Hypnos
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Fighting Fefnir
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{{Greek myth (personified)}}
[[Image:Waterhouse-sleep and his half-brother death-1874.jpg|thumb|200px|left|Hypnos and [[Thanatos]], ''Sleep and His Half-Brother Death'' by [[John William Waterhouse]].]]
In [[Greek mythology]], '''Hypnos''' (Ύπνος) was the personification of sleep; the [[Roman mythology|Roman]] equivalent was known as '''Somnus'''. His twin was [[Thanatos]] ("death"); their mother was the goddess [[Nyx (mythology)|Nyx]] ("night"). His palace was a dark cave where the sun never shines. At the entrance were a number of poppies and other [[Hypnagogia|hypnogogic]] plants.
Hypnos's three sons or brothers represented things that occur in dreams (the [[Oneiroi]]). [[Morpheus (mythology)|Morpheus]], [[Phobetor]] and [[Phantasos]] appear in the dreams of kings. According to one story, he lived in a cave underneath a [[Greece|Greek]] island; through this cave flowed [[Lethe]], the river of forgetfulness.
[[Endymion (mythology)|Endymion]], sentenced by Zeus to eternal sleep, received the power to sleep with his eyes open from Hypnos in order to constantly watch his beloved [[Selene]]. But according to the poet [[Licymnius of Chios]], it was Hypnos himself who fell in love with the young shepherd [[Endymion (mythology)|Endymion]], and allowed him to sleep with his eyes open, the better for the god to enjoy the beauty of his beloved boy.
In art, Hypnos was portrayed as a naked youthful man, sometimes with a beard, and wings attached to his head. He is sometimes shown as a man asleep on a bed of feathers with black curtains about him. [[Morpheus (mythology)|Morpheus]] is his chief minister and prevents noises from waking him. In [[Sparta]], the image of Hypnos was always put near that of [[death]].
==Popular culture==
{{Trivia|date=June 2007}}
* In ''[[Monkeybone]]'', Hypnos is the main villain, portrayed by [[Giancarlo Esposito]]. He is depicted as a [[satyr]].
* [[In Flames]] has a song written to Hypnos on their album ''[[The Jester Race]]'', called "Lord Hypnos".
* Horror / science fiction author [[H. P. Lovecraft]] had a short story called "Hypnos."
* In the Hades Arc of ''[[Saint Seiya]]'', [[Hypnos (Saint Seiya)|Hypnos]] and [[Thanatos (Saint Seiya)|Thanatos]] are [[Hades (Saint Seiya)|Hades]]'s most powerful subordinates.
* In the [[Incarnations of Immortality]] book series by [[Piers Anthony]], Hypnos is briefly mentioned as a minor incarnation.
* A boss in ''[[Resident Evil: Survivor]]'' is named Hypnos Type-T.
* Hypnos made numerous appearances in the Persona series.
* Polish progressive metal band [[Riverside (band)|Riverside]] makes a reference to Hypnos in their third studio album ''[[Rapid Eye Movement (album)|Rapid Eye Movement]]'' (track 4 - Schizophrenic Prayer: ''"Hypnos give us your hand"'').
==See also==
{{Commonscat|Hypnos}}
* [[Hesiod's Theogony]]
* [[Aergia]], a goddess of laziness, a guard of the Hypnos's court
[[Category:Greek mythology]]
[[Category:Greek gods]]
[[Category:Pederastic heroes and deities]]
[[Category:Sleep]]
[[Category:Personifications]]
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