In Greek mythology, Nyx (Νύξ, Nox in Roman translation) was the primordial goddess of the night. The bust of Zeus found at Otricoli (Sala Rotonda, Museo Pio-Clementino, Vatican) Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world and their own cult and ritual practices. ... In Greek mythology, the Titans (Greek Τιτάν, plural Τιτάνες) were a race of powerful deities that ruled during the legendary Golden Age. ... The twelve gods of Olympus. ... The ancient Greeks had a very small number of see gods. ... For other uses, see Chthon (disambiguation). ... In Greek mythology, the Muses (Greek , Mousai: from the Proto-Indo-European root *men- think, from which mind and mental are also derived[1]) are nine goddesses or spiritual guides who embody the arts and inspire the creation process with their graces through remembered and improvised song and stage, writing... Asclepius (Greek also rendered Aesculapius in Latin and transliterated Asklepios) was the god of medicine and healing in ancient Greek mythology, according to which he was born a mortal but was given immortality as the constellation Ophiuchus after his death. ... The ancient Greeks proposed many different ideas about the primordial gods in their mythology. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Chaos. ... Aether (upper air), in Greek mythology, was the personification of the upper sky, space and heaven. ... Gaia (pronounced // or //) (land or earth, from the Greek ; variant spelling Gaea—see also Ge from ) is a Greek goddess personifying the Earth. ... Uranus is the Latinized form of Ouranos, Greek name of the sky. ... In Greek mythology, Eros was the god responsible for lust, love, and sex; he was also worshipped as a fertility deity. ... In Greek mythology Erebus (Έρεβος Erebos, Desert from eremos ) was a primordial god, the personification of darkness and shadow, which filled in all the corners and crannies of the world. ... In Greek mythology, Ophion (serpent), also called Ophioneus ruled the world with Eurynome before the two of them were cast down by Cronus and Rhea, according to some sources. ... In classic Greek mythology, below heaven, earth, and hades is Tartarus, or Tartaros. ... The bust of Zeus found at Otricoli (Sala Rotonda, Museo Pio-Clementino, Vatican) Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world and their own cult and ritual practices. ... Statue of Ceres, the Roman goddess of the agriculture A goddess is a female deity, in contrast with a male deity known as a god. Many cultures have goddesses, sometimes alone, but more often as part of a larger pantheon that includes both the conventional genders and in some cases...

Nyx in Hesiod

Nyx, goddess of the night (William-Adolphe Bouguereau - La Nuit (1883))

In Hesiod's Theogony, Night is born of Chaos; her offspring are many, and telling. With her brother Erebus, Night gives birth to Aether ("atmosphere") and Hemera ("day"). Later, on her own, Night gives birth to Momus "blame", Ponos "toil", Moros "fate", Thanatos "death", Hypnos "sleep", the Oneiroi "the tribe of dreams", the Hesperides, the Keres and Fates, Nemesis, Apate "deception", Philotes "friendship", Geras "age", and Eris "strife". File links The following pages link to this file: William-Adolphe Bouguereau gallery Categories: Paintings containing nudity ... File links The following pages link to this file: William-Adolphe Bouguereau gallery Categories: Paintings containing nudity ... William-Adolphe Bouguereau, self-portrait (1886) William-Adolphe Bouguereau (November 30, 1825 – August 19, 1905) was a French academic painter. ... 1883 (MDCCCLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Bust, traditionally thought to be Seneca, now identified by some as Hesiod. ... Wikisource has original text related to this article: Theogony Wikisource has original text related to this article: Theogony (in Greek) Theogony is a poem by Hesiod describing the origins of the gods of ancient Greek religion. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Chaos. ... In Greek mythology Erebus (Έρεβος Erebos, Desert from eremos ) was a primordial god, the personification of darkness and shadow, which filled in all the corners and crannies of the world. ... Aether (upper air), in Greek mythology, was the personification of the upper sky, space and heaven. ... In Greek mythology, Hemera was a primordial goddess, born of Erebus. ... For the Scottish artist and singer see Momus (artist) Momus or Momos (μῶμος), in Greek mythology the god of satire, mockery, writers, poets, a spirit of evil-spirited blame and unfair criticism. ... Ponos was the god of pain or toil in Greek mythology. ... In Spanish, Moros means Moors. ... Look up Thanatos in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In Greek mythology, Hypnos was the personification of sleep; the Roman equivalent was known as Somnus. ... In Greek mythology, the Oneiroi were the sons of Hypnos, the god of sleep. ... For the ancient Greek city Hesperides see Benghazi. ... In Greek mythology, the Keres (singular: Ker) were female death-spirits and sources of evils. ... In Greek mythology, the white-robed Moirae or Moerae (Greek Μοίραι – the Apportioners, often called the Fates) were the personifications of destiny (Roman equivalent: Parcae, sparing ones, or Fatae; also equivalent to the Germanic Norns). ... Note: This article contains special characters. ... Daughter of Nyx in Greek mythology, Apate was the personification of deceit. ... Philotes is a minor Greek goddess. ... Geras, detail of an Attic red-figure pelike, ca. ... The name Eris may refer to: Eris (dwarf planet), the largest known dwarf planet in the solar system (also called 136199 Eris, whose provisional designation was 2003 UB313) Eris (mythology), in Greek mythology the goddess of discord, and the Goddess of Discordianism Eris (spider), a genus of jumping spiders Eris...

In his description of Tartarus, Hesiod says further that Hemera "day", who is now Night's sister rather than daughter, left Tartarus just as Nyx entered it; when Hemera returned, Nyx left. This mirrors the portrayal of Ratri "night" in the Rig-Veda, where she works in close cooperation but also tension with her sister Ushas "dawn". In classic Greek mythology, below heaven, earth, and hades is Tartarus, or Tartaros. ... In Greek mythology, Hemera was a primordial goddess, born of Erebus. ... In classic Greek mythology, below heaven, earth, and hades is Tartarus, or Tartaros. ... Hindu goddess of night, and the sister of Ushas, the goddess Dawn. ... The Rig Veda ऋग्वेद (Sanskrit á¹›gveda from á¹›c praise + veda knowledge) is a collection of hymns(each hymn is called a Rucha.) counted among the four Hindu religious scriptures known as the Vedas, and contains the oldest texts preserved in any Indo-Iranian language. ... Ushas (उषः úṣas-), Sanskrit for dawn, is the chief goddess (sometimes imagined as several goddesses, Dawns) exalted in the Rigveda. ...

Nyx in Homer

In Book 14 of Homer's Iliad, there is an interesting quote by Hypnos, the minor god of sleep, in which he reminds Hera of an old favor after she asks him to put Zeus to sleep. He had once before put Zeus to sleep at the bidding of Hera, allowing her to cause Herakles (who was returning by sea from Laomedon's Troy) great misfortune. Zeus was furious and would have smote Hypnos into the sea if he had not fled to Nyx, his mother, in fear. Hypnos goes on to say that Zeus, fearing to anger Nyx, held his fury at bay, and in this way Hypnos escaped the wrath of Zeus. Homer (Greek: , Hómēros) was a legendary early Greek poet and aoidos (singer) traditionally credited with the composition of the Iliad and the Odyssey. ... It has been suggested that Deception of Zeus be merged into this article or section. ... In Greek mythology, Hypnos was the personification of sleep; the Roman equivalent was known as Somnus. ... In the Olympian pantheon of classical Greek Mythology, Hera (IPA pronunciation: ; Greek or ) was the wife and older sister of Zeus. ... The Statue of Zeus at Olympia Phidias created the 12-m (40-ft) tall statue of Zeus at Olympia about 435 BC. The statue was perhaps the most famous sculpture in Ancient Greece, imagined here in a 16th century engraving Zeus (in Greek: nominative: Zeús, genitive: Díos), is... For the son of Alexander the Great, see Heracles (Macedon). ... In Greek mythology, Laomedon was a Trojan king and father of Ganymedes, Priam, Astyoche, Lampus, Hicetaon, Clytius, Cilla, Aethylla, and Hesione. ...

Nyx in Orphic Poetry

Night took on an even more important role in several fragmentary poems attributed to Orpheus. In them, Night, rather than Chaos, is the first principle. Night occupies a cave or adyton, in which she gives oracles. Kronos - who is chained within, asleep and drunk on honey - dreams and prophesies. Outside the cave, Adrastea clashes cymbals and beats upon her tympanon, moving the entire universe in an ecstatic dance to the rhythm of Nyx's chanting. The head of Orpheus, from an 1865 painting by Gustave Moreau. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Chaos. ... The Adyton (Greek Αδυτον) was a restricted ares within the cella of a Greek or Roman temple. ... Consulting the Oracle by John William Waterhouse, showing eight priestesses in a temple of prophecy An oracle is a person or persons considered to be the source of wise counsel or prophetic opinion; an infallible authority, usually spiritual in nature. ... Cronus (Ancient Greek Κρόνος, Krónos), also called Cronos or Kronos, was the leader and the youngest of the first generation of Titans, divine descendants of Gaia, the earth, and Uranus, the sky. ... A goddess in Greek mythology and a daughter of Zeus, Adrasteia (inescapable) was also an epithet applied to Rhea, Cybele, Nemesis and Ananke. ... A timpanist in the United States Air Forces in Europe Band. ...

Other Greek texts

Night is also the first principle in the opening chorus of Aristophanes's Birds, which may be Orphic in inspiration. Here she is also the mother of Eros. In other texts she may be the mother of Charon (with Erebus), and Phthonus "envy" (with Dionysus?). Sketch of Aristophanes Aristophanes (Greek: , c. ... In Greek mythology, Eros was the god responsible for lust, love, and sex; he was also worshipped as a fertility deity. ... In Greek mythology, Charon (Greek Χάρων, the bright[1]) was the ferryman of Hades. ... In Greek mythology Erebus (Έρεβος Erebos, Desert from eremos ) was a primordial god, the personification of darkness and shadow, which filled in all the corners and crannies of the world. ... In Greek mythology, Phthonus was the personification of jealousy and envy. ... Dionysus with a leopard, satyr and grapes on a vine, in the Palazzo Altemps (Rome, Italy) This article is about the ancient deity. ...

The theme of Night's cave or house, beyond the ocean (as in Hesiod) or somewhere at the edge of the cosmos (as in later Orphism) may be echoed in the philosophical poem of Parmenides. The classical scholar Walter Burkert has speculated that the house of the goddess to which the philosopher is transported is the palace of Night; this hypothesis, however, must remain tentative. Universe is a word derived from the Old French univers, which in turn comes from the Latin roots unus (one) and versus (a form of vertere, to turn). Physicists concept of the Universe is motivated[] by the attempt to describe the whole of space-time, including all matter and energy... Parmenides of Elea (Greek: , early 5th century BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher born in Elea, a Hellenic city on the southern coast of Italy. ... Walter Burkert (born Neuendettelsau (Bavaria), February 2, 1931), the most eminent living scholar of Greek myth and cult, is an emeritus professor of classics at the University of Zurich, Switzerland who has also taught in the United Kingdom and the United States. ...

Cults of Night

Nyx, as represented in the 10th-century Paris Psalter.

In Greece, Night is only rarely the recipient of cult. According to Pausanias, she had an oracle on the acropolis at Megara (Paus. 1.40.1). Image File history File links Paris_psaulter_gr139_fol435v. ... Image File history File links Paris_psaulter_gr139_fol435v. ... Prophet Isaiah and Nyx, a female figure whose inverted torch and drapery blown over her head follow Hellenistic conventions. ... Pausanias (Greek: ) was a Greek traveller and geographer of the 2nd century A.D., who lived in the times of Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. ... Megara (Greek: Μέγαρα; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is an ancient city in Attica, Greece. ...

More often, Nyx lurks in the background of other cults. Thus there was a statue called Night in the temple of Artemis at Ephesus. The Spartans had a cult of Sleep and Death, conceived of as twins (Paus. 3.18.1) - no doubt with Night as their mother. Cult titles composed of compounds of nyx- are attested for several gods, most notably Dionysus Nyktelios "nocturnal" (Paus. 1.40.6) and Aphrodite Philopannyx "who loves the whole night" (Orphic Hymn 55). The Diana of Versailles, a Roman copy of a sculpture by Leochares (Louvre Museum) Artemis (Greek: nominative , genitive ) in Greek mythology the daughter of Zeus and of Leto and the twin sister of Apollo, was one of the most widely venerated of the gods and manifestly one of the oldest... Historical Map of Ephesus, from Meyers Konversationslexikon 1888 Ephesus (Greek: , Turkish: ), was one of the great cities of the Ionian Greeks in Anatolia, located in Lydia where the Cayster River (Küçük Menderes) flows into the Aegean Sea (in modern day Turkey). ... Coordinates 37°4′ N 22°26′ E Country Greece Periphery Peloponnese Prefecture Laconia Population 18,184 source (2001) Area 84. ... Dionysus with a leopard, satyr and grapes on a vine, in the Palazzo Altemps (Rome, Italy) This article is about the ancient deity. ... The Birth of Venus, (detail) by Sandro Botticelli, 1485 Aphrodite (Greek: Ἀφροδίτη, pronounced in English as and in Ancient Greek as ) was the Greek goddess of love, lust, beauty, and sexuality. ...

Nyx in modern literature/culture

In the song Erebus by The Amenta the final line makes reference to Nyx with "Ah, Nyx. Close your womb. Your children are heavy." In Greek mythology Erebus (Έρεβος Erebos, Desert from eremos ) was a primordial god, the personification of darkness and shadow, which filled in all the corners and crannies of the world. ... The Amenta are a industrial death metal band based in Sydney, Australia. ...

In the series Incarnations of Immortality by Piers Anthony, Nox appears as the Incarnation of Night who's schemes are quite mysterious. Incarnations of Immortality is the name of a seven-book fantasy series by Piers Anthony. ... Piers Anthony Dillingham Jacob (born August 6, 1934 in Oxford, England) is a writer in the science fiction and fantasy genres, publishing under the name Piers Anthony. ...

Nyx outside of Greece

In Roman texts that take up this Greek theme, Nyx is translated as Nox. (Virgil V, 721) Roman mythology, the mythological beliefs of the people of Ancient Rome, can be considered as having two parts. ... A bust of Virgil, from the entrance to his tomb in Naples, Italy. ...

On June 21, 2006, the International Astronomical Union renamed one of Pluto's recently discovered moons (S/2005 P 2) to Nix, in honor of Nyx. The name was spelled with an "i" instead of a "y", to avoid conflict with the asteroid 3908 Nyx. June 21 is the 172nd day of the year (173rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 193 days remaining. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... Logo of the IAU The International Astronomical Union (French: Union astronomique internationale) unites national astronomical societies from around the world. ... Adjectives: Plutonian Atmosphere Surface pressure: 0. ... Nix (formerly known as S/2005 P 2), is a natural satellite of Pluto. ... 253 Mathilde, a C-type asteroid. ... 3908 Nyx is an Amor and Mars-crosser asteroid. ...

References

• Aristophanes, Birds.
• Hesiod, Theogony.
• Otto Kern ed., Orphicorum Fragmenta.
• Pausanias, Descriptions of Greece.
• [1] in the game Resident Evil: Outbreak File 2, Nyx was the final boss of End Of The Road
• News article about the naming of Plutos moons

Sketch of Aristophanes Aristophanes (Greek: , c. ... Bust, traditionally thought to be Seneca, now identified by some as Hesiod. ... Wikisource has original text related to this article: Theogony Wikisource has original text related to this article: Theogony (in Greek) Theogony is a poem by Hesiod describing the origins of the gods of ancient Greek religion. ... Otto Kern (February 14, 1863 – January 31, 1942) was a German linguist and former professor of Philosophy at the University of Hamburg. ... Pausanias (Greek: ) was a Greek traveller and geographer of the 2nd century A.D., who lived in the times of Hadrian, Antoninus Pius and Marcus Aurelius. ...

See also

• Nix (disambiguation)

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