Nyx

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Nyx was the goddess of the night in Greek mythology. She came out of Chaos.

Her Roman equivalent was Nox.

[change] Hesiod's Theogony

In his theogony (How the gods came to be), Hesiod tells: Night is born of Chaos; her offspring are many, and telling. With her brother Erebus, Night gives birth to the following deities:

• 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 "retribution"
• Apate "deception"
• Philotes "friendship"
• Geras "age",
• and Eris "strife".

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".

[change] Children

• only hers:
  • Hypnos, the god of sleep
  • Thanatos, the god of death
• with her brother Erebos: Charon

Nyx had other children on her own. These were:

• Apate - the god of deception.
• Eris - the god of stife.
• Geras - the god of age.
• Momus - the god of blame.
• Moros - the god of fate.
• Philotes - the god of friendship.
• Ponus - the god of toil.

[change] See also

• Nox - Etruscan mythology version of Nyx.