Product Code Database
In Greek mythology, Nyx (;Tripp, p. 624. ) LSJ s.v. νύξ. is the goddess and personification of the night.Grimal, s.v. Nyx, p. 314. In Hesiod's Theogony, she is the offspring of Chaos, and the mother of Aether and Hemera (Day) by Erebus (Darkness). By herself, she produces a brood of children which are mainly personifications of primarily negative forces. She features in a number of early cosmogonies, which place her as one of the first deities to exist. In the works of poets and playwrights, she lives at the ends of the Earth, and is often described as a black-robed goddess who drives through the sky in a chariot pulled by horses. In the Iliad, Homer relates that even Zeus fears to displease her.
Night is a prominent figure in several theogonies of Orphic literature, in which she is often described as the mother of Uranus and Gaia. In the earliest Orphic cosmogonies, she is the first deity to exist, while in the later Orphic Rhapsodies, she is the daughter and consort of Phanes, and the second ruler of the gods. She delivers prophecies to Zeus from an adyton, and is described as the nurse of the gods. In the Rhapsodies, there may have been three separate figures named Night.
In ancient Greek art, Nyx often appears alongside other celestial deities such as Selene, Helios and Eos, as a winged figure driving a horse-pulled chariot. Though of little cultic importance, she was also associated with several oracles. The Romans referred to her as Nox,Tripp, s.v. Nyx, p. 399. whose name also means "Night".Vaan, s.v. nox, p. 416.
Nox (the Latin name for Nyx) features in several genealogies given by Roman authors. According to Cicero, Aether and Dies (Day) are the children of Nox and Erebus, in addition to Amor (Love), Dolus (Guile), Metus (Fear), Labor (Toil), Invidentia (Envy), Fatum (Fate), Senectus (Old Age), Mors (Death), Tenebrae (Darkness), Miseria (Misery), Querella (Lamentation), Gratia (Favour), Fraus (Fraud), Pertinacia (Obstinacy), the Parcae, the Hesperides, and the Somnia (Dreams).Cicero, De Natura Deorum 3.44 (pp. 328, 329). In the genealogy given by the Roman mythographer Hyginus, Nox is the offspring of Chaos and Caligo (Mist), alongside Dies (Day), Erebus (Darkness), and Aether.Fontenrose, pp. 222–3; Hyginus, Fabulae Theogony 1 ( Smith and Trzaskoma, p. 95; Latin text). According to Fontenrose, this genealogy may be derived from Eumelus (8th century BC), the author of the Titanomachia; see also Kovaleva, p. 143. With Erebus, she produces Fatum (Fate), Senectus (Old Age), Mors (Death), Letum (Destruction), Continentia (Strife), Somnus (Sleep), the Somnia (Dreams), Epiphron (Thoughtfulness), Hedymeles, Porphyrion, Epaphus, Discordia (Discord), Miseria (Misery), Petulantia (Petulance), Nemesis, Euphrosyne (Cheerfulness), Amicitia (Friendship), Misericordia (Pity), Styx, the Parcae (Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos), and the Hesperides (Aegle, Hesperia, and Erythea).Hyginus, Fabulae Theogony 1 ( Smith and Trzaskoma, p. 95; Latin text). Several other Roman sources mention Nox as the mother of the Furies, with Pluto sometimes given as the father.Virgil, Aeneid 6.250, 7.323–332, 12.845–6; Ovid, Metamorphoses 4.451–2 (pp. 210, 211).
In an early Orphic source, in which Nyx is the first deity to exist, she is the mother of Uranus, possibly without a father.Betegh, p. 158; Bernabé 2019, p. 110; Orphic fr. 10 Bernabé (I p. 21) =. There is debate surrounding whether there was a father, and his identity. Bernabé and Cristobal, p. 88 argue that there was no father, while Betegh, p. 336 considers him to be Aether, and Almqvist, p. 88 suggests he is Phanes. In an earlier Orphic work, in which Nyx is again the first deity, scholars have proposed that she is the mother of Uranus, as well as Gaia; see Meisner, p. 95; Betegh, p. 147; West, pp. 117–9. In a later account, she is described as both the consort and daughter of Phanes, by whom she becomes the mother of Uranus and Gaia.West, p. 70; Meisner, pp. 168–9; Orphic fr. 149 I Bernabé (I p. 146). In another account, likely derived from an Orphic cosmogony,See Betegh, pp. 148–9; Chrysanthou, pp. 301–3. Nyx gives birth to a "wind-egg", from which Eros emerges.Hard, p. 25; Aristophanes, Birds 693–9. In later Orphic sources, she is mentioned as the mother of the Stars (by Uranus?),Morand, p. 331; Orphic Hymn to the Stars (7), 3 (Athanassakis and Wolkow, p. 9). and, in one account, is the daughter of Eros.Meisner, p. 172; Smith, s.v. Nyx; Orphic Argonautica, 14–5 (Vian, p. 75) =. Elsewhere, the late Greek poet Quintus Smyrnaeus mentions Nyx as the mother of Eos (Dawn),Quintus Smyrnaeus, Posthomerica 2.625–6; see also Aeschylus, Agamemnon 265, which calls Night the mother of Dawn. while according to Byzantine author Tzetzes, she is the mother of the Moirai, apparently by the Titan Cronus.Smith, s.v. Moira; Tzetzes on Lycophron's Alexandra, 406 (pp. 584–6). In the Dionysiaca of Nonnus, Nyx is the offspring of Chaos, as she is in Hesiod's Theogony,Rouse, p. 435 note c to 31.176; Verhelst, p. 60; Nonnus, Dionysiaca 31.176 (pp. 434, 435). while in a genealogy given by the 12th-century writer Michael of Ephesus (incorrectly attributed to Alexander of Aphrodisias),Kotwick, p. 84. she is the offspring of Oceanus, and the mother of Uranus.Betegh, p. 150; Pseudo-Alexander of Aphrodisias (Michael of Ephesus), in Aristotle, Metaphysics 821.16 =.
Authors following Hesiod similarly describe Nyx as living at the ends of the Earth. The choral lyric poet Alcman (7th century BC), as recorded by a scholium on Sophocles, considered Nyx to live in the far north, describing the Riphean Mountains as being "breast of black night". Brill's New Pauly, s.v. Nyx; Karusu, p. 905; Keightley, p. 45; Alcman, fr. 90 Campbell, pp. 456, 457 =. The scholiast mistakenly claims that the mountains are located in the far west; see Bolton, p. 187 n. 4 to p. 41. In the Geryoneis of Stesichorus (6th century BC), Nyx appears to live beyond Oceanus in the far west, as Stesichorus writes that after Helios crosses the river at the end of the day, he "reaches the depths of holy, dark night".Keightley, pp. 45, 48, 49; Stesichorus, fr. 17 Campbell, pp. 78, 79 =]. The Pre-Socratic philosopher Parmenides (6th or 5th centuries BC), in the proem to his philosophical treatise, appropriates Hesiod's description of the alternation of Nyx and Hemera, referring to "the gates of the ways of Night and Day",Miller, p. 220; Parmenides, fr. 1.11 Kirk, Raven and Schofield, pp. 242–3. The translation used here is that given by Miller. and, according to Walter Burkert, he considered the Heliades to live in the house of Night.Burkert, pp. 93, 95–6, 100; see Parmenides, fr. 1.9 Kirk, Raven and Schofield, pp. 242–3: "the daughters of the Sun made haste to escort me, having left the halls of Night". Burkert points to Stesichorus, fr. 17 Campbell, pp. 78, 79 (see above), which states that once Helios reaches the "depths of holy, dark night", he will see "his mother and wedded wife and dear children", as attestation of this elsewhere. In tragedy, the Orestes of Euripides (5th century BC) states that Nyx has her abode in Erebus, Brill's New Pauly, s.v. Nyx; Euripides, Orestes 176 (pp. 430, 431). while a fragment of Sophocles mentions the "springs of Night", which are located in the north.Keightley, p. 45. Later, Apollonius of Rhodes (3rd century BC) writes in his Argonautica that the Eridanus river "rises from the end of the earth, where the gates and precincts of Night are located",Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica 4.629–30 (pp. 378, 379). locating her home in the far west.Race, p. 379 n. 84; see also Keightley, p. 45.
Among descriptions of Nyx in 5th century BC tragedy, Euripides, in his play Ion, represents her as being "robed in black", and her chariot as being pulled by two horses.Euripides, Ion 1150–1 (pp. 456, 457). He reports that she prepares her chariot as Helios finishes his journey across the sky at the end of the day, and that the stars are her companions in her course through the sky.Smith, s.v. Nyx; Euripides, Ion 1149–51 (pp. 456, 457). In a fragment from his Andromeda, he refers to her driving her chariot through Olympus,Keightley, p. 45; Euripides, Andromeda fr. 114 Collard and Cropp, pp. 132, 133; see also Aristophanes, Thesmophoriazusae 1065–9. and in his Orestes, he describes her as having wings,Karusu, p. 905; Euripides, Orestes 176 (pp. 430, 431). while according to Aeschylus she wears a black robe which is "studded with colourful stars". Brill's New Pauly, s.v. Nyx. Following the 5th century BC, Apollonius of Rhodes describes her as "putting the yoke on her horses" as the sun is setting,Keightley, p. 45; Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica 3.1193 (pp. 310, 311). and Theocritus (3rd century BC) mentions the stars as the "attendants at the chariot of quiet Night".Keightley, p. 45; Theocritus, Idylls 2.166 (pp. 56, 57).
In the works of Greek poets, Thetis is a Nereid who attracts the attention of both Zeus and Poseidon, until they receive a prophecy from the Titan Themis warning them that any son she produces will be greater in power than his father;Hard, p. 52. according to the late Greek writer Libanius (4th century AD), however, it is Nyx who delivers this prophecy, rather than Themis.Barringer, p. 70; Hard, pp. 25–6; Westermann, p. 379. In the Dionysiaca of Nonnus (5th century), the goddess Iris, on the request on Hera, approaches Hypnos in the "ugly form" of his mother Nyx, and in a lengthy speech persuades him to help set Zeus to sleep.Verhelst, p. 56; Nonnus, Dionysiaca 31.110–96 (pp. 430–7). Verhelst compares this to the story in the Iliad in which Hera tries to convince Hypnos (see above).
A passage from Euripides' play Hypsipyle (performed c. 411–407) also makes reference to Night and other early deities, seemingly containing traces of an early Orphic theogony:Bernabé 2004, p. 74 on fr. 65; Calame, p. 232; Chrysanthou, p. 305; Bremmer 2011, p. 5; see also West, p. 112.
Several modern scholars have interpreted these fragments as evidence of an early Orphic theogony in which Night featured as one of the first deities. According to Luc Brisson, the cosmogony which Aristophanes parodies came from a work which he calls the "ancient version" ( la version ancienne), which he sees as the earliest Orphic theogony. In this work, he believes that Night is, by herself, the first being to exist (a position she loses in later Orphic theogonies), and that she produces an egg from which comes Eros (as she does in Aristophanes' parody), from whom all things arise.Brisson, pp. 3–4, I pp. 390–2, III pp. 38–9, IV pp. 2876–7. similarly sees these fragments as alluding to an "ancient" theogony ( priscae Orphicae theogoniae) which centred around the birth of Eros from an egg, produced by "Chaos-Night".Bernabé 2004, p. 72; Bernabé and Casadesús, pp. 295–6; Bernabé 2007, pp. 128–9.
Aristotle similarly refers to earlier authors who attributed a primordial role to Night, presumably commenting upon the same text as his pupil.Bernabé 2008, p. 35 on fr. 20. In his Metaphysics, he makes reference to theologians "who make Night parent of all",Meisner, p. 94; Fowler, p. 13; Orphic fr. 20 II Bernabé (I p. 35) =. The translation used here is that given by Fowler. and describes Night as being one of the deities who are placed as "the first" by "the ancient poets".Meisner, p. 94; Orphic fr. 20 IV Bernabé (I p. 35) =; see also Orphic fr. 20 III Bernabé (I p. 35) =. In addition, the Byzantine author John the Lydian writes in his De Mensibus that "three first beginnings of generation sprouted out, according to Orpheus: Night, Ge, and Ouranos",Meisner, p. 95; Orphic fr. 20 V (I p. 35) =. a passage which scholars have seen as referring to the Eudemian Theogony.Meisner, p. 95. Because of this, it has been proposed that Night, presumably on her own, is described as the mother of Uranus and Gaia in the work;Meisner, p. 95; Alderink, p. 37, table 3. West takes this further, claiming that Night is the mother of Uranus and Gaia, and that they are the parents of Oceanus and Tethys, who produce the Titans.West, pp. 117–9. West takes this genealogy from Plato, Timaeus 40e (pp. 86, 87) =, which contains the same sequence of generations, excluding Night. West explains the absence of Night from the passage by arguing that in the Timaeus "night cannot be a god, being merely something produced by the earth's shadow and a unit of time".
It is unclear, however, whether or not there was a father, and, if there was, what his identity was: Bernabé argues that Night produces him without a partner (though this view has been criticised),Bernabé and Cristobal, p. 88 argue that the use of the matronymic Οὐρανὸς Εὐφρονίδης ("son of Night") in reference to Uranus precludes the existence of a father; Almqvist, p. 87, however, is sceptical of this. while other scholars have suggested that Aether may have been the father,Betegh, p. 336. or Phanes.Almqvist, p. 88. Gábor Betegh also adds Gaia as the offspring of Night in the poem, alongside Uranus.Betegh, p. 336.
In the poem, Night was called the "immortal nurse of the gods" (as quoted in the Derveni papyrus),Meisner, p. 82; Orphic fr. 6 I Bernabé (I p. 16) =. and in its narrative she nurtures and gives shelter to the young Zeus.Betegh, p. 207 Later in the work, after Zeus overthrows his father Cronus and becomes king, he consults Night on how he can consolidate his rule.Meisner, p. 68. She is described as she "who knows all the oracles", and delivers a prophecy to him from within her shrine ( adyton); several reconstructed lines from the work describe this:
After Zeus receives this prophecy from Night (and one from his father Cronus), he apparently swallows either the phallus of Uranus (or, as other have suggested, the body of Phanes).Meisner, pp. 69, 71. Bernabé 2007, pp. 107–8 and Betegh, p. 121 see it as Uranus's phallus which Zeus swallows, while West, pp. 86–8 takes it to be the body of Phanes.
The role which Night plays in the Derveni Theogony has been compared to that which Gaia plays in Hesiod's Theogony.Edmonds, pp. 228–9; Almqvist, p. 87; Betegh, p. 168; West, p. 87; Santamaría, p. 375. It has pointed out that both are described as the mother of Uranus, and occupy a similar position at the beginning of creation, with Gaia being the second being to exist in the Theogony.Betegh, p. 168; Almqvist, p. 87. Gaia is described as coming into existence after only Chaos, and produces Uranus without a father; see Hesiod, Theogony 117, 126–7. In addition, following the creation of world, rather than becoming rulers themselves, both deities remain present and occasionally offer guidance and assistance to younger generations.Edmonds, p. 228–9. The prophecy which Night delivers to Zeus, which causes him to swallow Phanes, has been compared to the prophecy Gaia and Uranus report to Zeus in the Theogony, which leads him to swallow his wife Metis.West, pp. 87–8; Betegh, p. 146. For the prophecy delivered by Gaia and Uranus, see Hesiod, Theogony 886–900. In the Theogony, Zeus is also given to Gaia after his birth, which has been connected to the role Night plays in nurturing the young Zeus in his infancy.Betegh, p. 146; see also Almqvist, p. 87. For Gaia being given the newborn Zeus, see Hesiod, Theogony 479.
Proclus reports that Night is called the "immortal nurse of the gods" in the Rhapsodies, as she is the Derveni Theogony,Meisner, p. 205; Orphic fr. 112 I Bernabé (I p. 121). and Damascius similarly refers to her as the "nurse of all things".Meisner, p. 206; Orphic fr. 112 II Bernabé (I . 121). In the poem's narrative, she is described as raising her grandson Cronus,Meisner, p. 206; Orphic frr. 182 I (I p. 166), II (I p. 166) Bernabé. though West suggests that she may have nurtured all of the Titans.West, p. 87. According to Hermias, the young Zeus is reared in the cave of Night by the nymphs Amalthea and Adrasteia, the latter of which protects the child by standing at the door of the cave, clanging cymbals.Meisner, pp. 208, 216; Orphic fr. 209 I (I pp. 181–2), fr. 211 (I p. 183) Bernabé. Once Zeus reaches adulthood, Night delivers several prophecies to him, presumably from this same cave.Meisner, p. 208. During the reign of Cronus, she prophesies to Zeus that he will become the fifth king of the gods,Brisson, V p. 61; West, p. 72; Orphic fr. 219 Bernabé (I p. 188). and advises him on how he can overthrow his father. She directs him to use a "trick through honey", and then wait until Cronus is standing "under trees with high foliage, drunk with the works of loud-buzzing bees", before binding him.Meisner, pp. 207, 216–7; Edmonds, p. 234; Orphic fr. 220 Bernabé (I p. 189). After becoming king, Zeus returns to Night, and asks her how he can solidify his rule, to which she responds:Meisner, pp. 206, 221; Brisson 1995, V p. 62; cf. West, p. 72, who places this during the same consultation in which Night advises him to bind Cronus.
After hearing this advice, Zeus consumes his ancestor Phanes, and, in doing so, takes in the entire creation, which he contains in his stomach.Meisner, p. 222. Following this, Zeus keeps Night as his advisor, and it is on her recommendation that he takes Nomos (Law) to sit beside him.Brisson 1995, V p. 64; West, p. 73; Orphic fr. 247 II Bernabé (I p. 216). Night also prophesies that Themis, who becomes Zeus's consort, will continue to be a virgin until a son of Cronus and Rhea is born.Brisson, V p. 64; West, p. 73; Orphic fr. 251 Bernabé (I p. 218).
Several fragments from the Rhapsodies seem to refer to three separate deities named Night. Hermias reports that "three Nights have been transmitted in Orpheus", and gives them the following descriptions:
Clémence Ramnoux interprets these three Nights as forming a "feminine trinity" around Phanes, the first being his mother, the second his consort, and the third his daughter.Ramnoux, pp. 231–3. Bernabé, in his collection of Orphic fragments, arranges passages relating to Night into three groups, interpreting the Nights as three separate deities who appear in different parts of the poem's narrative.Meisner, pp. 202–4; Bernabé 2004, pp. 115–21, 142–54, 156–7. He sees the first Night as a primordial deity, eternal in nature, and the offspring of Chronos, and interprets this as the Night who observes Phanes at his emergence from the egg; he views her as the same figure described as the nurse of the gods, as well as the Night who prophesies, claiming that she receives the gift of prophecy from Chronos.Bernabé 2004, p. 121 on fr. 112, p. 121 on fr. 113, p. 129 on fr. 123. A passage from Proclus relates that Phanes "brings forth the Nights and, as a father, has intercourse with the middle one",Meisner, p. 203; Orphic fr. 148 I Bernabé (I p. 145). which Bernabé sees as referring to the second Night giving birth to the third.Meisner, p. 206; Bernabé 2004, p. 144 on fr. 147. Brisson interprets Night as the feminine aspect of the bisexual deity Phanes, who is simultaneously his mother, sister, and daughter, and argues that when he mates with Night he is copulating with this feminine half.Brisson 1997, pp. 85, 87. He claims that this explains why the relationship between Uranus and Gaia is called the first marriage; as Phanes and Night are two aspects of the same being, intercourse between them cannot be considered "marriage". Dwayne Meisner, however, rejects the idea that there were three separate Nights in the poem, and interprets Hermias's passage in terms of Neoplatonic allegory.Meisner, pp. 202, 204. One passage from Proclus apparently describes there as being five Nights, as opposed to three.Meisner, p. 202; Orphic fr. 113 V Bernabé (I p. 122).
Following the 5th century BC, depictions of Nyx no longer show her alongside other celestial deities, and most representations are uncertain.Karusu, p. 909. She has been identified as one of the deities fighting against the Giants on the Gigantomachy frieze of the Pergamon Altar (2nd century BC), where she is shown grabbing the edge of a shield belonging to bearded giant, and in her other hand holds a jar with a snake wrapped around it.Honan, p. 29. The figure has also been identified as Persephone; see Ridgway, p. 57 n. 51 to p. 36. According to Honan, the snake is symbolic of the constellation Hydra, which Nyx pulls from the sky during the battle. In later depictions, Nyx is often portrayed as a velificans (with a veil billowing behind her head), and on Roman sarcophagi is a figure who puts others to sleep.Papastavrou, p. 941.
|
|
