In
Ovid
Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...
's ''
Metamorphoses
The ''Metamorphoses'' ( la, Metamorphōsēs, from grc, μεταμορφώσεις: "Transformations") is a Latin narrative poem from 8 CE by the Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the wo ...
'', Phobetor ('Frightener'), so called by men, or Icelos ('Like'), so called by the gods, is one of the thousand sons of
Somnus
In Roman mythology, Somnus ("sleep") is the personification of sleep. His Greek counterpart is Hypnos. Somnus resided in the underworld. According to Virgil, Somnus was the brother of Death (Mors (mythology), Mors), and according to Ovid, Somnus ...
(Sleep). He appeared in dreams "in the form of beast or bird or the long serpent".
According to Ovid, two of his brothers were
Morpheus
Morpheus ('Fashioner', derived from the grc, μορφή meaning 'form, shape') is a god associated with sleep and dreams. In Ovid's ''Metamorphoses'' he is the son of Somnus and appears in dreams in human form. From the Middle Ages, the name b ...
, who appeared in dreams in human form, and
Phantasos
In Ovid's ''Metamorphoses'', Phantasos ('Fantasy') is one of the thousand sons of Somnus (Sleep). He appeared in dreams in the form of inanimate objects, putting on "deceptive shapes of earth, rocks, water, trees, all lifeless things".
According t ...
('Fantasy'), who appears in dreams in the form of inanimate objects. The three brothers‘ names are found nowhere earlier than Ovid, and are perhaps Ovidian inventions. Tripp calls these three figures "literary, not mythical concepts". However, Griffin suggests that this division of dream forms between Phobetor and his brothers, possibly including their names, may have been of Hellenistic origin.
[Griffin, pp. 179, 249.]
See also
*
Epiales
In Greek mythology, Epiales (Ancient Greek: Ἠπιάλης) was the spirit (daemon) and personification of nightmares. Alternate spellings of the name were Epialos (Ἠπίαλος), Epioles (Ἠπιόλης), Epialtes (Ἐπιάλτης) or Ep ...
*
Melinoë
Melinoë (; grc, Μηλινόη ) is a chthonic nymph or goddess invoked in one of the Orphic Hymns and represented as a bringer of nightmares and madness. The name also appears on a metal tablet in association with Persephone. The hymns are o ...
Notes
References
* .
*
Ovid
Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...
. ''
Metamorphoses
The ''Metamorphoses'' ( la, Metamorphōsēs, from grc, μεταμορφώσεις: "Transformations") is a Latin narrative poem from 8 CE by the Roman poet Ovid. It is considered his ''magnum opus''. The poem chronicles the history of the wo ...
, Volume II: Books 9-15''. Translated by Frank Justus Miller. Revised by G. P. Goold.
Loeb Classical Library
The Loeb Classical Library (LCL; named after James Loeb; , ) is a series of books originally published by Heinemann in London, but is currently published by Harvard University Press. The library contains important works of ancient Greek and L ...
No. 43. Cambridge, Massachusetts:
Harvard University Press
Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retirem ...
, 1916
Online version at Harvard University Press
* Tripp, Edward, ''Crowell's Handbook of Classical Mythology'', Thomas Y. Crowell Co; First edition (June 1970). .
Fictional characters with dream manipulation abilities
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