#Hypnos and Endymion

[sleepnowmychild]

I am safe in the arms of sleep

Never have I slept so soundly, as I did with my head rested on your shoulder listening to your soft breath and beating heart. My dreams of eternal youth and beauty accompanied by you in your domain, where we can spend every second together safe from the woes and toils of the waking world. Under the dim light of the moon as the rest of the world feels your hypnotic pull, I am the one blessed to enjoy the comfort of slumber in your arms. Protected by your power, your Oneroi, your grip around my body holding me close, no mortal or god can hurt me anymore.

There is no safer place than in the arms of sleep himself.

[the-banks-of-lethe]

Hypnos and the myth of Endymion

As voted on on Wednesday, today's topic is the myth of Endymion! If any of you have suggestions for next weeks poll, or anything you want me to talk about / research!

Apologies for any spelling, grammar, or general sentence fulidity errors. I've been tired and mentally / emotionally drained recently due to some personal happenings; but I still wanted to get this out on time. Let me know if there was anything you wanted me to elaborate on more or anthing I missed and I can try and get back to you as soon as possible! << Post under the cut >>

So, Who was Endymion?

ENDYMION was a handsome shepherd-prince loved by the moon-goddess Selene. When Zeus offered him his choice of destinies, Endymion chose immortality and youth in eternal slumber. He was laid out in a cave on Mount Latmus in Karia (Caria) where his lunar lover would visit him each night. In another myth--which contradicts the first--Endymion was a king of Elis in the Greek Peloponesse who founded the kingdom with a group of Aiolian (Aeolian) colonists from Thessalia (Thessaly). Zeus granted him foreknowledge of his own death and, when his time had come, he set up a racecourse at Olympia and commanded his sons compete for the throne. Endymion was afterwards entombed beside the starting gate. - theoi.com

There are many different variations of the myth of Prince Endymion, but they all hold the same basics; Endymion was a prince / king renowned for his beauty, so much so that he caught the eyes of various (due to differing sources) gods, and he, by one way or another, was succumb to eternal slumber with his eyes open.

Front of a Sarcophagus with the Myth of Endymion ^^

Variations of myth

In most myths, Endymion was beloved by Selene, the moon goddess. She was so enamored by his beauty, that she begged Zeus to make him and his beauty immortal in slumber - with his eyes open so that she may peer into them and bask in his beauty. Zeus agreed and let him lay upon Mt Latmos for eternity, allowing Selene to gaze at her lover each night.

In another retelling of the myth, it was Zeus who gave the King a choice to have anything he [Endymion] may desire; Endymion chosing to be cast into an everlasting sleep so that he might remain youthful forever. Then after he was bound to sleep forever did Selene fall in love. In both versions of these myths, Selene laid with Endymion one night and concieved 50 lunar nymphs called the Menae, whose number was said to represent the fifty lunar months of the Olympiad (the four years between each Olympic games). No sources tend to say whether the conception happened before Endymions eteneral sleep or after / during.

Again, in another version, the eternal sleep of Endymion was a punishment given to him by Zeus for falling in love with and attempting to have sexual relations with Hera - Zeus' wife.

However, in the earlier accounts of the myth by Licymnius (as shown below) it was Hypnos who had fallen in love with the beauty of the Prince. And some recounts say that both Selene and Hypnos fell in love with him.

Licymnius, Fragment 771 (from Athenaeus, Scholars at Dinner) (trans. Campbell, Vol. Greek Lyric V) (Greek lyric C4th B.C.) : "[Endymion was a handsome youth loved by the moon-goddess Selene. He was granted immortality in a state of eternal slumber :] Likymnios of Khios (Licymnius of Chios) says the Hypnos (Sleep) loves Endymion and does not close they eyes of his beloved boy even while he is asleep, but lulls him to rest with eyes wide open so that he may without interruption enjoy the pleasure of gazing at them. His words are ‘And Hypnos (Sleep), rejoicing in the rays of his eyes, would lull the boy to rest with eyes wide open.’" - theoi.com

There are technically more versions of this myth, however that would be too many for this post to cover. Some are also just combinations of the different myths listed, in an attempt to fit all the variations into one.

How do people view the myth?

Despite the variations of the myth; the metaphors that it proposes largely all stay the same. One may view the myth as the ancients giving a reason for being comatose state; however most interpretations from what I could find, see the story of Selene / Hypnos and Endymion as a divine love story; showing how great of lengths one is willing to go for love. In Selene / Hypnos' case, casting their lover into eternal slumber, something many would consider selfish, but is a true testiment to what lengths one will go in order for them to feel love.

Little disclaimer!: This story, as all myths, can be interpreted in different ways - yours may be different to mine and that's okay. As mythic literalism does not occur in Hellenic Polytheism, the myths are open to interpretation from person to person; although their may be a consensus or a majority that interprets it one way, does not mean you must follow. That being said you can find truth / believe in multiple interpretation / variations. They are myths, not history bound by fact.

Photos / Art:

Sources used;

(not including the knowledge I previously had of this myth)

Khaire friends, and sweet dreams 💙

[fleurbleedinghearts]

And the most loved god couple award goes too...

...and we can't forget the famous Greek yaoi we all know and love:

[dream--interrupted]

Endymion x Hypnos

[glorioustheseus]

Endymion got cold

[hypnosaltar]

Thoughts on Endymion?

I like him!!!!

there a many versions of the myth so your opinions really depend on what version you feel is "most true"

still, a person who is eternally asleep is a very cool concept, especially for a spouse of a God. most of the time mortal spouses are granted immortality or they just straight up become gods. the shared detail being that he was so beautiful that they wished to preserve his looks through the dofferent stories.

I think the version where hypnos is the one to put him to sleep is very cool, it adds character to hypnos and what he looks for in his partners (and also we don't have many stories about hypnos so I can take any crumbs).

I like to think that he is wandering around the dream realm, a permanent fixture.

[bugwolfsstuff]

I know this is probably not canon to Hades because from what ive seen they're going with the lover of Selene! Endymion version but I wanna drop this bit of myth info I learned SOMEWHERE:

Likymnios of Khios says the Hypnos (Sleep) loves Endymion and does not close the eyes of his beloved boy even while he is asleep, but lulls him to rest with eyes wide open so that he may without interruption enjoy the pleasure of gazing at them. His words are ‘And Hypnos (Sleep), rejoicing in the rays of his eyes, would lull the boy to rest with eyes wide open.’

—Theoi. com

@sungoddick my boy deserves to be a little unhinged. He deserves it

[moonchild-in-blue]

Eppie cult, this is your friendly reminder that the word "Hypnosis" comes from Hypnos, the Greek god of Sleep (more accurately, the personification of sleep).

He was the twin brother of Thanatos (god of Death) and father of Morpheus (god of Dreams), and lived in a cave in the Underworld where light did not reach :::)

Also, there's this cute little myth about him and Endymion -

- which is an alternative take on Endymion's myth, in which Selene (goddess / personification of the Moon), fell in love with him and had him fall to an eternal slumber (through Zeus), so she could look at him and be with him every night forever :::)

Just a fun little thing to think about the next time you hear Hypnosis 😗✌️

[sleepnowmychild]

Endymion, sleeping. Saw him in the gallery today. Notice how he's always depicted sleeping? No matter who his lover was, selene or Hypnos, he's always sleeping. Hypnos is always with him in every version of the myth.

[the-banks-of-lethe]

Hypnos and the myth of Endymion it is!!

The New Year and this Blog

Happy New Year everybody!! I hope you've all come into 2025 well and rested, or at least are planning on resting. I find it very fun that the year has started on a Wednesday, Lord Hermes day, as if He was delivering us into this new rotation around the sun (Helios), or so that we may feel His guidance throughout the year. Either way, welcome to the Banks of Lethe - 2025 edition hehe.

Going into 2025, I'd like to hear from you all and what you might like to see here on this blog! While this is not a formal place, just a shrine / devotional blog to Hypnos, I do want to make this a little place where one feels comfortable and seen. So I want to ask if there was anything you would like to see, any concerns or complaints, any suggestions or questions; really, I want to take on the community's advice. Everyone is safe in the arms of sleep, so shall they be here. Feel free to either send an ask, comment, or reblog with anything you'd like to say!

I'd also like to share that I am going on a long spiritual jouney with Lord Hypnos, requiring a lot of dedication to Him, and a lot of self-reflection to start off (though no doubt self-reflection will be an ongoing thing no matter what). I don't want to share too much more as this is still new, and I am still figuring a lot of things out; but potentially I may share later on down the track - that's all you'll know for now.

Partially related to this ( ^ ), I am planning on creating a little informational booklet / zine (whichever you'd like to call it) about Lord Hypnos. This will probably be a seperate post, but if there is anything any of you are curious about and would like to see in there, let me know! (Again, this will probably be it's own post so maybe just think about it for now).

Phew, almost there... To finish off this yapping post, it's Wednesday, so it's poll time!

Okay, now to actually finish this off - I love yall (/platonic) and Lord Hypnos does too. No matter where you are, I truly hope that this year will be one for the memories, one that we can all look back on fondly.

Khaire! And sweet dreams 💙

[aliciavance4228]

Greek Mythology Characters And Their MBTI Types

Note: I tried to include as many gods, demigods, mortals, creatures etc. as possible.

INTJ: Introverted Intuition (Ni), Extraverted Thinking (Te), Introverted Feeling (Fi), and Extraverted Sensing (Se);

Characters: Athena, Hades, Nyx, Diomedes, Nemesis, Moirai (The Fates), Minos, Ixion, Tantalus, Melinoe, Styx, Graeae, Erebus, Hydra;

INTP: Introverted Thinking (Ti), Extraverted Intuition (Ne), Introverted Sensing (Si), Extraverted Feeling (Fe);

Characters: Pandora, Scylla, Daedalus, Chaos, Urania, Sphinx, Coeus, Aergia;

ENTJ: Extraverted Thinking (Te), Introverted Intuition (Ni), Extraverted Sensing (Se), Introverted Feeling (Fi);

Characters: Zeus, Helios, Medea, Clytemnestra, Ouranos, Eteocles, Charybdis, Hyperion, Moros, Stheno, Nereus, Perses, Caucasian Eagle;

ENTP: Extraverted Intuition (Ne), Introverted Thinking (Ti), Extraverted Feeling (Fe), Introverted Sensing (Si);

Characters: Hermes, Odysseus, Prometheus, Oedipus, Sisyphus, Chimera, Eris, Atë, Enyo, Damocles, Proteus, Momus, Apate, Niobe, Hermaphroditus, Hippomenes;

INFJ: Introverted Intuition (Ni), Extraverted Feeling (Fe), Introverted Thinking (Ti), Extraverted Sensing (Se);

Characters: Hestia, Hecate, Psyche, Circe, Oizys, Chione, Medusa, Cassandra, Iphigenia, Selene, Asclepcius, Chiron, Okeanos, Aether, Theia, Harmonia, Phoebe, Asteria, Astraeus, Alcmene, Callisto, Geryon and Orthus;

INFP: Introverted Feeling (Fi), Extraverted Intuition (Ne), Introverted Sensing (Si), Extraverted Thinking (Te);

Characters: Persephone, Hypnos, Morpheus, Orpheus, Eurydice, Pygmalion, Antigone, Amphion, Plutus, Ariadne, Zephyrus, Euterpe, Hemera, Lethe, Bellerophon, Melpomene;

ENFJ: Extraverted Feeling (Fe), Introverted Intuition (Ni), Extraverted Sensing (Se), Introverted Thinking (Ti);

Characters: Apollo, Gaia, Atlas, Aeneas, Nike, Peitho, Peleus, Admetus, Calliope, Cadmus, Iasion;

ENFP: Extraverted Intuition (Ne), Introverted Feeling (Fi), Extraverted Thinking (Te), Introverted Sensing (Si);

Characters: Dionysus, Eos, Icarus, Thalia, Ganymede, Polynices, Tyche, Philomela, Aglaea, Euphrosyne, Phaethon, Io, Iolaus, Clymene, Amphitryton;

ISTJ: Introverted Sensing (Si), Extraverted Thinking (Te), Introverted Feeling (Fi), Extraverted Intuition (Ne);

Characters: Thanatos, Penelope, Electra, Clio, Echidna, Charon, Argus, Adrastea, Geras, Glaucus;

ISFJ: Introverted Sensing (Si), Extraverted Feeling (Fe), Introverted Thinking (Ti), Extraverted Intuition (Ne);

Characters: Demeter, Patroclus, Cyparissus, Telemachus, Ismene, Leto, Mnemosyne, Macaria, Polymnia, Leda, Thetis, Amphitrite, Maia, Euryale, Amalthea, Merope;

ESTJ: Extraverted Thinking (Te), Introverted Sensing (Si), Extraverted Intuition (Ne), Introverted Feeling (Fi)

Characters: Hera, Poseidon, Cronus, Creon, Cerberus, Agamemnon, Menelaus, Zelus, Themis, Pentheus, Boreas, Zethus;

ESFJ: Extraverted Feeling (Fe), Introverted Sensing (Si), Extraverted Intuition (Ne), Introverted Thinking (Ti);

Characters: Hector, Perseus, Echo, Erato, Rhea, Eileithya;

ISTP: Introverted Thinking (Ti), Extraverted Sensing (Se), Introverted Intuition (Ni), Extraverted Feeling (Fe);

Characters: Artemis, Hephaestus, Polyphemus, Typhon, Pontus, Tartarus, Keres, Lycaon, Zagreus, Erychthonius;

ISFP: Introverted Feeling (Fi), Extraverted Sensing (Se), Introverted Intuition (Ni), Extraverted Thinking (Te);

Characters: Narcissus, Achilles, Helen of Troy, Eros, Hebe, Andromeda, Iris, Orestes, Adonis, Triton, Endymion, Danae, Hyacinthus, Daphne;

ESTP: Extraverted Sensing (Se), Introverted Thinking (Ti), Extraverted Feeling (Fe), Introverted Intuition (Ni);

Characters: Ares, Pan, Heracles, Kratos, Midas, Theseus, Ajax the Greater, Jason, Orion, Iapetus, Priapus, Tityos, Pelops;

ESFP: Extraverted Sensing (Se), Introverted Feeling (Fi), Extraverted Thinking (Te), Introverted Intuition (Ni);

Characters: Aphrodite, Paris, Calypso, Epimetheus, Terpisichore, Atalanta, Hedone, Hyppolita, Lamia, Achelous;

[dream--interrupted]

It just struck me out of nowhere bUT

EndymionxHypnos The litttle mermaid AU

Where Hypnos is the title character, Endymion the prince and Selene the princess who the prince ends up with

(yes, we're going with the original tragic ending version! Only pain here!)

[glorioustheseus]

Hypnos x Endymion so canon see he's right there. Eepy boyfriends who eep together

[to-hypnos-we-dream]

Hypnos Pride Collection

Collected Art, Poetry, writings, Mythology, and more from the Hypnos Worship Community and other sources. More to be added over time.

The Beloved of Hypnos: Endymion in Greek Mythology

ENDYMION AND HYPNOS 1990 Photo Collage

Art Piece from Sleepnowmychild

Post on Hypnos and Endymion from Sleepnowmychild

Prayer to Hypnos for Gender Affirmation

Post on Hypnos's Queer Acceptance

[ancientpersacom]

How I think a hypothetical zagnos route should go:

Once you max out the bonds to the point friendship starts to cross into relationship, Hypnos starts getting anxious which makes Zagreus worried. So he tries to find out what’s up. This leads him to ask Thanatos, who is quiet at first but once you max his bond, rather than a Than romance because you’re already on the Hypnos route, he reveals Hypnos has had his heart shattered before and basically tells Zagreus “if you hurt him I put you in the ground.”

This tells Zag two things: 1) Than DOES care for Hypnos he’s just really bad at showing it, so that can lead to the fixing the twins relationship storyline. And two 2) reveals some of the myths about Hypnos’ lovers (Pasathea and Endymion, who in this story are past lovers). He’s still friendly with Pasathea, the relationship only ended because she realised she likes girls or something like that, Hypnos wasn’t mad over it, he understood and they left on good terms (that also means a mlm wlw solidarity friendship). But Endymion left him for Selene which shattered him, and caused him to be very hesitant about relationships, he liked Zagreus but doesn’t want his heart broken again.

So Zagreus has to basically assure Hypnos he’ll never treat him like that. And that leads into zagnos romance and fixing the twins relationship storyline.

That way we can get some more insight into Hypnos’ myths and flesh him out some more. And have a twins making up storyline that’s basically a flipped version of the Than route.

[yamayuandadu]

There seems to be a weird trend going back at least to Renaissance works to replace Selene with Artemis or Diana in the Endymion myth but so far I failed to find a single authentic ancient source which would do so. However, Athenaeus of Naucratis cites a fragment of a poem he attributes to Likymnios of Chios in which Selene is replaced by Hypnos, with no other changes.