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Nyx
In Greek mythology, Nyx (; ) is the goddess and personification of the night. In Hesiod's ''Theogony'', she is the offspring of Chaos, and the mother of Aether and Hemera (Day) by Erebus (Darkness). By herself, she produces a brood of children which are mainly personifications of primarily negative forces. She features in a number of early cosmogonies, which place her as one of the first deities to exist. In the works of poets and playwrights, she lives at the ends of the Earth, and is often described as a black-robed goddess who drives through the sky in a chariot pulled by horses. In the ''Iliad'', Homer relates that even Zeus fears to displease her. Night is a prominent figure in several theogonies of Orphic literature, in which she is often described as the mother of Uranus and Gaia. In the earliest Orphic cosmogonies, she is the first deity to exist, while in the later Orphic Rhapsodies, she is the daughter and consort of Phanes, and the second ruler of the gods. She deli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aether (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Aether, Æther, Aither, or Ether (; (Brightness) ) is the personification of the bright upper sky. According to Hesiod, he was the son of Erebus (Darkness) and Nyx (Night), and the brother of Hemera (Day). In Orphic cosmogony Aether was the offspring of Chronos (Time), and the brother of Chaos and Erebus. Genealogy According to Hesiod's ''Theogony'', which contained the "standard" Greek genealogy of the gods, Aether was the offspring of Erebus and Nyx, and the brother of Hemera. However, other early sources give other genealogies. According to one, the union of Erebus and Nyx resulted in Aether, Eros, and Metis (rather than Aether and Hemera), while according to another, Aether and Nyx were the parents of Eros (in Hesiod, the fourth god to come into existence after Chaos, Gaia (Earth), and Tartarus). Others tell us that Uranus (Sky) (in Hesiod, the son of Gaia) was Aether's son, and that "everything came from" Aether. In Orphic cosmogony Aether was th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theogony
The ''Theogony'' () is a poem by Hesiod (8th–7th century BC) describing the origins and genealogy, genealogies of the Greek gods, composed . It is written in the Homeric Greek, epic dialect of Ancient Greek and contains 1,022 lines. It is one of the most important sources for the understanding of early Greek cosmology. Descriptions Hesiod's ''Theogony'' is a large-scale synthesis of a vast variety of local Greece, Greek traditions concerning the gods, organized as a narrative that tells how they came to be and how they established permanent control over the cosmos. It is the first known Greece, Greek mythical cosmogony. The initial state of the universe is Chaos (mythology), chaos, a dark indefinite void considered a divine primordial condition from which everything else appeared. Theogonies are a part of Greek mythology which embodies the desire to articulate reality as a whole; this universalizing impulse was fundamental for the first later projects of speculative theorizing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eris (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Eris () is the goddess and personification of strife and discord, particularly in war, and in the ''Iliad'' (where she is the "sister" of Ares the god of war). According to Hesiod she was the daughter of primordial Nyx (Night), and the mother of a long list of undesirable personified abstractions, such as Ponos (Toil), Limos (Famine), Algea (Pains) and Ate (Delusion). Eris initiated a quarrel between Hera, Athena and Aphrodite, which led to the Judgement of Paris and ultimately the Trojan War. Eris's Roman equivalent is Discordia. According to Hesiod, there was another Eris, separate and distinct from Eris the daughter of Nyx, who was beneficial to men. Etymology The name derives from the noun ''eris'', with stem ''erid-'', which means "strife, discord" and is of uncertain etymology; connections with the verb "to raise, stir, excite" and the proper name have been suggested. R. S. P. Beekes sees no strong evidence for this relation and excludes th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moirai
In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, the Moirai ()often known in English as the Fateswere the personifications of fate, destiny. They were three sisters: Clotho (the spinner), Lachesis (mythology), Lachesis (the allotter), and Atropos (the inevitable, a metaphor for death). Their Roman mythology, Roman equivalent is the Parcae. The role of the Moirai was to ensure that every being, mortal and divine, lived out their destiny as it was assigned to them by the laws of the universe. For mortals, this destiny spanned their entire lives and was represented as a thread spun from a spindle. Generally, they were considered to be above even the gods in their role as enforcers of fate, although in some representations, Zeus, the chief of the gods, is able to command them. The concept of a universal principle of natural order and balance has been compared to similar concepts in other cultures such as the Vedic Ṛta, the Avestan Asha (Arta), and the Ancient Egyptian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hemera
In Greek mythology, Hemera (; ) was the personification of day. According to Hesiod, she was the daughter of Erebus (Darkness) and Nyx (Night), and the sister of Aether. Though separate entities in Hesiod's ''Theogony'', Hemera and Eos (Dawn) were often identified with each other. Genealogy In Hesiod's ''Theogony'', Hemera and her brother Aether were the offspring of Erebus and Nyx. Bacchylides apparently had Hemera as the daughter of Chronus (Time) and Nyx. In the lost epic poem the ''Titanomachy'' (late seventh century BC?), Hemera was perhaps the mother, by Aether, of Uranus (Sky). In some rare versions, Hemera was instead the daughter of Helios (the Sun) by an unknown mother. Mythology According to Hesiod's ''Theogony'', Hemera left Tartarus just as Nyx (Night) entered it; when Hemera returned, Nyx left: Roman counterpart Dies Hemera's Roman counterpart Dies (Day) had a different genealogy. According to the Roman mythographer Hyginus, Chaos and Caligio (Mist) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hypnos
In Greek mythology, Hypnos (; Ancient Greek: , 'sleep'), also spelled Hypnus, is the personification of sleep. The Roman equivalent is Somnus. His name is the origin of the word hypnosis. Pausanias (geographer), Pausanias wrote that Hypnos was the dearest friend of the Muses. 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'. Description 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 a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thanatos
In Greek mythology, Thanatos (; , ''Thánatos'', pronounced in "Death", from θνῄσκω ''thnēskō'' "(I) die, am dying") was the Personifications of death, personification of death. He was a minor figure in Greek mythology, often referred to but rarely appearing in person. His name is transliterated in Latin as ''Thanatus'', but his counterpart in Roman mythology is Mors (mythology), Mors or Letum. In myth and poetry The Greece, Greek poet Hesiod established in his ''Theogony'' that Thánatos has no father, but is the son of Nyx (mythology), Nyx (Night) and brother of Hypnos (Sleep).Hesiod, ''Theogony'' 758 ff, trans. Evelyn-White, Greek epic 8th or 7th century BC Homer earlier described Hypnos and Thanatos as twin brothers in his epic poem, the ''Iliad'', where they were charged by Zeus via Apollo with the swift delivery of the slain hero Sarpedon (Trojan War hero), Sarpedon to his homeland of Lycia. Counted among Thanatos' siblings were other negative personifica ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nemesis
In ancient Greek religion and myth, Nemesis (; ) also called Rhamnousia (or Rhamnusia; ), was the goddess who personified retribution for the sin of hubris: arrogance before the gods. Etymology The name ''Nemesis'' is derived from the Greek word , ''némein'', meaning "to give what is due", from Proto-Indo-European *''nem-'' "distribute". Family According to Hesiod's ''Theogony'', Nemesis was one of the children of Nyx alone. Nemesis has been described as the daughter of Oceanus, Erebus, or Zeus, but according to Hyginus she was a child of Erebus and Nyx. Some made her the daughter of Zeus by an unnamed mother. In several traditions, Nemesis was seen as the mother of Helen of Troy by Zeus, adopted and raised by Leda and Tyndareus. According to the Byzantine poet Tzetzes, Bacchylides had Nemesis as the mother of the Telchines by Tartarus. Mythology Fortune and retribution The word ''nemesis'' originally meant the distributor of fortune, neither good nor bad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Keres
In Greek mythology, the Keres (; Ancient Greek: Κῆρες) were female death-spirits. They were the goddesses who personified violent death and who were drawn to bloody deaths on battlefields. Although they were present during death and dying, they did not have the power to kill. All they could do was wait and then feast on the dead. The Keres were daughters of Nyx, and as such the sisters of beings such as Moirai, who controlled the fate of souls, and Thanatos, the god of peaceful death. Some later authorities, such as Cicero, called them by a Latin name, ''Tenebrae'' ("the Darknesses"), and named them daughters of Erebus and Nyx. The singular form of the name is Ker (; Κήρ), which, according to Hesiod, refers to an entity distinct from the Keres. Etymology The Greek word κήρ means "the goddess of death" or "doom" and appears as a proper noun in the singular and plural as Κήρ and Κῆρες to refer to divinities. Homer uses ''Κῆρες'' in the phrase ''κ� ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Erebus
In Greek mythology, Erebus (; ), or Erebos, is the personification of darkness. In Hesiod's ''Theogony'', he is the offspring of Chaos, and the father of Aether and Hemera (Day) by Nyx (Night); in other Greek cosmogonies, he is the father of Aether, Eros, and Metis, or the first ruler of the gods. In genealogies given by Roman authors, he begets a large progeny of personifications upon Nox (the Roman equivalent of Nyx), while in an Orphic theogony, he is the offspring of Chronos (Time). The name "Erebus" is also used to refer either to the darkness of the Underworld, the Underworld itself, or the region through which souls pass to reach Hades, and can sometimes be used as a synonym for Tartarus or Hades. Etymology The meaning of the word ''Érebos'' ( Ἔρεβος) is "darkness" or "gloom", referring to that of the Underworld. It derives from the Proto-Indo-European ' ("darkness"), and is cognate with the Sanskrit '' rájas'' ("dark (lower) air, dust"), the Armenian '' er ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geras
In Greek mythology, Geras () is the god of old age. He was typically depicted as a tiny, shriveled old man. Gēras's opposite was Hebe, the goddess of youth. In Latin, he is referred to as Senectus. He is known primarily from vase depictions that show him with the hero Heracles; the mythic story that inspired these depictions has been lost. Otherwise, Geras has a very limited role in both religion and mythology. Etymology The Greek word γῆρας (''gĕras'') means "old age" or in some other literature "dead skin" or " slough of a snake"; this word is the root of English words such as "geriatric" and "progeria". Mythology According to Hesiod, Geras is one of the many sons and daughters that the night goddess Nyx produced on her own parthenogenetically. However, later authors Hyginus and Cicero both add Erebus, Nyx's consort, as the father. In the myth of Tithonus, the mortal prince received immortality, but not agelessness, from the gods so when old age came to him he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hesperides
In Greek mythology, the Hesperides (; , ) are the nymphs of evening and golden light of sunsets, who were the "Daughters of the Evening" or "Nymphs of the West". They were also called the Atlantides () from their reputed father, Atlas (mythology), Atlas.Diodorus Siculus. ''Library4.27.2' Etymology The name means ''originating from Hesperos'' (evening). ''Hesperos'', or ''Vesper'' in Latin, is the origin of the name Hesperus, the evening star (i.e. the planet Venus) as well as having a shared root with the English word "west". Mythology The nymphs of the evening Ordinarily, the Hesperides number three, like the other Greek triads (the Charites, Three Graces and the Moirai, Three Fates). "Since the Hesperides themselves are mere symbols of the gifts the apples embody, they cannot be actors in a human drama. Their abstract, interchangeable names are a symptom of their impersonality", classicist Evelyn Byrd Harrison has observed. They are sometimes portrayed as the evening d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
