In Greek mythology, Nyx (Νύξ, Nox in Roman translation) was the primordial goddess of the night. A shadowy figure, Night stood at or near the beginning of creation, and was the mother of personified gods such as Sleep and Death. Her appearances in mythology are sparse, but reveal her as a figure of exceptional power. NYX may refer to: Nyx (mythology), in Greek mythology, Nyx 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 the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. ... This article is about the race of Titans in Greek mythology. ... The Twelve Olympians by Monsiau, circa late 18th century. ... The ancient Greeks had a very small number of see gods. ... For other uses, see Chthon (disambiguation). ... For the rock band, see Muse (band). ... Asclepius (Greek , transliterated AsklÄ“piós; Latin Aesculapius) is the demigod of medicine and healing in ancient Greek mythology. ... 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. ... For other uses, see Gaia. ... For other uses, see Uranus (disambiguation). ... In Greek mythology, Hemera was a primordial goddess, born of Erebus. ... For other uses, see Chronos (disambiguation). ... 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, Deep blackness/darkness or shadow from Ancient Greek Έρεβος) was the son of a primordial God, Chaos, 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. ... This article is about the deity and the place in Greek mythology. ... 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 the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. ... For the 1934 film, see The Goddess (1934 film). ... Phillipp Veits Germania (1877), a personification of Germany. ... This article is about the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... In Greek mythology, Hypnos was the personification of sleep; the Roman equivalent was known as Somnus . ... In Greek mythology, Thanatos (in Ancient Greek, θάνατος – Death) was the Daimon personification of Death and Mortality. ...

Role in myth and literature

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", Charon, 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). ... Year 1883 (MDCCCLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... Roman bronze bust, the so-called Pseudo-Seneca, now identified by some as possibly Hesiod Hesiod (Hesiodos, ) was an early Greek poet and rhapsode, who presumably lived around 700 BC. Hesiod and Homer, with whom Hesiod is often paired, have been considered the earliest Greek poets whose work has survived... Theogony (Greek: Θεογονία, theogonia = the birth of God(s)) is a poem by Hesiod describing the origins and genealogies of the gods of the ancient Greeks, composed circa 700 BC. The title of the work comes from the Greek words for god and seed. // Hesiods Theogony is a large-scale... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Chaos. ... In Greek mythology Erebus (Έρεβος Erebos, Deep blackness/darkness or shadow from Ancient Greek Έρεβος) was the son of a primordial God, Chaos, 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. ... In Greek mythology, Thanatos (in Ancient Greek, θάνατος – Death) was the Daimon personification of Death and Mortality. ... In Greek mythology, Hypnos was the personification of sleep; the Roman equivalent was known as Somnus . ... Charon may refer to: Charon (mythology) - the figure from Greek, and later Christian mythology, who ferried the dead across the river Acheron in the underworld Hades and Hell, respectively. ... 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. ... Eris (ca. ...

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". This article is about the deity and the place in Greek mythology. ... In Greek mythology, Hemera was a primordial goddess, born of Erebus. ... This article is about the deity and the place in Greek mythology. ... 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. ...

Homer

In Book 14 of Homer's Iliad, there is a 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 Heracles (who was returning by sea from Laomedon's Troy) great misfortune. Zeus was furious and would have smitten 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. This article is about the Greek poet Homer and the works attributed to him. ... title page of the Rihel edition of ca. ... In Greek mythology, Hypnos was the personification of sleep; the Roman equivalent was known as Somnus . ... For other uses, see Hera (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Zeus (disambiguation). ... Alcides redirects here. ... In Greek mythology, Laomedon was a Trojan king and father of Ganymedes, Priam, Astyoche, Lampus, Hicetaon, Clytius, Cilla, Aethylla, and Hesione. ...

Other Greek texts

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. Phanes - the strange, monstrous, hermaphrodite Orphic demiurge - was the child or father of Nyx. For other uses, see Orpheus (disambiguation). ... 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. ... This article is about prophetic oracles in various cultures. ... Not to be confused with Chronos, the personification of time. ... 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. ... In Greek mythology, Phanes (light) or Protogonus (first-born) was the primeval deity of procreation and the generation of new life; his other names included Ericapaeus (power) and Metis (thought). He is often equated with Eros and Mithras and has been depicted as a hermaphroditic deity emerging from a cosmic... For other uses, see Hermaphrodite (disambiguation). ... Demiurge (from the Greek , Latinized , meaning artisan or craftsman, literally worker in the service of the people, from of the people + work) is a term for a creator deity, responsible for the creation of the physical universe. ...

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?). This article is about the 5-4th century BC dramatist. ... In Greek mythology, Eros was the god responsible for lust, love, and sex; he was also worshipped as a fertility deity. ... Michelangelos rendition of Charon. ... In Greek mythology Erebus (Έρεβος Erebos, Deep blackness/darkness or shadow from Ancient Greek Έρεβος) was the son of a primordial God, Chaos, 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. ... 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. For other uses, see Universe (disambiguation). ... 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. ...

Role in society

Cults of Nyx

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

In Greece, Night is only rarely the focus of cults. 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. ... Bold text For other uses, see Megara (disambiguation). ...

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). organization, For other uses, see Artemis (disambiguation). ... For the town in the southern United States, see Ephesus, Georgia. ... For modern day Sparta, see Sparti (municipality). ... This article is about the ancient deity. ... The Birth of Venus, (detail) by Sandro Botticelli, 1485 For other uses, see Aphrodite (disambiguation). ...

Modern homages

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. is the 172nd day of the year (173rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... IAU redirects here. ... For other uses, see Pluto (disambiguation). ... Nix (formerly known as S/2005 P 2), is a natural satellite of Pluto. ... For other uses, see Asteroid (disambiguation). ... 3908 Nyx is an Amor and Mars-crosser asteroid. ...

Children of Nyx

• By Erebus, the primeval Darkness
  • Aether
  • Charon
  • Hemera
  • Styx (but also said to be a daughter of Oceanus and Tethys).
  • Epiphron
• By Parthenogenesis
  • Apate Deceit
  • Ker, Keres Fates of death
  • Momos Blame, mockery, gaiety
  • Moros Doom.
  • Oizys Misery
  • Oneiroi Dreams
  • Philotes Pleasure of love, friendship
  • Thanatos Death
  • Eris Strife
  • Geras Old Age
  • Hypnos Sleep
  • Nemesis Retribution
  • Hesperides
• By Uranus
  • Lyssa Madness
• By itself again
  • Phanes

In Greek mythology Erebus (Έρεβος Erebos, Deep blackness/darkness or shadow from Ancient Greek Έρεβος) was the son of a primordial God, Chaos, the personification of darkness and shadow, which filled in all the corners and crannies of the world. ... Dark redirects here. ... Aether (upper air), in Greek mythology, was the personification of the upper sky, space and heaven. ... Michelangelos rendition of Charon. ... In Greek mythology, Hemera was a primordial goddess, born of Erebus. ... Styx may refer to: Styx (band), an American rock band popular in the 1970s and 1980s Styx (album), the first album released by the band Styx in 1972 Styx forest, a forest in Tasmania, Australia Styx (Game), a 1983 game by Windmill Software Styx (MUD), a text-based game Styx... Oceanus, with his wife, Tethys, ruled the seas before Poseidon. ... In Greek mythology, Tethys was a Titaness and sea goddess who was both sister and wife of Oceanus. ... For the religious belief, see Virgin Birth of Jesus. ... Daughter of Nyx in Greek mythology, Apate was the personification of deceit. ... In Greek mythology, the Keres (singular: Ker) were female death-spirits and sources of evils. ... In Greek mythology, the Keres (singular: Ker) were female death-spirits and sources of evils. ... In Greek mythology, Momos was a minor god of satire. ... In Spanish, Moros means Moors. ... Oizys is the daughter of Nyx, the personification of night in Greek mythology and of Erebus or Cronus. ... In Greek mythology, the Oneiroi were the sons of Hypnos, the god of sleep. ... In Greek mythology, Philotes was a daughter of Nyx. ... In Greek mythology, Thanatos (in Ancient Greek, θάνατος – Death) was the Daimon personification of Death and Mortality. ... Eris (ca. ... Geras, detail of an Attic red-figure pelike, ca. ... In Greek mythology, Hypnos was the personification of sleep; the Roman equivalent was known as Somnus . ... Note: This article contains special characters. ... For the ancient Greek city Hesperides see Benghazi. ... Ouranos is the Greek name of the sky, latinized as Uranus. ... The Greek goddess of rabies and mad rage, Lyssa was one of the Maniae (madnesses), a nurse of Eros and a daughter of Nyx, who was impregnated by the blood from the wound of the castrated Ouranos. ... In Greek mythology, Phanes (light) or Protogonus (first-born) was the primeval deity of procreation and the generation of new life; his other names included Ericapaeus (power) and Metis (thought). He is often equated with Eros and Mithras and has been depicted as a hermaphroditic deity emerging from a cosmic...

References

• Aristophanes, Birds.
• Hesiod, Theogony.
• Otto Kern ed., Orphicorum Fragmenta.
• Pausanias, Descriptions of Greece.

This article is about the 5-4th century BC dramatist. ... Roman bronze bust, the so-called Pseudo-Seneca, now identified by some as possibly Hesiod Hesiod (Hesiodos, ) was an early Greek poet and rhapsode, who presumably lived around 700 BC. Hesiod and Homer, with whom Hesiod is often paired, have been considered the earliest Greek poets whose work has survived... Theogony (Greek: Θεογονία, theogonia = the birth of God(s)) is a poem by Hesiod describing the origins and genealogies of the gods of the ancient Greeks, composed circa 700 BC. The title of the work comes from the Greek words for god and seed. // Hesiods Theogony is a large-scale... 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)
• List of night deities

Nix may refer to: Nix, water creatures in German and Scandinavian folklore Nix (moon), a natural satellite of Pluto Nix Jeans, a domestic Korean clothing manufacturer and jeans label Nix Nought Nothing, a story collected by Joseph Jacobs in his English Fairy Tales Nix v. ... Categories: | ...

External links

• News article about the naming of Pluto's moons