Hypnos, (Somnus) was the god of sleep. He was the son of Nyx (Night) and twin brother of Thanatos (Death) with whom he lived in deep subterranean darkness at the entrance to Tartarus. His influence extended to gods as well as men. By men he was viewed as a special benefactor, giving the weary refreshing rest, and sufferers alleviation of their pain.

     Dreams ascended from the lower world to men. They passed through two gates, one of horn which true dreams went, one of ivory for false dreams. The Greeks beleived that sleep was a "little taste of death."

ACTIVITIES:
Hypnos activity

KEY TEST WORDS:
Hypnos, (Greek), Somnus, (Roman), was the god of sleep. He had three sons; Morpheus who appeared in dreams in human form, Icelos who took beast forms, and Phantastus who appeared as inanimate objects.

The Lesser Deities

The Underworld

Footnotes:
He was represented in different forms and attributes: lightly or heavily clad; standing, striding hastily, or reposing heavily; as a powerful youth holding a poppy or a horn, from which sleep trickled down or as a child, and sometimes as a bearded aged man. On his head were the wings of a hawk or a night bird, and beside him a lizard. He was looked as the favorite of the Muses because of the dreams he communicated to men.

SOURCES:
Jane Smith
Edith Hamilton's Mythology
Edward Tripp's "Crowell's Handbook of Classical Mythology"
"Manual of Mythology" by Alexander S. Murray.