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Nyx

File:Terracotta_lekythos_(oil_flask)_MET_DP225322_(cropped).jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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In Greek mythology, Nyx (; ) is the goddess and personification of the night. In Hesiod's Theogony, she is the offspring of Chaos, and the mother of Aether (Upper Sky) and Hemera (Day) by Erebus (Darkness). By herself, she produces a brood of children which are mainly personifications of primarily negative forces. She features in a number of early cosmogonies, which place her as one of the first deities to exist. In the works of poets and playwrights, she lives at the ends of the Earth, and is often described as a black-robed goddess who drives through the sky in a chariot pulled by horses. In

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In Greek mythology, Nyx is the goddess who represents and personifies the night, and according to Hesiod's account, she is one of the oldest deities, born from Chaos itself. She is notable for giving birth to various forces associated with darkness and negative aspects of existence, and is typically depicted as a black-robed figure traveling across the sky in a chariot.

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Key facts

Deity.caption
Nyx is shown driving to the left in a chariot pulled by two horses. To the right of her is Helios, who ascends into the sky in his quadriga at the start of the new day. Detail of an attic terracotta lekythos, attributed to the Sappho Painter, c. 500 BC.
Deity.siblings
Erebus
Deity.consort
Erebus
Deity.children
Aether, Hemera, Moros, Ker, Thanatos, Hypnos, the Oneiroi, Momus, Oizys, the Hesperides, the Moirai, the Keres, Nemesis, Apate, Philotes, Geras, Eris
Deity.deity_of
Personification of Night
Deity.name
Nyx
Deity.parents
Chaos
Deity.type
Greek
Deity.image
Terracotta lekythos (oil flask) MET DP225322 (cropped).jpg
Deity.image_upright
1.1

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Wikidata facts

Image
BnF MS Gr139 folio 435 verso - detail - Nyx.jpg
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Commons category
Nyx
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Nix
native label
Νύξ
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Article

17 sections
Contents
  • Genealogy
  • Early sources
  • ''Iliad''
  • Hesiod
  • Other
  • Roman and later sources
  • Orphic literature
  • Possible ancient theogony
  • Eudemian Theogony
  • Derveni Theogony
  • Rhapsodies
  • Later sources
  • Iconography
  • Cult
  • Notes
  • References
  • External links

In Greek mythology, Nyx (; ) is the goddess and personification of the night. In Hesiod's Theogony, she is the offspring of Chaos, and the mother of Aether (Upper Sky) and Hemera (Day) by Erebus (Darkness). By herself, she produces a brood of children which are mainly personifications of primarily negative forces. She features in a number of early cosmogonies, which place her as one of the first deities to exist. In the works of poets and playwrights, she lives at the ends of the Earth, and is often described as a black-robed goddess who drives through the sky in a chariot pulled by horses. In the Iliad, Homer relates that even Zeus fears to displease her.

Night is a prominent figure in several theogonies of Orphic literature, in which she is often described as the mother of Uranus and Gaia. In the earliest Orphic cosmogonies, she is the first deity to exist, while in the later Orphic Rhapsodies, she is the daughter and consort of Phanes, and the second ruler of the gods. She delivers prophecies to Zeus from an adyton, and is described as the nurse of the gods. In the Rhapsodies, there may have been three separate figures named Night.

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