What does this mean: "the kingdom of Morpheus," and who is this character? We are talking about ancient Greek mythology, where there is a god with that name, which is closely associated with sleep and dreams. In addition, in myths there is a whole family of sleep gods called Onira. More about this and the meaning of the phrase "go to the kingdom of Morpheus" will be told today.
Crowd of dreams
To understand what it is, the kingdom of Morpheus, we will tell about himself and his family. The name of the Onyrov clan comes from the name of the god Onir (Onyros). About them, in particular, it is said in Hesiod, the poet-rhapsody of the VIII-VII centuries BC. e., as a "crowd of dreams" generated by Nyukta.
Translated from the Greek Ὄνειρος means "dream". He was the god of prophetic as well as false dreams. According to the instructions given by Zeus, during the Trojan War he appeared in a dream before Agamemnon and ordered the battle to begin, predicting the Greeks victory, thereby deceiving him.
His parents were:
- Nyukta is a deity who is the personification of night darkness, whose dwelling is in the abyss of Tartarus.
- Erebus is a god personifying eternal darkness, the brother and husband of Nyukta.
Morpheus father
From this marriage, many gods were born, including Hypnos - the father of Morpheus, regarded as the embodiment of sleep. He has a calm disposition and shows favor to the human race. From his name came the word "hypnosis" - a condition similar to a dream.
He lives on the very edge of the world, where the god Helios, personifying the sun, never looks. According to the ancient Greek poet of the VIII century BC. e. Homer, his habitat is the island of Lemnos, in a cave where twilight always reigns and where a stream of oblivion originates. Hypnosis rests here on a beautiful bed.
Morpheus brothers
Also, the three sons of Hypnos belong to the Onyrov family:
- Morpheus, also the god of dreams, who comes in a dream under the guise of a man.
- Ikel, or Phobetor, according to Ovid (the ancient Roman poet, whose life years 43 BC - 17 (18) AD), is another deity who knows dreams but is frightening, which is reflected in his second name (from phobos - “fear”). In dreams, it takes the form of various animals, birds and snakes.
- Fantas - also has a relationship with dreams, appearing in them in the form of inanimate objects and natural phenomena, lives in a land of dreams.
Understanding the question of what this is - the kingdom of Morpheus, we turn to the consideration of this deity in order to understand how it differs from other Onyrs.
Morpheus - the master of imitation
According to one version, the mother of Morpheus (forming dreams) was Aglaya, daughter of Zeus, one of the three graces accompanying Aphrodite. In a literal translation, her name means "clear." Thus, there is a certain symbol of a departure from gloomy and "sleepy" relatives and a connection with the bright side of sleep.
In a dream, Morpheus, being a person, is able to take on the images of many people. He has the ability to imitate with absolute accuracy the voice of the person he portrays, the style of his speech.
Most often, the Greeks portrayed Morpheus as a slender young man with small wings on his temples. But there are other examples of art, where he is represented as an old man with a beard holding a poppy flower in his hand.
Attributes of the deity
Continuing the story of what this is - the kingdom of Morpheus, let's talk about its inherent attributes.
The duties of Morpheus included tracking the dreams of heroes and royal persons. Its main emblem looks like a double gate leading to the world of dreams. One half of these gates consists of ivory, which allows false dreams to pass through, and the other half is horned, intended for true dreams, that is, prophetic dreams.
In the symbols and objects belonging to Morpheus, a black shade was always especially distinguished, which was associated with the color of the night and oblivion. And also red in poppy flowers. Often this god was depicted in a black robe with silver stars located on it. At the same time in his hands was a cup filled with poppy juice, which has an enveloping, relaxing sleeping pill.
Sometimes on the head of Morpheus there is a crown consisting of poppy flowers, which is a symbol of a dream. The Greeks, as a rule, placed the image of the sleep god on vases, while the Romans placed them on sarcophagi.
Beloved son
At the end of the conversation about what this is - the kingdom of Morpheus, it should be noted that Hypnos had thousands of sons, but he singled out Morpheus among others. After all, none of the other lords of sleep possessed such artistry, could not so masterfully imitate the appearance of a person, in accordance with their desires. Morpheus with unsurpassed skill portrayed the gait, the face of the original. And also repeated his robe. It was believed that in this way familiar people fall into dreams.
On behalf of the god Morpheus came the name "morphine" - a narcotic substance. This concept reflects an analogy with the relaxing effect produced by the juice poured into the Morpheus cup. Remember that it relaxes, envelops and immerses you in sleep?
It is with this effect that the expression “plunge into the kingdom of Morpheus” is associated. It means that a person, having “drunk” a magic sleepy drink, plunges into a blissful state of calm, bliss and pleasant visions. It is with such pleasantness that, unlike other representatives of the Onyrov family, the god Morpheus is associated. In contrast to Onir, he does not deceive people in a dream, and does not scare them, as Phobetor does, but accepts them in a gentle embrace in his kingdom.