This wasn’t the case with Zeus, he actually thought it was a good outcome. She became furious with the fact that Heracles sacked the city of the Trojans. On her demand, Hypnos used his powers to trick Zeus and put him into a deep sleep.īut, why did she want her husband to sleep? Basically, Hera didn’t agree with the way in which the events of the Trojan War came together and ended. Hera, the goddess of marriage, women, and childbirth and a wife of Zeus asked Hypnos to put her husband to sleep so that she wouldn’t be bothered by him anymore. Both instances were aimed to help the Danaans win the Trojan War. In particular, Hypnos tricked Zeus in two separate instances. The story of Hypnos as described by Homer surrounds the tricking of Zeus, the Greek god of thunder. Like many other Greek gods and Goddesses, the story of Hypnos has been elaborated on in Homer’s epic poem Iliad. Hypnos would, indeed, be the one who brought her these messages. She would send herself into a dreamlike state to receive Apollo’s replies to the questions posed by those who had traveled to his temples.

Hypnos and his sons had an obvious role in this.Īn example of Hypnos’ relevance is The Oracle of Delphi, a high priestess who was believed to be the messenger of the Greek god Apollo. This way, they believed there was a higher chance of getting healed or heard by the god of that particular temple. The Greeks were known to sleep at temples. They all had a particular function in the making of dreams, allowing Hypnos to perform effective and accurate sleep inducements on his subjects. Hypnos’ sons played an important role in the power that the god of sleep could exercise. The Greek god of sleep was the father of four sons, named Morpheus, Phobetor, Phantasus, and Ikelos. Another way in which he let people fall asleep was by fanning them with his mighty wings. The Greek god of sleep induced sleep in mortals through a touch of his magic wand. Although initially thought of as the fatherless son of Nyx, Hypnos was later believed to be fathered by Erebus.Īs a winged god, Hypnos lived on the island of Lemnos: a Greek island that is still inhabited to this day.

He was the son of the powerful goddess of the night, who goes by the name of Nyx. He is known as the god of sleep in Greek mythology. Hypnos is perceived as a calm and gentle god.

Hades, Hypnos, and Thanatos: Sleep is the Brother of Death.

Are hypnos and thanatos twins