Search Results: Thanatos

Thanatos is the personification of Death in Greek mythology. He is the son of Nyx (Night) and the twin brother of Hypnos (Sleep). Some sources also name Erebus (Darkness) as his father. As the personification of Death, Thanatos works under...

A detail of a black-figure pottery vase showing Thanatos (Death) and Hypnos (Sleep) carrying the dead body of the hero Sarpedon. Made around 500 BCE in Attica, Greece. (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)

Terracotta bell-krater (mixing bowl) attributed to the Sarpedon Painter Obverse: Europa pleading with Zeus for the life of Sarpedon; Hera, Hypnos, Pasithea Reverse: Europa with attendants watching Hypnos and Thanatos bringing the body of...

Winged youth with a sword, probably Thanatos, personification of death. Detail of a sculptured marble column drum from the Temple of Artemis at Ephesos, ca. 325-300 BCE. Found at the south-west corner of the temple.

Alcestis was the mythical queen of Thessaly, wife of King Admetus, who came to personify the devoted, selfless, woman and wife in ancient Greece. While the story of Admetus' courtship of Alcestis was widely told, she is best known for her...

For the ancient Greeks, the quality of arete (personal excellence) and the concept of eusebia (social duty) were most important. Aristotle discusses both of these at length in his Nichomachean Ethics and relates arete to eudaimonia - translated...

Nyx (also known as Nox or the Night) is the personification of the night in Greek mythology. Coming from Chaos (Void), Nyx is a primordial deity (Protogenoi). The Protogenoi represent the physical and elemental forces of the world and consist...

Sarpedon is a figure from ancient Greek mythology, a Lycian prince who was one of the principal heroes during the Trojan War and fought on the side of Troy. According to Homer's Iliad, he was the son of Zeus by Laodameia and the cousin of...

Sisyphus (or Sisyphos) is a figure from Greek mythology. He was king of Corinth and became infamous for his general trickery when he twice cheated death. Sisyphus ultimately got his comeuppance when Zeus dealt him the eternal punishment of...

The personifications Hypnos (sleep) and Thanatos (death) were either considered the sons or nurslings of Nyx (Night). This head is one of many versions of the same original. Hypnos appears with Thanatos on Classical vases, especially, lekythoi...