Greek Goddess info?

Question

what do u know about the greek goddess Nyx. I no she is the goddess of night but i need to know more.

Answer 1

I'm not sure what sort of "info" you need on Nyx. There are too many myths that relate to the goddess of Night. Here's a few Greek mythology sites that I used during college to find specific info on the gods and heroes.

Answer 2

The goddess Nyx was the personification of Night in Greek mythology.
Night was the daughter of Chaos, which makes her one of the first creatures ever to emerge from the void. Nyx was the sister to some of the oldest deities in Greek myth, including Erebus (Darkness), Gaia (the Earth), and Tartarus (the Underworld). From these primeval powers came the rest of the Greek gods and goddesses. And Nyx was responsible for bearing her share of children.

Nyx gave birth to a number of children, Eris (Discord or Strife), the Moirai (Fates), Hypnos (Sleep), Nemesis (Retribution), Thanatos (Death), and the Hesperides. These beings were born from the goddess alone, without a father, Nyx also had children by the god Erebus. To Erebus the goddess bore Aether (Air) and Hemera (Day)

Answer 3

My personal favorite! She was the child of Chaos and some myths view her as the most powerful goddes that ever lived, even more powerful than Zeus. One myth claimed that Zeus stopped trying to kill Hypnos, the god of sleep, because Nyx was his mother and he feared her power. She begot Erebus with Chaos and Begot many other deities with Erebus (Hemera (Day), Moros (Doom) the twins Hypnos and Thanatos (Sleep and Death), The Keres (Spirits of destiny), Geras (Old Age), the Oneroi (Dreams), the Moirae (Fates), Nemesis (Retribution), Aether(The Pure Air) the Hesperides, and many other abstractions)

Another myth claims that she laid a silver egg which split into the earth and sky and that the God Phanes hatched from it, who was even more powerful than Nyx herself...

Many people overlook her, it is good to see that you have taken interest in this goddess...

Answer 4

All the information you need is at Wikipedia:

Nyx, goddess of the night (William-Adolphe Bouguereau - La Nuit (1883))In Hesiod's Theogony, Night is born of Chaos; her offspring are many, and telling. With her brother Erebus, Night gives birth to 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, 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".

Answer 5

Nyx is the goddess and embodiment of the night. According to Hesiod in his Theogony (11.116-138), "From Chaos came forth Erebus and black Night Nyx; of Night were born Aether being the bright upper atmosphere and Day Hemera, whom she conceived and bore from union with Erebus her brother". Also from the Theogony (11. 211-225); "And Night borehateful Doom Moros and black Fate and Death Thanatos, and she bore Sleep Hypnos and the tribe of Dreams. And again the goddess murky Night, though she lay with none, bare Blame and painful Woe, and the Hesperides who guard the rich golden apples and the trees bearing fruit beyond glorious Ocean. Also she bore the Destinies and ruthless avenging Fates who were regarded as old women occupied in spinning, Clotho the Spinner of the thread of life and Lachesis the Disposer of Lots, she who allots every man his destiny and Atropos She Who Cannot Be Turned, who finally cuts the thread of life who give men at their birth both evil and good to have, and they pursue the transgressions of men and of gods, and these goddesses never cease from their dread anger until they punish the sinner with a sore penalty. Also deadly Night bore Nemesis Indignation to afflict mortal men, and after her, Deceit Apate and Friendship and hateful Age and hard-hearted Strife.
From that great work we find that Nyx produced a host of offspring. Other sources give Charon who ferried the dead over the rivers of the infernal region as being the son of Erebus and Nyx, although according to the Theogony he was born from Chaos. Also according to Aristophanes, Birds 693 ff, "in the infinite bosom of Erebus, Night with black wings first produced an egg without a seed. From it, in the course of the seasons, Eros was born--the desired, whose back sparkled with golden wings, Eros like swift whirlwinds".


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Answer 6

Well, I don't know anything about it, but here a nice site for you.

Answer 7

http://www.loggia.com/myth/nyx.html
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Answer 8

Nyx in Hesiod
Nyx, goddess of the night (William-Adolphe Bouguereau - La Nuit (1883))In Hesiod's Theogony, Night is born of Chaos; her offspring are many, and telling. With her brother Erebus, Night gives birth to 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, 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".


Nyx in Homer
In Book 14 of Homer's Iliad, there is an interesting quote by Hypnos, the minor god of sleep, in which he reminds Hera of an old favor after she asks him to put Zeus to sleep. He had once before put Zeus to sleep at the bidding of Hera, allowing her to cause Herakles (who was returning by sea from Laomedon's Troy) great misfortune. Zeus was furious and would have smote Hypnos into the sea if he had not fled to Nyx, his mother, in fear. Hypnos goes on to say that Zeus, fearing to anger Nyx, held his fury at bay, and in this way Hypnos escaped the wrath of Zeus.


Nyx in Orphic Poetry
Night took on an even more important role in several fragmentary poems attributed to Orpheus. In them, Night, rather than Chaos, is the first principle. Night occupies a cave or adyton, in which she gives oracles. Kronos - who is chained within, asleep and drunk on honey - dreams and prophesies. Outside the cave, Adrastea clashes cymbals and beats upon her tympanon, moving the entire universe in an ecstatic dance to the rhythm of Nyx's chanting.


Other Greek texts
Night is also the first principle in the opening chorus of Aristophanes's Birds, which may be Orphic in inspiration. Here she is also the mother of Eros. In other texts she may be the mother of Charon (with Erebus), and Phthonus "envy" (with Dionysus?).

The theme of Night's cave or house, beyond the ocean (as in Hesiod) or somewhere at the edge of the cosmos (as in later Orphism) may be echoed in the philosophical poem of Parmenides. The classical scholar Walter Burkert has speculated that the house of the goddess to which the philosopher is transported is the palace of Night; this hypothesis, however, must remain tentative.


Cults of Night
Nyx, as represented in the 10th-century Paris Psalter.In Greece, Night is only rarely the recipient of cult. According to Pausanias, she had an oracle on the acropolis at Megara (Paus. 1.40.1).

More often, Nyx lurks in the background of other cults. Thus there was a statue called Night in the temple of Artemis at Ephesus. The Spartans had a cult of Sleep and Death, conceived of as twins (Paus. 3.18.1) - no doubt with Night as their mother. Cult titles composed of compounds of nyx- are attested for several gods, most notably Dionysus Nyktelios "nocturnal" (Paus. 1.40.6) and Aphrodite Philopannyx "who loves the whole night" (Orphic Hymn 55).


Nyx in fiction
In the MMO computer game EVE Online there is a class of mothership named after Nyx. Nyx is also a character in Piers Anthony's fictional series "The Incarnations of Immortality". Nyx is also the final boss in the japanese video game "Persona 3". A creature named "NYX" is the final boss of Resident Evil Outbreak: File 2.


Nyx in modern literature/culture
In the song Erebus by The Amenta the final line makes reference to Nyx with "Ah, Nyx. Close your womb. Your children are heavy"


Nyx outside of Greece
In Roman texts that take up this Greek theme, Nyx is translated as Nox. (Virgil V, 721)

On June 21, 2006, the International Astronomical Union renamed one of Pluto's recently discovered moons (S/2005 P 2) to Nix, in honor of Nyx. The name was spelled with an "i" instead of a "y", to avoid conflict with the asteroid 3908 Nyx.

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Nyx at a Glance

name | Nyx (Nux)

role | goddess who personifies night


Nyx in Greek Mythology

The goddess Nyx was the personification of Night in Greek mythology. One of the best sources for information about this goddess comes from the Theogony of Hesiod. A great many references are made to Nyx in this poem that describes the birth of the Greek gods and goddesses. And the explanation for this is simple - Nyx played an important role in myth as one of the first divine beings to come into existence.
Hesiod states that Night was the daughter of Chaos, which makes her one of the first creatures ever to emerge from the void. This means that Nyx was the sister to some of the oldest deities in Greek myth, including Erebus (Darkness), Gaia (the Earth), and Tartarus (the Underworld). From these primeval powers came the rest of the Greek gods and goddesses. And Nyx was responsible for bearing her share of divine children.

Nyx gave birth to a number of offspring. Some of these children of Night were Eris (Discord or Strife), the Moirai (Fates), Hypnos (Sleep), Nemesis (Retribution), Thanatos (Death), and the Hesperides. While these beings were born from the goddess alone, without a father, Nyx also had children by the god Erebus. To Erebus the goddess bore Aether (Air) and Hemera (Day).

Hesiod also describes Night's forbidding residence in the following passage from his Theogony:

"There also stands the gloomy house of Night;
ghastly clouds shroud it in darkness.
Before it Atlas stands erect and on his head
and unwearying arms firmly supports the broad sky,
where Night and Day cross a bronze threshold
and then come close and great each other."
(Hesiod, Theogony, 744 ff.)
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Nyx
Nyx is the goddess and embodiment of the night. According to Hesiod in his Theogony (11.116-138), "From Chaos came forth Erebus and black Night Nyx; of Night were born Aether being the bright upper atmosphere and Day Hemera, whom she conceived and bore from union with Erebus her brother". Also from the Theogony (11. 211-225); "And Night borehateful Doom Moros and black Fate and Death Thanatos, and she bore Sleep Hypnos and the tribe of Dreams. And again the goddess murky Night, though she lay with none, bare Blame and painful Woe, and the Hesperides who guard the rich golden apples and the trees bearing fruit beyond glorious Ocean. Also she bore the Destinies and ruthless avenging Fates who were regarded as old women occupied in spinning, Clotho the Spinner of the thread of life and Lachesis the Disposer of Lots, she who allots every man his destiny and Atropos She Who Cannot Be Turned, who finally cuts the thread of life who give men at their birth both evil and good to have, and they pursue the transgressions of men and of gods, and these goddesses never cease from their dread anger until they punish the sinner with a sore penalty. Also deadly Night bore Nemesis Indignation to afflict mortal men, and after her, Deceit Apate and Friendship and hateful Age and hard-hearted Strife.
From that great work we find that Nyx produced a host of offspring. Other sources give Charon who ferried the dead over the rivers of the infernal region as being the son of Erebus and Nyx, although according to the Theogony he was born from Chaos. Also according to Aristophanes, Birds 693 ff, "in the infinite bosom of Erebus, Night with black wings first produced an egg without a seed. From it, in the course of the seasons, Eros was born--the desired, whose back sparkled with golden wings, Eros like swift whirlwinds".


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