '''Hypnus''', is the [[personification]] of [[sleep]]. The Roman equivalent is [[Somnus]].<ref>Tripp, s.vv. Hypnos, Somnus.</ref> His name is the origin of the word [[hypnosis]].<ref>James H. Mantinband. Concise Dictionary of Greek Literature. New York: Philosophical Library, 1962.</ref> [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] wrote that Hypnos was the dearest friend of the [[Muses]].<ref>[https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Paus.%202.31.3 Pausanias, Description of Greece, 202.31.3]</ref>

== Etymology ==
According to the Dutch linguist [[Robert S. P. Beekes]], the god's name derives from the [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] root ''*sup-no-'' 'sleep'.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://brill.com/view/title/17726|title=Etymological Dictionary of Greek|first=Robert|last=Beekes|author-link=Robert S. P. Beekes|publisher=[[Brill Publishers]]|year=2009|isbn=978-90-04-17418-4 |page=1535}}</ref>

==Description==
[[File:Head of Hypnos in Palazzo Massimo alle Terme (Rome).jpg|thumb|Hypnos marble head (National Roman Museum, Rome)]]
Hypnos is usually the fatherless son of [[Nyx]] ("The Night"), although sometimes Nyx's consort [[Erebus]] ("The Darkness") is named as his father. His twin brother is [[Thanatos]] ("Death"). Both siblings live in the [[Greek underworld|underworld]] ([[Hades]]). According to rumors, Hypnos lived in a big cave, which the river [[Lethe]] ("Forgetfulness") comes from and where night and day meet. They call this area the [[Land of dreams (mythology)|Land of Dreams]]. His bed is made of ebony, and on the entrance of the cave grow several [[Poppy|poppies]] and other soporific plants. No light and no sound would ever enter his grotto. According to [[Homer]], he lives on the island [[Lemnos]], which later on has been claimed to be his very own dream island. He is said to be a calm and gentle god, as he helps humans in need and, due to their sleep, owns half of their lives.<ref>Wilhelm Vollmer: ''Wörterbuch der Mythologie aller Völker''. Reprint-Verlag, Leipzig 2003 (new edition), {{ISBN|3826222008}}, page 263.</ref><ref>Scott C. Littleton: ''Gods, Goddesses, and Mythology'', Volume 4. Marshall Cavendish/Tarrytown, New York (US) 2005, {{ISBN|076147563X}}, pages 474–476.</ref>

==Family==
Hypnos lived next to his twin<ref>[[Homer]], ''[[Iliad]]'' [https://topostext.org/work/2#16.670 16.672]</ref> brother, [[Thanatos]] ({{lang|grc|Θάνατος}}, {{gloss|death}}), in the [[Greek Underworld|underworld]], where the rays of the [[Helios|sun]] never reached them.<ref>[[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0130%3Acard%3D729 755-766]</ref>

In [[Hesiod]]'s ''[[Theogony]]'', Hypnos is one of the offspring of [[Nyx]] ({{lang|grc|Νύξ}}, {{gloss|Night}}), the goddess of Night, without a father.<ref>[[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0020.tlg001.perseus-eng1:207-239 212].</ref> In genealogies from works by Roman authors, he is the son of [[Erebus]] (Darkness) and Nox (Night, the Roman name for Nyx).<ref>Hyginus, ''[[Fabulae]]'' Theogony 1 (Smith and Trzaskoma, [https://books.google.com/books?id=vczTNMWLGdoC&pg=PA95 p. 95]); [[Cicero]], ''[[De Natura Deorum]]'' 3.17.</ref> In the ''[[Iliad]]'', Nyx is a dreadful and powerful goddess, and even [[Zeus]] fears to enter her realm.<ref>[[Homer]], ''[[Iliad]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg001.perseus-eng1:14.242-14.269 14.260&ndash;265]</ref>

His wife, [[Pasithea]], is one of the youngest of the [[Charites]] and is promised to him by [[Hera]], who is the goddess of marriage and birth.<ref>[[Homer]], ''[[Iliad]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg001.perseus-eng1:14.242-14.269 14.268&ndash;276]</ref>

== Mythology ==
=== Hypnos in the ''Iliad'' ===
[[File:Hypnos Thanatos BM Vase D56 full.jpg|thumb|Hypnos and [[Thanatos]] carrying the body of [[Sarpedon (Trojan War hero)|Sarpedon]] from the battlefield of [[Troy]]; detail from an Attic [[white-ground]] [[lekythos]], ca. 440 BC.<ref>[[British Museum]] [https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/G_1876-0328-1 1876,0328.1].</ref>]]
Hypnos was able to trick Zeus and help the Danaans win the [[Trojan War]]. During the war, Hera loathed her brother and husband, Zeus, so she devised a plot to trick him. She decided that to trick him she needed to make him so enamored with her that he would fall for the trick. So she washed herself with ambrosia and anointed herself with oil, made especially for her to make herself impossible for Zeus to resist. She wove flowers through her hair, put on three brilliant pendants for earrings, and donned a wondrous robe. She then called for [[Aphrodite]], the goddess of love, and asked her for a charm that would ensure that her trick would not fail. To procure the charm, however, she lied to Aphrodite because they sided on opposite sides of the war. She told Aphrodite that she wanted the charm to help herself and Zeus stop fighting. Aphrodite willingly agreed. Hera was almost ready to trick Zeus, but she needed the help of Hypnos, who had tricked Zeus once before.<ref>[[Homer]], ''[[Iliad]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg001.perseus-eng1:14.154-14.192 14.154&ndash;250]</ref>

Hera called on Hypnos and asked him to help her by putting Zeus to sleep. Hypnos was reluctant because the last time he had put the god to sleep, he was furious when he awoke. It was Hera who had asked him to trick Zeus the first time as well. She was furious that [[Heracles]], Zeus' son, sacked the city of the Trojans. So she had Hypnos put Zeus to sleep, and set blasts of angry winds upon the sea while Heracles was still sailing home. When Zeus awoke he was furious and went on a rampage looking for Hypnos. Hypnos managed to avoid Zeus by hiding with his mother, Nyx. This made Hypnos reluctant to accept Hera's proposal and help her trick Zeus again. Hera first offered him a beautiful golden seat that can never fall apart and a footstool to go with it. He refused this first offer, remembering the last time he tricked Zeus. Hera finally got him to agree by promising that he would be married to Pasithea, one of the youngest Graces, whom he had always wanted to marry. Hypnos made her swear by the [[river Styx]] and call on the gods of the underworld to be witnesses so that he would be ensured that he would marry Pasithea.<ref>[[Homer]], ''[[Iliad]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg001.perseus-eng1:14.242-14.269 14.242–280]</ref>

Hera went to see Zeus on Gargarus, the topmost peak of [[Mount Ida]]. Zeus was extremely taken by her and suspected nothing as Hypnos was shrouded in a thick mist and hidden upon a pine tree that was close to where Hera and Zeus were talking. Zeus asked Hera what she was doing there and why she had come from Olympus, and she told him the same lie she told Aphrodite. She told him that she wanted to go help her parent stop quarreling and she stopped there to consult him because she didn't want to go without his knowledge and have him be angry with her when he found out. Zeus said that she could go any time and that she should postpone her visit and stay there with him so they could enjoy each other's company. He told her that he was never in love with anyone as much as he loved her at that moment. He took her in his embrace and Hypnos went to work putting him to sleep, with Hera in his arms. While this went on, Hypnos traveled to the ships of the Achaeans to tell [[Poseidon]], God of the Sea, that he could now help the Danaans and give them a victory while Zeus was sleeping. This is where Hypnos leaves the story, leaving Poseidon eager to help the Danaans. Thanks to Hypnos helping to trick Zeus, the war changed its course in Hera's favor, and Zeus never found out that Hypnos had tricked him one more time.<ref>[[Homer]], ''[[Iliad]]'' [http://data.perseus.org/citations/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0012.tlg001.perseus-eng1:14.242-14.269 14.290–365]</ref>

=== Hypnos and Endymion ===
According to a passage in ''[[Deipnosophistae]]'', the sophist and [[dithyramb]]ic poet [[Likymnios of Chios|Licymnius of Chios]]<ref>Licymnius is known only through a few quoted lines and second-hand through references (Smith, [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0104:entry=licymnius-bio-2 s.v. Licy'mnius]).</ref> tells a different tale about the [[Endymion (mythology)|Endymion]] myth, in which Hypnos loves Endymion and does not close the eyes of his beloved even while he is asleep, but lulls him to rest with eyes wide open so that he may without interruption enjoy the pleasure of gazing at them.<ref>[[Likymnios of Chios|Licymnius]], [https://www.theoi.com/Daimon/Hypnos.html#Sleep ''Fragment 771''] (from Athenaeus, Scholars at Dinner) (trans. Campbell, Vol. Greek Lyric V)</ref>

==Hypnos in art==
[[File:Dioniso scopre arianna, da casa dei capitelli colorati a pompei, 9278 (cropped).JPG|thumb|left|[[Ariadne]] asleep at Hypnos's side. Detail of ancient fresco in [[Pompeii]]]][[File:British Museum - Room 22 (17321719776).jpg|thumb|[[Bronze Head of Hypnos from Civitella d'Arna|Bronze Head of Hypnos]] found in Civitella d'Arno, Italy<ref>[[British Museum]] [https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/G_1868-0606-9 1868,0606.9].</ref>]]
Hypnos appears in numerous works of art, most of which are vases. An example of one vase that Hypnos is featured on is called "Ariadne Abandoned by Theseus," which is part of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston's collection. In this vase, Hypnos is shown as a winged god dripping Lethean water upon the head of Ariadne as she sleeps.<ref>"Ancient Greek Art: Ariadne Abandoned by Theseus." Ancient Greek Art: Ariadne Abandoned by Theseus. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2013.</ref>

There are only three bronze statues featuring Hypnos known to be found in the Roman world. The first one was found in mid-19th century in Civitella d'Arno (Italy), kept in the British Museum in London since 1868. This bronze head has wings sprouting from his temples and the hair is elaborately arranged, some tying in knots and some hanging freely from his head.<ref>"Bronze Head of Hypnos." British Museum -. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2013.</ref> The second one, a torsus, was found in Jumilla (Spain) in 1893 and is now exhibited at the Berlin antiquities collection. The most recent discovery took place in 1988 in Almedinilla (also in Spain), where bronze statue almost intact of Hypnos was found in a Roman villa dated in the 2nd century A.D. It is kept in the local History & Archaeology Museum.

The National Roman Museum of the Italian capital keeps an Hypnos marble head found in [[Hadrian's Villa]], built around 120 AD by Emperor [[Hadrian]] in [[Tivoli, Lazio|Tivoli]] as a retreat not far from Rome.

==Words derived from Hypnos==
The English word "[[hypnosis]]" is derived from his name, referring to the fact that when hypnotized, a person is put into a sleep-like state (hypnosis "sleep" + -osis "condition").<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/hypnosis?s=t |title=Hypnosis &#124; Define Hypnosis at Dictionary.com |publisher=Dictionary.reference.com |access-date=2014-01-27}}</ref> The class of medicines known as "[[hypnotic]]s" which induce sleep also take their name from Hypnos.

== See also ==
{{Commons category}}
* [[Aergia]], a goddess of sloth and attendant of Hypnos
* [[Morpheus]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
* [[Athenaeus]], ''The Learned Banqueters, Volume V: Books 10.420e-11'', edited and translated by S. Douglas Olson, [[Loeb Classical Library]] No. 274, Cambridge, Massachusetts, [[Harvard University Press]], 2009. {{ISBN|978-0-674-99632-8}}. [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL274/2009/volume.xml Online version at Harvard University Press].
* [[Cicero|Cicero, Marcus Tullius]], ''[[De Natura Deorum]]'' in ''Cicero: On the Nature of the Gods. Academics'', translated by H. Rackham, [[Loeb Classical Library]] No. 268, Cambridge, Massachusetts, [[Harvard University Press]], first published 1933, revised 1951. {{ISBN|978-0-674-99296-2}}. [https://www.loebclassics.com/view/LCL268/1933/volume.xml Online version at Harvard University Press]. [https://archive.org/stream/denaturadeorumac00ciceuoft#page/n5/mode/2up Internet Archive].
* [[Hesiod]], ''[[Theogony]]'', in ''The Homeric Hymns and Homerica with an English Translation by Hugh G. Evelyn-White'', Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1914. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0130%3Acard%3D1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
* [[Homer]], ''The Iliad with an English Translation by A.T. Murray, Ph.D. in two volumes''. Cambridge, MA., Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann, Ltd. 1924. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0134%3Abook%3D1%3Acard%3D1 Online version at the Perseus Digital Library].
* Hyginus, ''[[Fabulae]]'' in ''Apollodorus' ''Library'' and Hyginus' ''Fabulae'': Two Handbooks of Greek Mythology, Translated, with Introductions by R. Scott Smith and Stephen M. Trzaskoma'', Hackett Publishing, 2007. {{ISBN|978-0-87220-821-6}}. [https://books.google.com/books?id=vczTNMWLGdoC&pg=PA95 Google Books].
* ''[[Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae]] (LIMC)'' VII.1., Zürich and Munich, Artemis Verlag, 1994. {{ISBN|3-7608-8751-1}}. [https://archive.org/details/limc_20210516/Lexicon%20Iconographicum%20Mythologiae%20Classicae/LIMC%20VII-1%20Oidipous-Theseus/mode/2up?view=theater Internet Archive].
* Tripp, Edward, ''Crowell's Handbook of Classical Mythology'', Thomas Y. Crowell Co; First edition (June 1970). {{ISBN|069022608X}}.

==External links==
{{Wiktionary|Hypnos}}
* [http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:196046/ 3D model of ''Bronze head of Hypnos'' via laser scan of a cast of British Museum's bronze.]

{{Greek religion|state=collapsed}}
{{Greek mythology (deities)|state=collapsed}}

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[[Category:Greek underworld]]
[[Category:Greek sleep deities]]
[[Category:Sleep gods]]
[[Category:Chthonic beings]]
[[Category:Greek gods]]
[[Category:Personifications in Greek mythology]]
[[Category:LGBTQ themes in Greek mythology]]
[[Category:Divine twins]]
[[Category:Deities in the Iliad]]
[[Category:Children of Nyx]]
[[Category:Residents of the Greek underworld]]
[[Category:Dreams in religion]]
[[Category:Avian humanoids]]
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