Monday, June 22, 2015

My good friend named Hypnos

According to ancient Greek mythology the deity Hypnos was the god of sleep. His power and control were tied to forgetfulness and darkness. He lived in a mansion within a cave that had no gate to enter or to leave. It was designed that way as to help sleep enter and stay with no regard to the rules of the mansion. It boarded the river Lethe. This was the river known to cause forgetfulness to the taste. His children were known as the Oneiroi and they were three in number. Morpheus, Phantasos, and Phobeter. These three entities were the children of dreams. They controlled the visions men had as their father lulled them into sleep. Hypnos was so powerful that even Zeus himself could be lulled into his power. He is one of the lesser known, yet highly influential gods of old.





Hypnos and I have been great friends recently. As of late the only solace I can find are those moments that I find in his friendship. However, his children plague my thoughts and the time I spend with him. It is often ironic that human nature we always want what we can't have, and then upon having it, we do not want it anymore. That's how my friendship with this god has been. I want him to make it all disappear, yet I know that letting that happen will only leave me at the hands of the Oneiroi. Again the irony of human kind is seen again. We all need Hypnos in life, but when we are using him as our only option is when he has true power over us.


Every Greek myth has a hero. I guess the hardest part about this myth is that the villain needs to be both our ally and the enemy. But at the heart of it, we are always are own enemy. How can we be the hero that the myth craves for when we ourselves seem like the true villain of our own myth. The dichotomous thinking will surely be the Ragnarok to our souls. And Hypnos won't be able to help anyone when that time comes. But as we become consumed by the shadow released by Pandora's box, we forget to hold on tight. Endure all. Try with every fiber of our being to keep looking. For it is only then that we will see hope, shining back at us from the bottom of the box.