#myth of Endymion

[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 💙

[sky-scribbles]

When I think about Gale and Mystra, I'm reminded of the Greek myth of the moon goddess who fell in love with a shepherd and asked Zeus to place him in an enchanted sleep, so that he would never change. So he would be beautiful and hers forever.

There are different versions of the myth, but this is the one I knew as a kid - and it always made me so fucking sad. And now I see why, because Selene loves Endymion - and her love takes his life from him. A god could not love Endymion as a mortal loves a mortal; she wants his presence to gaze on, to soak in, his body to hold. Perhaps he's a balm to her immortal existence; perhaps his beauty is an inspiration to her - but she does not want him, not all of him, not really. She doesn't want his sheep flock, the evenings where his fingers burn from the cold. She doesn't want his voice, or the lines and experience he'll gather as he ages. She doesn't want to live a life alongisde his.

Selene would say she loves Endymion, and perhaps, yes, Mystra would say she loved Gale. But how can a god love a mortal in a way that a mortal can recognise as love? You soak up his company, you laugh with him, you value his mind and his talent and his deftness with words. His presence is a spot of bright difference in your endless existence. But will you change with him? Will you be vulnerable with him? Will you look him in the eye, as an equal? Will you stroke his cat and put a blanket over his shoulder when he falls asleep reading, make soup for him when he's sick? Would you love him as a person, not a treasure? You can't.

Gale wanted to be loved with a devotion to match his own. Mystra wanted him to live in the enchanted sleep of being hers, something to smile at and hold but never, never to live beside. And she knew - she must have known - how unequal their desires were. She kept him anyway, until she didn't. Until he woke up.

A god's love ruins mortals.

[xangeliquexx]

[fleurbleedinghearts]

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

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

[sleepnowmychild]

The hotel I'm in RN is fancy as fuck and has a heap of massive paintings in the halls. And would you look who I found! Selene and Endymion (and I'm assuming baby eros)

[coldraindropsss]

Sappho, Fragment 199 (from Scholiast on Apollonius of Rhodes) (trans. Campbell, Vol. Greek Lyric IV) (Greek lyric C5th B.C.) : "The story goes that Selene comes down to this cave [on Mount Latmos in Karia (Caria)] to meet Endymion. Sappho and Nikandros) (Nicander [poet C2nd B.C.] . . . tell the story of the love of Selene."

Selene was the mother of the goddesses Pandia (All-Gifts), Ersa (Dew)

[dream--interrupted]

Endymion x Hypnos

[thefugitivesaint]

George Frederic Watts (1817-1904), 'Diana and Endymion', ''Gazette des beaux-arts'', 1889 Source "George Frederic Watts painted two versions of this design showing Endymion, a handsome shepherd, and the moon goddess Diana. Diana loved Endymion and put him into an eternal enchanted sleep. George based Endymion’s pose on the reclining nude sculpture of Dionysus from the Parthenon, an important ancient Greek temple. Diana’s dress also reflects George’s studies of the Parthenon Sculptures, especially the broken and cut drapery of the female figures. Diana and Endymion together make a perfect circle on the canvas." (Source)

[kustavglimt]

Victor Florence Pollet: Endymion and Selene (mid 19th century)

[h0bg0blin-meat]

Me: God I love the moon.

Me: NO SELENE I DIDN'T MEAN IT LIKE THAT NO-

[glorioustheseus]

(OC x canon posting about an OC I don't think I've mentioned on here before bc fuck it we ball)

During the 50+ months my Endymion was asleep he was in a dream where he was in a perfect version of the field he was living in, surrounded by his sheep, and it was always night with a perfect starry sky and in the forest there was a dreamy lake and it was just paradise, and he had Hypnos for company, and he grew very attached to him. All that time, Endymion did not know he was asleep. He had no idea he was dreaming, and Hypnos only told him when he had to bc of him falling asleep and Selene coming, which would have been such an intense thing to learn and really mess with their relationship.

Endymion already has trust issues. It took him 2 months for them to hold hands, and 5 for hugging. He hates everyone and company and he thought he found someone fully trustworthy and respectful in Hypnos, only to be told that the peace he had was artificial, and all those months his autonomy was gone in what could only be his worst nightmare.

He knew that Hypnos was in love with him, as he was vocal about it, but he thought he was finally the one person who treated him like a real person and not a pretty toy. But then he learned that Hypnos had access to his real, sleeping body. Completely vulnerable. He didn't know what was real anymore. He didn't know what could have happened. Maybe the reason why he showed restraint was because he had the real deal and didn't need extra. Of course, nothing happened but a lot of staring into his eyes and maybe some cuddling, but he doesn't know that. It would've killed almost all progress they made.

Then Hypnos promises an isolated part of the underworld where nobody else could find him, and he's terrified. He loves isolation because he fears people, and now he's frightened of Hypnos again. He still accepts, because he doesn't trust anyone but Hypnos has a slight edge over the rest. It's like Hypnos is back to their first meeting. Over time the trust is rebuilt, but man. Things would be rocky from there.

[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 💙

[yonemurishiroku]

Google the Greek myth Selene and Endymion and you'll understand. And yes it's completely fucked up. But I find it romantic. In a very fucked up way.

fucked-up romance my jam

[fleurbleedinghearts]

Tithonus might have the worst fate in Greek mythology I would literally rather be punished in Tartarus

even being put in eternal sleep sounds less horrifying ...I can't believe I'd rather have Endymion's fate

[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.

[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!)