Greek gods - others

Hypnos

In Greek mythology, Hypnos personifies the god of sleep and sleep itself. He was the son of Nykta (goddess of night) and Thanatos (god of death). Other sources state that Thanatos was his brother and his father was Tartaros, or Erebos.

Hypnos put all living creatures to sleep every day to relieve them of their troubles and worries. His power was so strong that he even put Zeus himself to sleep twice. The first time was when Hera wanted to destroy Heracles, and the second time was when Poseidon was helping the Achaeans in the Trojan War. Hera rewarded Hypnos by getting Pasithea (Charity) as his wife.

Hypnos had three sons. The first was named Morpheus (in dreams he could assume the form and voice of any man), the second was Phobetor or Ikelos (in dreams he appeared in animal form), and the third was Phantasos (in dreams he could transform himself into fantastic inanimate things).

The term hypnosis, which is a state similar to sleep or reverie in which a person who is asleep is partially subject to alien influence, has been carried over into modern language.