Nix: the Greek goddess of the night.

This goddess sometimes called Nicte or Nix (Νύξ), a Greek word meaning “night”, or Nox, in Rome, with the same meaning, is probably one of the most elusive inhabitants of Olympus.

Hesiod comments in his Theogony that Nix was born from Chaos, that is, from an uncertain deity who perhaps represented the first phases of the universe, when the division of matter was not yet clear or decisive and everything was grouped together in an amorphous mass that tended to disintegration.

In this potential state of the universe, Nix was in charge of collaborating so that order was gradually established. With his brother Erebus, which means “darkness”, he conceived Ether and Hemera. This genealogy of Hesiod is very interesting. According to his comments, it appears that darkness and night are not the same thing, that is, darkness does not come from night; but both dwell together.

Later Nix continued to father children, although spontaneously, without the intervention of primordial gods. All of her children are essential elements for the correct functioning of the universe. There we have Ker, Keres, Eros, Moros, Hypnos, Tánatos, Oizís, Geras, Nemesis, Filotes, Apate, Eris, Momo, Moiras and Oniros. The list could be extended depending on the author we consult.

Greek myths, like all myths worth knowing, offer alternative versions for every hero and god of importance. These discrepancies are sometimes submitted by the same author. Hesiod, who previously claimed that Hemera is a daughter of Night, later rectifies himself and positions her as a sister of Nyx, in a way equaling her in importance. He then adds a story in which Nix and Hemera enter and leave Tartarus when the other is in heaven; that is to say; Night sinks into the underworld when Day appears from its unfathomable caverns.

Homer assigns Nyx immeasurable power, which even awakens hidden fears in Zeus, the lord of Olympus. In the Iliad it says that Hera, wife of Zeus, asked Hypnos, son of Nyx, to put the powerful Heracles to sleep with the intention of leading him astray on his return to Greece. Zeus notices the ploy and quickly searches for the person responsible. Hypnos, for his part, had run towards the dark arms of his mother. When Zeus understands that to punish Hypnos he must necessarily anger Nyx, he appeases her anger and turns it toward more accessible targets.

Nix’s task is not only about “being herself,” that is, “being the Night.” In her actions we sense a complex juxtaposition of mechanisms that facilitate the stability of the universe. Maybe that’s why Zeus suppressed her fury against her. In short, Nix actively collaborated so that the Lord of Olympus overthrew her tyrannical father and became the ruler of the world.

Legend has it that Cronus devoured all his children as they were born from Rhea’s womb. Through a ruse, Rhea managed to sneak away one of the children, none other than Zeus. When old Cronos was drunk and euphoric inside his cave, perhaps digesting the hard matter of his offspring, Nyx fell on him and induced him into a prophetic dream through a beautiful and melancholic song. Adrastea, Zeus’s nurse, brought the boy to her father. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Zeus captured him and freed his brothers from the insatiable stomach of Time that devours everything except Night.

Despite these honors and attributes, Nix had no established cults. In fact, the only classical author who cites a temple of his is Pausanias, who speaks of a modest oracle in Megera.

We can think that this absence of cults responds to the furtive nature of the Night. In essence, Nix is ​​a goddess who lurks in the myths of other characters but who does not demand sacrifices or offerings of any kind. Some gods recognize her importance through sumptuous epithets, for example, Dionysus Nyktelios and Aphrodite Filopannyx.

It is logical to think that if Dionysus, the lord of excess, and Aphrodite, the goddess of love; They paid tribute to him; other secret worshipers perhaps took advantage of the darkness to raise a prayer of gratitude for the shadows that favor love; and above all to clandestine lovers, an order of proven audacity that demands a silent and discreet worship.

Mythology. I Greek mythology.

The article: Nix: the Greek goddess of the night was made by . For reproduction, write to us at