God of sleep

In the myths of each people there is a god of sleep, which occupies an important role in the hierarchy. In antiquity, people had no opportunity to explain the nature of sleep, therefore they created gods for themselves. At that time, there was an opinion that falling asleep a person, losing soul, and she begins to travel in other worlds. That's why people were afraid of someone to wake up, because they believed that the soul does not have time to return and the person will die.

The God of Sleep among the Slavs

This people did not differ in this respect by originality and God was called Sleep. His wife was the goddess Drema, who patronized not only sleep, but laziness, and dreams. The Slavs represented it in the form of a little man who walks under the windows and waits for the night to come. After everything was covered with darkness, the Slavic goddess of sleep made her way through the cracks in the house and in her quiet, lulling voice plunges the residents into a dream. She approached the children and closed their eyes, straightened the blanket, and stroked her hair. What are the names of the other gods of dreams among the Slavs:

1. Sonia - sends sweet dreams for tired people from love. It helps to restore strength and get rid of negative emotions and memories.
2. Ugomon is the younger brother of the Dream. He is responsible for lullabies.
3. Bai is the god of deliberate sleep. Appears to people in the form of a cat.

In addition, the Slavs had many different spirits that related to dreams, each of them fulfilled a certain task.

God of sleep in the Romans

Somn was considered a secondary deity. His mother was the goddess of the night Nyx, and her father was her brother Erebus. He lived in a cave of dreams, and it consisted of several halls, each of which was darker than the previous one. In one of them in the pitch darkness there was a soft bed, which was draped with black fur curtains. It was this bed that was meant for the god of sleep. Around him flew spirits of dreams. Somn was convicted of wearing dark clothes adorned with golden stars. They portrayed a god with a poppy wreath on his head, and in his hand he kept a cup with poppy juice.

The Greek God of Sleep

Ancient Greek god Hypnos was portrayed as a young man with small wings on his temples or behind his back. His attribute is a black poppy, and in his hands he has a soporific drink, which he pours out over the world every night. The Greeks believed that Hypnos lives on the island of Lemnos in a cave at the entrance of which there are plants with a sleepy effect. It does not penetrate light and sound. Near this cave the river of Oblivion originates. Hypnos had to follow and control the dreams of the gods, kings and heroes. He had a twin brother, Thanatos, who was the god of death.

Another famous Greek god of sleep is Morpheus, who was the son of Hypnos. The Greeks believed that he only sent to a person good light dreams. God himself could appear in them in different human guises. Thanks to his powers, he easily copied voice and other habits. They portrayed him in different ways, so he could be both an old man and a young man. The wings could be located on the temples or behind the back. He had wings and a poppy wreath. The symbol of this god is the double gate that opens the way to the world of dreams. One half made of ivory bones opened the way for deceptive dreams, and the other of the horns let in only truthful dreams. The Greeks believed that when they see dreams, they are embraced by their wings, Morpheus.

Hypnos had two more sons. Fobetor reincarnated in animals and birds, and penetrated into the nightmares of people. The fantasy possessed the ability to imitate various phenomena of nature and numerous inanimate objects. He could only penetrate into lucid dreams. These gods of sleep in various mythologies are most popular. They were known not only by the Greeks, but also by other nations.