Sleep and his half-brother Death (Hypnos and Thanatos) by John William Waterhouse (1874)

Morpheus ("he who forms, shapes, moulds", from the Greek morphe) is the Greek god of dreams. Image File history File links Waterhouse-sleep_and_his_half-brother_death-1874. ... Image File history File links Waterhouse-sleep_and_his_half-brother_death-1874. ... John William Waterhouse. ... God, as a male deity, contrasts with female deities, or goddesses. While the term goddess specifically refers to a female deity, words like gods and deities can be applied to all gods collectively, regardless of gender. ... A dream is the experience of envisioned images, sounds, or other sensations during sleep. ...

Morpheus has the ability to take any human's form and appear in dreams. His father is the god Hypnos, of sleep. Nyx (the goddess of night) is his mother/grandmother. The sons of Hypnos — the Oneiroi — are rulers of dreams, and also include Phobetor (also known as Icelus), and Phantasos. In Greek mythology, Hypnos was the personification of sleep; the Roman equivalent was known as Somnus . ... In Greek mythology, Nyx (, Nox in Roman translation) was the primordial goddess of the night. ... In Greek mythology, the Oneiroi were the sons of Hypnos, the god of sleep. ... In Greek mythology, Phobetor (frightening) was a son of Hypnos and one of the Oneiroi. ... In Greek mythology, Icelus is the name the other gods use for Phobetor. ... In Greek mythology, Phantasos (apparition) was a son of Hypnos and one of the Oneiroi. ...

Morpheus is spoken of in the Metamorphoses of Ovid. He sleeps on an ebony bed in a dimly lit cave, surrounded by poppy flowers. Ovid suggests that Morpheus has a special talent for mimicking human form in dreams. According to Ovid, Morpheus concentrated on the human elements of dreams, his brothers Phobetor and Phantasos being responsible for animals and inanimate objects, respectively. // Cover of George Sandyss 1632 edition of Ovids Metamorphosis Englished The Metamorphoses by the Roman poet Ovid is a poem in fifteen books that describes the creation and history of the world in terms according to Greek and Roman points of view. ... Engraved frontispiece of George Sandyss 1632 London edition of Publius Ovidius Naso (Sulmona, March 20, 43 BC – Tomis, now Constanţa AD 17), a Roman poet known to the English-speaking world as Ovid, wrote on topics of love, abandoned women and mythological transformations. ... Binomial name Diospyros ebenum Koenig ex Retz. ... A wild field of poppies, West Azarbaijan Province, Iran A poppy is any of a number of showy flowers, born one per stem, belonging to the poppy family. ...

Morpheus sends images of humans in dreams or visions, and is responsible for shaping dreams, or giving shape to the beings which inhabit dreams. Phobetor made fearsome dreams (etymologically related to "phobia" from the Greek φόβος "fear"). Phantasos produced tricky and unreal dreams (hence "fantasy", "phantasmagoria", etc.). Together these sons of Hypnos rule the realm of dreams. Morpheus also had special responsibility for the dreams of kings and heroes. For these reasons Morpheus is often referred to as "Morpheus the Greek god of dreams" in superiority to his brothers.

The drug morphine (once "morphium") derives its name from Morpheus based on its dream-inducing power. This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

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