Nyx: Darkness before Dawn

The darkness that is Nyx.

To Nyx (Night)

Fumigation with Torches.

Nyx, parent goddess,

Source of sweet repose from whom at first both Gods and men arose.

Hear, blessed Kypris [Aphrodite], decked with starry light,

In sleep’s deep silence dwelling ebon night!

Dreams (oneiroi) and soft ease attend thy dusky train,

Pleased with the lengthened gloom and feastful strain,

Dissolving anxious care, the friend of mirth,

With darkling coursers riding round the earth.

Goddess of phantoms and of shadowy play,

Whose drowsy power divides the natural day;

By Fate’s decree you constant send

the light to deepest hell, remote from mortal sight;

For dire necessity (ananke), which nought withstands,

invests the world with adamantine bands.

Be present, Goddess, to thy suppliant’s prayer,

desired by all, whom all alike revere,

blessed, benevolent, with friendly aid

dispel the fears of twilight’s dreadful shade.

–Orphic Hymn 3 to Nyx (Source)

Unlike the other Hellenic goddesses who are all bright and cheery and clad in radiant gowns, Nyx was a dark figure so awesome even the greatest of the gods made a run for his money. As Wiki puts it:

Her appearances in mythology are sparse, but reveal her as a figure of exceptional power and beauty. 

Tsk, tsk. So much badassness.

Nocturnal Relations

In the ancient cosmogonies, Nyx (Roman Nox) was one of the very first created beings emerging from the void; a daughter of Chaos, and a sister of Erebus, Gaea and Tartarus. Sometimes, she was even represented as the mother, sister or daughter of the creator god Phanes (T’was hard to tell – no one else was present during the time!). Three generations before Zeus ‘n the gang, two before the Titans came on the scene; Nyx is ancient stuff, guys.

Following the custom of those times (or she didn’t really had much choice), Nyx married her brother, the equally dark Erebus. Together, they parented quite a handful of children:

• Aether (Brightness);
• Hemera (Day);
• Charon (Ferryman of the Dead);
• Eleos (Mercy);
• Epiphron (Sagacity); and
• Sophrosyne (Temperance)

However, Nyx did not seem satisfied with just making love with her husband. And so, without the help of any man, she spawned a brood of other kids. Most of her later children, though, seemed to have represented the ‘darker’ aspects of humanity (Really, the adjectives used to describe them were not particularly morale boosters). They were:

• Achlys (Death Mist);
• Apate (Deceit);
• Dolos (Deceit);
• “Hard-hearted” Eris (Strife);
• “Hateful” Geras (Old Age);
• Hybris (Insolence);
•  Hypnos (Sleep);
• “Black” Keres (Violent Deaths);
• Lyssa (Madness);
• Momus (Mockery);
• “Hateful” Morus (Doom);
• “Painful” Oizys (Misery);
• Philotes (Friendship);
• Ponus (Toil); and
• Thanatos (Death);

(The lists I had in hand were so varying I had to settle with my own list. There are a few who I believe have more reputable parents, so I didn’t put them here. Please let me know what you think!)

Mama knows best. That’s already a lot of children to keep track of; but Nyx still proved to be a protective mother to her children, though.

Love this photo? See more here.

One incident in the Iliad talks of Hypnos having offended Zeus for making him fall asleep in the middle of a war (Not a very wise move, man). Zeus was furious and would have smitten Hypnos into the sea had he not fled to Nyx, his mother, in fear. Zeus, fearing to anger Nyx, held his fury at bay, and in this way Hypnos escaped his wrath.

This badass mother may be one of the few, if not the only god Zeus would defer to, especially after a little show of her power.

Dark Matriarch

Then again, we cannot blame Zeus for being afraid of this goddess. Most of the oldest accounts say more about her than being just a goddess under the weather. And so, I thought this part could use this song:

The ancients considered Nyx as one of the most powerful divine beings. She was a first principle entity, and she was believed to be omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent, and drives all things to their ends (Ooh, creepy).

What’s more? She was the second in the evolutionary progression of the dynasties of the Vasilei (“Kings”) to whom the first ruler of the cosmos, Phanes, gave his royal scepter. As a queen,  Nyx was said to be very unpredictable and tended to display an aura of tranquility and threat at the same time. Homer even called her

the subduer of gods and men

and related that Zeus himself stood in awe of her.

Lastly, like any other queen, Her Imperial Majesty was a bit narcissistic and enjoyed wearing jewelry (especially those made of moonstone and agate, she said), and was rarely found without any form of precious stone adornment.

The 'Night Shift'

Nyx herself was the primeval substance of darkness; the power that stood in the beginning of creation, a dark veil of mist drawn forth from the underworld which blotted out the light of Aether (shining upper atmosphere).

Simply said, she was the goddess of the night and the mistress of darkness.

I made this myself and named it Tag Ein Nacht (Day and Night)...
even though I don't speak German, Lieblings.

According to God Checker:

Every evening she coaxes him [Erebus, her husband] out to spread his gloomy darkness, which obscures the shining AETHER and lets the stars come out to play. It's up to daughter HEMERA to waft away the darkness every morning to let the sun shine.

As days could not be counted if dark-robed Nyx would not come between them, night and day become, in a certain way, equals. Records showed that the two goddesses live in one mansion (which I’ll be touring you later), although they did nothing together but greet each other every day (and night). According to the Greek-Gods:

Nyx used to reside in her home all day long, taking care of her dark spirited children. But when the evening set in, Nyx was leaving her home to set off for her nightly journey. Just as Hemera entered it, Nyx left.

When one, either night or day, crosses the earth, the other will wait at home. They will greet each other only at the threshold where Atlas holds up heaven. Wiki says that this mirrors the portrayal of Ratri (night) in the Rigveda, where she works in close cooperation but also tension with her sister Ushas (dawn). Hmm. Tension. Nice choice of words.

House of Night. First off, I would like to apologize for ripping off the title of P.C. Cast’s vampire series. I have never actually read the books, but I heard they’re quite good.

(For the information of us all, Nyx had a part in the series as the goddess of vampyres and night honored through the Full Moon Ritual and had the ability to bless vampires with the gift of ‘affinity,’ whatever that is. Thanks House of Night Wiki!)

Back to Nyx’s home:

“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 greet each other.”

(Hesiod, Theogony, 744 ff.) 

So, yeah, the goddess owned a gloomy but very HUGE manor house in the far west of Tartarus. Her whole estate spread around the pit in triple line like a necklace. Maicar’s Greek Mythology Link also said that at her gates and above it are the sources and ends of heaven, earth and sea, and it is told that if a man should find himself inside the gates, he would not reach the bottom for one year, being carried by blasts in all directions.

(Her home could have been a nice feature for magazines featuring celebrity homes. Too bad, she doesn’t seem to be a very hospitable host!)

Anyway, her Palace was made of the most exquisite black marble, with white marble streaks through. Central columns run the lobby towards the main reception hall, with black cat statues lining the outer walls.

Inside the main reception hall, a solid black ivory throne padded with blackened silk sits on a raised dais. A table with ambrosia and wine sits next to it within arm's reach. Set into the wall behind and coming out to form a roof over the throne is a blackened knurled branch upon which owls perch during audiences, while black cats can rest on a thick wool rug laid out at the base of the throne. (Very detailed, eh? Special thanks to this!)

Night’s unlit abilities. Being a sinister goddess could not have been all that bad for Nyx. With this office also came her divine authority and absolute control over darkness, so-called Umbrakinesis. With this power, she gained the ability to create both extreme darkness and light. But it doesn’t just refer to a typical power shortage we sometimes experience – her darkness can enshroud souls of her choice, leading them to catatonia in an instant. She can easily hypnotize both mortals and immortals by just the sight of her eyes and her voice.

Bringing her twin sons Thanatos and Hypnos along during her night time strolls (she rides her own celestial chariot, BTW), Nyx gave either sleep or death to the un/luckiest recipients. Her kiss was said to be fatal to men. Also, she can manipulate dreams to a limited extent, but she tried not to abuse that power.

Now this is one accurate pie chart!
Thanks Cheezburger!

The goddess was also said to brew a powerful sleep mixture that causes mortals to fall unconscious for 8 hours at a time within moments of use (Source). Now that’s one fool-proof cure from insomnia (Or teens on the internet)!

On a more cosmic note, Nyx has got the ability to control the movement and rotation of planets (enabling her to change the flow of night and day), known as Circadian Manipulation. Owing from her husband’s domain, she traveled the world through shadows and mists, and morphed herself into living darkness.

Alas for Nyx, she had also become a convenient suspect any inexplicable or frightening thing that befell man. She was attributed with the powers over illness, suffering, misfortunes, quarrels, war and murder. How unfair is that?

A Series of Unfortunate Events just seemed right, eh?

The dame is a drama queen. Nyx was one dark, dangerous and voluptuous woman. Would it surprise you if I say that that she was also a diva? This could have been the reason why the evening slots on TV were called primetime.

Kidding aside, Nyx, as the indisputable embodiment of the night, also presided over all that happens after dark. Hence, spies, fugitives, thieves, murderers and secret lovers (and some say, vampires) were put under her special protection. She was known to 'deliberately enshroud them in a cloak of mystery.' Seriously, this lot could use a little help. And so Nyx becomes their fitting patron.

Foretelling the Forthcoming

Aside from her regular ‘night shift’, Nyx also did some prophesying on the side. It is in this manner that she possessed an oracle at Megara, the chief city of Megaris in Southern Greece (Source) and was affiliated with owls and bats (another Source).

(I am speculating that she got this power from the strange hermaphroditic demiurge called Phanes by the Orphics. It was he who, some say, made Nyx the supreme ruler of prophetic power.)

Nyx occupied a cave or adyton wherein she gave hints of the future. The industry was great and business was booming. At one time, she got her niece the Titaness Rhea to be her primary endorser. Outside the cave, the princess clashed cymbals and beat upon her tympanon, moving the entire universe in an ecstatic dance to the rhythm of Nyx's chanting.

(A post-Titanomachy alternate myth said that the Titan Cronus was chained within it, asleep and drunk on honey –where he dreams and prophesies.)

Not a Bad Night!

As a very dark and brooding figure, Nyx became an enigmatic and widely feared hell of a woman. The titles Deadly, Terror-bringing, Dark, and Murky did not quite help in promoting her character. But Nyx was not all bad news.

In actuality, many people consider the coming of the night as a welcome relief after a day’s work (This one really struck me). In this guise, Nyx was worshipped with the epithets Hosia or Holy and Phylia or Kindly.

The sign of Islam.
Got this here.

I’ve also read somewhere (I can’t remember where) that Nyx was worshipped as a goddess of light in some places in Africa. This could be true since aside from darkness, she also represented the starlight of night (read Nyx Poikileimôn, “spangle-robed Night”). It is in this guise that Nyx adopted the crescent moon and star as her emblem (quite similar to the symbol of modern Islam, eh?).

Nyx was not the philanthropic and humanitarian kind of goddess, yet she still does often provide lost mariners with help in the form of the constellation Ara or the Altar should they heed her favoring signs.

Lastly, night is also the time for inspiration and it is told that the muses sing during night-time their praises to the gods and Nyx on Mount Helicon.

Now everybody wants to be night goddess!

Other 'Nyx Knacks'

Just so you know, this is
free advertising. Hoho

Like many other Greek deities, Nyx has also donated her name to a celestial object (Oh, wow!). Previously known as S/2005 P1, Nix is this gloomy moon that circles the remote planetoid Pluto in a suitably shadowy and mysterious manner (Source). The name was spelled with an "i" instead of a "y", to avoid conflict with previously named asteroid 3908 Nyx.

Earlier in 1997, the International Astronomical Union approved the name Nyx for a mons (mountain/peak) feature on the planet Venus. Nyx Mons is located at latitude 30° North and longitude 48.5° East on the Venusian surface. Its diameter is 875 km, according to Wikipedia.

And, finally, back on earth, girls may find the goddess in their favorite make up under the name Nyx Cosmetics.

That’s about it… and good night!