Hypnos

Hera approached Hypnos and offered him one of the Graces as a bride. She wanted his help in keeping Zeus out of action long enough for the fighting in the Trojan War to favour the Greeks. Hypnos accepted the bargain. The Grace promised to him was Pasithea, whom he desired and later married.

Hypnos was the Greek god and personification of Sleep. Hesiod described him as a child of Night, making him one of the oldest gods. He was sometimes shown standing with closed eyes, or lying beside his brother Thanatos, the personification of Death. He usually carried a poppy stalk.

His dwelling was a mountain cave near the land of the Cimmerians. The sun never reached it. No song, voice, or other sound disturbed the silence. The river Lethe flowed from the lowest rocks, making a quiet, unchanging noise. White and red poppies hid part of the entrance. Mother Night gathered and planted them, then drew drowsiness from their juice and scattered it over the earth in liquid drops.

Pasithea became the mother of the dream spirits associated with Hypnos. Ovid said that Hypnos had a thousand sons, including Morpheus. Morpheus took human form in dreams and imitated people’s speech, movements, and gestures. Phobetor, also called Icelos, appeared as animals. Phantasos assumed the forms of lifeless things, such as rocks, trees, and water. These spirits belonged to the company of dream beings linked with Hypnos and Pasithea.