THE MYTH OF MORPHEO, CALLED THE GOD OF DREAM

Morpheus is recognized in Greek mythology as the god of dreams. He was in charge of inciting dreams in those who sleep, to enter them using a familiar aspect and allow mortals to temporarily escape the influence of the gods.

Morpheus

Within Greek mythology, Morpheus is the deity of dreams, son of the incarnation of sleep (Hypnos), who is responsible for bringing dreams to sovereigns and emperors. His name comes from the Greek Μορφεύς, which means “form”, so that is what What does Morpheus mean?.

According to certain ancient doctrines, he is the most important of the Oniros, the thousand children procreated by Hypnos (the Dream) and Nyx (Night, his mother), or by Hypnos with Pasithea.

He was represented with wings that he waved quickly and quietly, making it possible to go anywhere on Earth. Morpheus was responsible for inciting the dreams of those who snooze and for taking on a human appearance to enter them, particularly those of loved ones (hence his name), allowing mortals to escape divine snares for moments.

He was sanctioned by Zeus for revealing secrets to humans through his dreams. The expression “fall into the arms of Morpheus” originates from his name, which means ‘to dream’ and consequently ‘to sleep’ or vice versa.

The Greek doctors offered worship to Morpheus particularly in the oratories of the great oracles and in the temples of Aesculapius, deity of medicine, which was evoked through ceremonial complexes in which baths, abstinence, burning incense, music and chants were used. they encourage sleep.

Who is Morpheus?

On this occasion we once again ratify what has already been outlined in previous paragraphs. Morpheus is famous in Greek mythology as the god responsible for making dreams come, as we have already indicated, whose great quality was inherited from his mother, who was the pure personification of dreams.

Taking on this occasion the references of ancient theologies, the main and at the same time the thousand representations or personifications of the dream are placed.

In Greek mythology, its symbolism showed it with wings that it flapped with great cunning and without making any kind of sounds, in such a way that it could move around different places on earth without any problem since it had great speed to do so.

His primary job was to bring pleasant dreams to all those who dozed, and in this way to adopt some aspect to be present in each of them. In other words, there will be a standard Morpheus physical manifestation pattern so to speak.

However, this will be uncertain because its personification in each dream where it occurs is variable. In particular we refer to the personification of loved ones. From there comes he and in turn the etymology of his name, which made it easier for mortals to get rid of divine disturbances, for just a few moments.

In the story of Ceice and Alcìone, Morpheus plays an essential role, particularly when referring to the works of both Homer and Ovid. The quote below gives meaning to why within the poet Ovid’s work he plays an irreplaceable role.

“…in the transformation that Morpheus dozes on an ebony bed in a slightly illuminated cavern, surrounded by poppy flowers (which have alkaloids with sedative and narcotic consequences).

He also relates that while his brothers Phobétor (or Ichelo) and Fantaso were in charge of animals, lifeless objects, and dream apparitions, Morpheus focused on human elements.”

With the above we can observe the representation exhibited by Morpheus within the different works, written by various poets. It is clear that on this occasion we are referring to the work called “The Metamorphosis” by the poet Ovid.

History

Although today they do not offer the cult that the Greeks do give to the gods of their mythology, undoubtedly many of them continue to have a total and unaltered influence on some of the many popular creeds.

Morpheus is known as the Greek god who encourages sleep and at the same time strives to make dreams pleasant. Just like its culture, its traditions are typical of the period related to classical antiquity, even so, there are certain aspects related to the Greek divinities that insist on perpetuating themselves. We only have to take a look at popular beliefs to reaffirm the above.

The following is one of the numerous famous phrases, which are presumed to be said to Morpheus, when observing someone resting peacefully:

“When you observe someone sleeping peacefully, that is, you see that they are having very pleasant dreams, that they delight in them, the usual thing is to say that they are in the arms of Morpheus.”

We insist that Morpheus was recognized by the Greeks as the god who watched over the sweet and pleasant dreams of others. Therefore, when observing a person who is completely asleep, full responsibility is usually attributed to Morpheus.

Projecting to its origins, the legend tells us that Morpheus was the son of the god Hypnos, who was the deity that symbolized sleep and for which the unique ability to bring dreams to both sovereigns and emperors was attributed to him, as noted. previously. In this way it can be verified that Morpheus received some character from his mother and thanks to this he is considered as such.

Continuing with the legend, we are told that Nix, who was considered the special goddess of the night, was the mother of Morpheus, an association that will be referred to later and that is quite logical since sleep is reconciled. more easily at night.

The two parents of Morpheus, both Hypnos and Nyx, fathered a great number of offspring, of which the most notable is our character under study. From here we delve into understanding his family environment to learn a little more about Morpheus’s life.

Attributes

Morpheus is characterized by two dark wings, which allow him to move quickly through all corners of the cosmos, and in such a way that he can have some kind of manifestation in other people’s dreams. The usual thing is that it will appear personifying some being in the dreamer’s family or friends.

Its predominance was such that it found its way into the works of the famous Greek author named Homer and the Roman poet named Ovid. From Homer’s work it can be noted that he extends the notion that the dreamers lived on some shadowy beaches, located to the west of the extreme ocean.

There were a succession of caves where the gods were the ones who brought dreams to men from some of the porticos of the caves, as Homer pointed out. This was the idea that beneficial dreams emerged from cave doors made of horn, and negative dreams emerged from ivory doors.

Father of Morpheus

Hypnos, as noted before, is known as the personification of sleep, his parents are known as Nix, the night, and Erebus, who represents the uncertainties of hell, both of whom were in turn children of Chaos. He is also known as the twin brother of Thanatos, death.

It is also recognized that the birth of Hypnos is very close to Genesis, having Greek mythology as a reference, since night and darkness, “who would be his progenitors,” are aspects of great essentiality.

Hypnos is part of a family of somewhat intricate notions, which are distinguished from the equally notable divinities brought to the world by Gaia, (a deity who personifies the Earth) who is also the daughter of Chaos. Therefore, Hipnos has barely suffered from a somewhat diffuse stage.

Hera (wife of Zeus) ordered Hypnos to put Heracles to sleep completely, so that his ship would be dragged away, and she also put Zeus to sleep in order to get Poseidon to advocate positively to protect the Greeks in the famous Trojan War.

Thanks to the support offered by his brother Thanatos, he was able to transport the body of the warrior Sarpedon to Lycia since he died in Troy. Likewise, a background is known, in which Hypnos, supposedly in love with Endymion, gives him the virtue of sleeping with his eyes open in order to be able to see the splendid eternity.

According to its symbology, it usually personifies a winged man “with wings on his back or on his temples” who quickly travels over the land and sea, and in turn bewitches other beings. He usually palpates the subjects’ foreheads, or pours a liquid into their eyes that he usually carries in his mouth. Legend has it that he fathered nearly a hundred children, but only three are mentioned: Morpheus, Ichelus and Fantasus.

Morpheus is known from his symbolism, as an old man with wings and completely stealthy with a poppy herb in his hand, who was responsible for entering men’s dreams. His name means “form” since his manifestations are fraudulent and in various forms.

Mother of Morpheus

The divinity Nix is ​​the progenitor of Morpheus, according to Greek mythology where she is known particularly as the goddess of the night. Initially she was known as the ruler of chaos or nothingness. From her originate all the other higher gods.

Among the initial gods, the following stand out: “Gaia (Mother Earth), Eros (the energy of Procreation), Tartarus or the underworld, a huge hole of darkness beneath the earth (the Hell of the Greeks), Erebus or main deity of the Darkness and Nyx, the deity of the night.”

When reviewing the most ancient gods, it would not be fair to fail to allude to the goddess Nix, who had a completely relevant role in Greek mythology, but particularly in ancient mythology.

When focusing on the symbology of the goddess Nix, she is usually represented as a young woman who has enormous long wings, wearing a black blanket, which has some stars printed on it. She drives a chariot pulled by two horses and it is usual for her to always be accompanied by her two twin offspring called Hypnos and Thanatos.

His honor was recognized in that his abilities were much superior when compared to other gods, it was even considered true that these could trigger the fear of the god Zeus. The most important cult of him was found primarily in the entirety of Ancient Greece.

It was common that when worshiping him, the exaltation rituals were carried out with the use of some roosters and a few black sheep, since it began with the premise that the vociferation of these animals disturbed the tranquility of the night. It is relevant to highlight that the plant that represented it was the poppy and its divine animal was the well-known owl.

Its mythology was of such potential that it used to be believed that as soon as Nix left Tartarus he reached the surface of the earth, and that there only…