The mysterious nature of sleep has interested people since ancient times. Interpreters, oracles and visionaries tried to explain strange events, the participants or eyewitnesses of which were sleeping. So there were dream books - books, interpreting those visions that visited a person during the rest. The ancients believed that no dream comes to us just like that. They are sent to the gods for reward or punishment. And the all-pervasive Hypnos and his sons, Morpheus, Fobitor, Fantazus and Ikelus, are all aware of this subconscious picture and plot world.
The Embrace of Morpheus
In the time of the gallant century, when it was customary to express gracefully and grandiloquently, the asleep man was told: "Morpheus spread his wings over him"; "He fell into the arms of Morpheus." God of Sleep Morpheus is the hero of Greek legends and myths. The poet-historian Ovidii tells in detail about his pedigree and deeds in his Metamorphoses. The very name of God is translated as "form" (compare: amorphous, ie "formless") and means "accepting any form", "omnipresent", "all-pervading", "shaping dreams". Such an interpretation is not groundless. According to the legends, the god of sleep Morpheus possessed an amazing ability to accept the appearance of any person. He perfectly reproduced other people's habits, gestures, facial expressions, movements, appearance. And since by character Morpheus was pretty naughty and funny, he loved jokes and jokes, he often used his talents. Taking the form of a famous person, the dream-girl was chosen from the cave where he lived with his parents and brothers in the land of Cimmeria, and went to the people. There the god Morpheus chudil, broke off all sorts of jokes, fooled everyone. And the man, on behalf of whom he was amused, for a long time after that he shook his head in amazement. He knew for sure that he did not do anything like that! Although more often the winged creature still appeared in dreams, again reproducing someone. And these dreams were so real that they could hardly be distinguished from the reality.
The divine environment
Although they say that the god of sleep is Morpheus, it is more accurate to call him the lord of dreams. After all, a dream is sent and the mighty Hypnos is responsible for it. If he wants, not only people, but also the gods themselves will plunge into a sound state! No wonder the great Zeus and other celestials always treated Hypnos with some apprehension and did not really trust him. No less strong, mysterious and insidious is the god of sleep Morpheus mother - Nyukta, the goddess of night, darkness, darkness, abyss. According to other mythological sources, Nyukta was only his grandmother. And the mother was one of the graces that accompanied the hunter Artemis in the wanderings through the forests, the clear-eyed Pasiphea. True, it was not as harmless as it seemed at first glance. At the request of her husband, she sent hallucinations to sleepers. To become a parent is another family: the mother's uncle is the terrible Tantos, the inexorable god of death. The most famous brothers, in pairs with whom Morpheus performed his duties, is the god Fobetor, personification of terrible nightmares, terrifying souls of visions; A fantasy that plunged sleepers into dreams, full of unrealizable, but sweet illusions; Ikelos, in charge of which there were dreams prophetic, predictive. Sending them to people, he tried so to turn the plot, so that the dream became as realistic and understandable as possible. Despite their power, yet the brothers obeyed Morpheus - he alone could control dreams, not only human, but also the Olympian gods, immortal heroes, demons and other creatures inhabiting the earthly and heavenly world.
My light, mirror
The Greeks saw the appearance of the overlord of dreams in different ways. According to some legends, he was a tall and slender dark-haired boy, handsome, with little wings at his temples (one source) or behind (in others). On his head he has a poppy wreath, and in the cave a bed of poppies is prepared - on it Morpheus rests. By the way, poppies are a sleepy flower, a soothing drink has been prepared from its seeds for a long time. And one of the drugs - morphine - is named for the same reason. According to other sources, Morpheus is a gray-haired, gray-bearded old man. He walks at night in a raincoat with silver stars, and in his hands holds a cup with a poppy potion. The symbol of the deity is the mythical gateway to the realm of sleep: one half of them (ivory) represents empty dreams, fantasies meaningless, far from reality. The other (from the horn) - dreams are prophetic, truthful. The main thing is to learn to understand them or ask Morpheus to solve riddles.