![]() Although Bes is frequently associated with his feminine aspect as consort, he is more regularly identified with the goddess Taweret, the hippopotamus deity of childbirth and fertility.Įven though Bes was among the most popular gods of ancient Egypt, no story of his origin has been found. ![]() Bes himself is actually a demon, more than a god. His feminine aspect is Beset who appears in spells to ward off ghosts, dark magic, evil spirits, and demons. He was also a popular image used in household goods such as mirrors, cosmetic cases, furniture, and knife handles. The image of Bes was often positioned at gates and bed headboards for protection and almost always appears outside of birth houses. Usually, he is shown holding a rattle but sometimes a snake or snakes, a knife, or sword. God Bes a serious protector and a merry entertainer. He is regularly depicted as a dwarf with large ears, long-haired and bearded, with prominent genitals, and bow-legged. This is said to symbolize him listening to dreams through his regular ear and delivering messages from the gods through dreams with his winged ear.īes is the ancient Egyptian god of childbirth, fertility, sexuality, humor, and war, but served primarily as a protector god of pregnant women and children. Some statues of Morpheus have been sculpted that depict him having a one-winged ear. He didn’t have a wife, but some interpretations would have seen him paired with Iris, another messenger of the gods, and the personification of rainbows. Overseeing the dreams of mortals made Morpheus one of the busiest deities. The River of Forgetfulness and the River of Oblivion were also located in the land of dreams. Its gate was heavily guarded by two fearsome monsters that would materialize the fears of those who tried to pass through uninvited. Only the gods that resided in Olympus could visit Morpheus and his family in the land of dreams. His other family members included NYX, his grandmother and the deity of Night, and Thanatos, Morpheus’s uncle and the god of death. Morpheus, his brothers, and their mother and father all lived in the land of dreams located in the Underworld. Poppies have also been used to treat insomnia due to their hypnotic properties. This could be the reason why the opium-based medication for severe pain is known as morphine. Morpheus slept in a cave full of poppy seeds while shaping mortal dreams. The Greek words for “ivory” and “deceive” are very similar. His brothers would pass through the second gate, which was made of ivory and represented dreams without true meaning. Morpheus would pass through the gate made of horn, which represented true or divine dreams. What set Morpheus apart from his brothers was his ability to influence the dreams of gods, heroes, and kings.Įach night, the Oneiroi would emerge from the palace of Hypnos and pass through one of two gates. ![]() Morpheus was the leader of the Oneiroi (Dreams), and he and his brothers were the personified spirits of dreams. He is also likely the unnamed dream spirit in Homer’s Iliad that delivers a message from Zeus to King Agamemnon. Morpheus appears in the poet Ovid’s Metamorphosis. Thus, Morpheus is the god that forms dreams. It was said that when people would sleep in the arms of Morpheus, they would dream about their future or coming events. The phrase “in the arms of Morpheus” means “to be asleep”. He was the son of HYPNOS (God of Sleep) and Pasithea (Goddess of relaxation and rest), and he and his brothers were known as ONEIROI (Dreams). Though he could take any human form, Morpheus’s true form was that of a winged demon. This talent made Morpheus a messenger of the gods, able to communicate divine messages to sleeping mortals. He shaped and formed the dreams, he appeared to mortals in any form.
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