Nyx

Nyx in the Paris Psalter (a manuscript from the 10th century)

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

Her Roman equivalent was Nox.

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 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".

La Nuit (The Night) by William-Adolphe Bouguereau

Children

• Only hers:
  • Hypnos, the god of sleep.
  • Thanatos, the god of death.
  • Apate, the god of deception.
  • Eris, the god of strife.
  • 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.

Related pages

• Nox - Etruscan mythology version of Nyx.