Nyx

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For the water spirit Nix, see Nixie (folklore). For the suffix "-nyx", meaning "claw", see List of commonly used taxonomic affixes. For other uses, see Nyx (disambiguation).
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. Attic terracotta lekythos, attributed to the Sappho Painter, c. 500 BC.[1]
Greek deities
series
Primordial deities

In Greek mythology, Nyx (/nɪks/ NIX;[2] Ancient Greek: Νύξ Nýx, [nýks], "Night")[3] is the goddess and personification of the night.[4] In Hesiod's Theogony, she is the offspring of Chaos, and the mother of Aether and Hemera (Day) by Erebus (Darkness). By herself, she produces a brood of children consisting of various personifications of abstract and primarily negative forces. Nyx features prominently in Orphic sources, where she is considered to be the mother of Uranus and often Gaia, and sometimes the daughter and consort of Phanes. In such accounts, she is variously described as the first being to exist, or as the second ruler of the gods. The name of her Roman equivalent is Nox (Night).[5]

Genealogy[edit]

According to Hesiod's Theogony, Nyx is the offspring of Chaos, alongside Erebus (Darkness), by whom she becomes the mother of Aether and Hemera (Day).[6] Without the assistance of a father, Nyx produces Moros (Doom, Destiny), Ker (Destruction, Death), Thanatos (Death), Hypnos (Sleep), the Oneiroi (Dreams), Momus (Blame), Oizys (Pain, Distress), the Hesperides, the Moirai (Fates), the Keres, Nemesis (Indignation, Retribution), Apate (Deceit), Philotes (Love), Geras (Old Age), and Eris (Strife).[7] A number of these offspring are similarly described as her children by later authors.[8]

Other early sources, however, give genealogies which differ from Hesiod's. According to one such account, she is the mother of Tartarus by Aether,[9] while in others, she is variously described as the mother of Eros by Aether,[10] or the mother of Aether, Eros, and Metis by Erebus.[11] The poet Bacchylides apparently considered Nyx to be the mother of Hemera by Chronos (Time),[12] and elsewhere mentions Hecate as her daughter.[13] Aeschylus also mentions Nyx as the mother of the Erinyes (Furies),[14] while Euripides apparently considered Lyssa (Madness) to be the daughter of Nyx and Uranus.[15]

In an early Orphic source, in which Nyx is the first being to exist, she is considered to be the mother of Uranus, possibly without a father.[16] In a later account, she is described as both the consort and daughter of Phanes (despite seeming to exist before him), by whom she becomes the mother of Uranus and Gaia.[17] In another account, likely derived from an Orphic cosmogony,[18] Nyx gives birth to a "wind-egg", from which Eros emerges.[19] In later Orphic sources, she is mentioned as the mother of the Stars (by Uranus?),[20] and, in one account, is described as the daughter of Eros.[21]

Nox, the Roman equivalent of Nyx, also features in several genealogies given by Roman authors. According to Cicero, Aether and Dies (Day) were the children of Nox and Erebus, in addition to Amor (Love), Dolus (Guile), Metus (Fear), Labor (Toil), Invidentia (Envy), Fatum (Fate), Senectus (Old Age), Mors (Death), Tenebrae (Darkness), Miseria (Misery), Querella (Lamentation), Gratia (Favour), Fraus (Fraud), Pertinacia (Obstinacy), the Parcae, the Hesperides (Daughters of Hesperus), and the Somnia (Dreams).[22] In the genealogy given by the Roman mythographer Hyginus, Nox is one of the offspring of Chaos and Caligo (Mist), alongside Dies (Day), Erebus (Darkness), and Aether.[23] With Erebus, she produces Fatum (Fate), Senectus (Old Age), Mors (Death), Letum (Destruction), Continentia (Strife), Somnus (Sleep), the Somnia (Dreams), Lysimeles (Thoughtfulness), Epiphron (Hedymeles), Porphyrion, Epaphus, Discordia (Discord), Miseria (Misery), Petulantia (Petulance), Nemesis, Euphrosyne (Cheerfulness), Amicitia (Friendship), Misericordia (Pity), Styx, the Parcae (Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos), and the Hesperides (Aegle, Hesperia, and Erythea).[24] Several other Roman sources mention Nox as the mother of the Furies, with Pluto sometimes given as the father.[25]

In a later Greek source, Nyx is described as the mother of Eos (Dawn),[26] who was often identified with her mother Hemera.[27] According to a much later Byzantine author, Nyx is considered to be the mother of the Moirai, apparently by the Titan Cronus.[28]

Mythology[edit]

In the Theogony, Nyx is described as living in the same home as her daughter Hemera (which Hesiod locates at the far western end of the Earth). Each day they pass one another at the entrance to the house, with one of them leaving and the other one entering, and throughout the day one passes across the earth while the other stays inside, waiting for their turn to leave.[29]

Nyx also features in a story related in Homer's Iliad, in which she saves Hypnos from Zeus's anger.[30] When Hera comes to Hypnos to try and persuade him to lull Zeus to sleep,[31] he refuses, reminding her of the last time she asked the same favour of him, when it had allowed her to persecute Hercules without her husband's knowledge.[32] Hypnos relates that once Zeus awoke, he was furious, and would have hurled him into the sea, had he not fled to the protection of Nyx, as Zeus, despite his anger, was "in awe of doing anything to swift Night's displeasure".[33]

In an Orphic cosmogony in which Nyx is the daughter of Phanes, she is considered to be the second ruler of the gods.[34] Her reign is preceded by that of her father Phanes, who passes on his rule by giving her a sceptre which he created himself, handing it on to her willingly; after her own time as ruler, she too passes on the spectre voluntarily, giving it to her son Uranus, who follows her as sovereign.[35] In some Orphic sources, Nyx was apparently considered to be the nurse of the gods, and is described as having raised her grandson Cronus, the son of Uranus.[36] She also plays a prophetic role in several narratives,[37] having seemingly received the gift of prophecy from her father Phanes, who gives it to her alongside the sceptre.[38] During the reign of Cronus, Zeus, his son, seeks the advice of Nyx, wanting to know how he can overthrow his father. Nyx instructs him to give Cronus a certain drink of honey, and then to wait for him to fall asleep before binding him; Zeus follows this guidance, resulting in him castrating his father.[39] Zeus also consults Nyx as to how he can solidify his rule, with her instructing him to capture everything which exists in aither (i.e. the entire creation) by suspending a golden chain from the heavens to the earth, containing everything within it. Zeus interprets this as meaning he must consume Phanes, as by doing so he will contain within his stomach the entire creation.[40] Various sources also speak of a certain cave which belongs to Nyx, described as the location from which Phanes creates the universe, and which may also be the place from which Nyx delivers her prophecies to Zeus.[41]

Sources[edit]

Roman-era bronze statuette of Nyx velificans or Selene (Getty Villa)

Early[edit]

Homer, in the Iliad (c. 8th century BC), describes Nyx as having "power over gods and men", and relates that even Zeus fears to displease her.[42] It has been suggested that the apparent status which Nyx holds in Homer's account may indicate he was aware of a genealogy in which she came before even Oceanus and Tethys (who are often considered to be the primeval couple in Homer),[43] and others have claimed that the story in which Zeus holds Nyx in awe may be derived from an earlier work, which contained a more detailed narrative of the event.[44]

In Hesiod's Theogony (c. 730 – 700 BC), which the Greeks considered to be the "standard" account of the origin of the gods,[45] Nyx is described as one of the earliest beings to exist, as the offspring of Chaos alongside Erebus (Darkness). In the first sexual coupling,[46] she and Erebus produce their personified opposites, Aether and Hemera (Day):[47]

From Chaos came forth Erebus and black Night; but of Night were born Aether and Day, whom she conceived and bore from union in love with Erebus.[48]

Hesiod also makes Nyx, without the aid of a father, the mother of a number of abstract personifications, which are primarily negative in nature.[49] To the Greeks, however, these deities would have represented forces which "exercise[d] a real power in the world".[50]

Hesiod locates the home of Nyx at the far western end of the Earth,[51] though it is unclear whether or not he considered it to be beyond Oceanus, the river which encircles the world.[52] In a (somewhat confused) section of the Theogony, Hesiod seems to locate the home of Nyx near the entrance to the underworld, and describes it as being "wrapped in dark clouds".[53] He reports that the Titan Atlas, who is holding up the sky, stands outside of the house, and that the homes of two of her children, Hypnos and Thanatos, are situated nearby.[54] He further reports that each day, "evil" Nyx moves across the Earth "wrapped in a vaporous cloud", and with her son Hypnos held in her arms.[55]

Nyx features in a number of other early cosmogonies. The philosopher Philodemus, writing in his De pietate (On Piety), reports that the legendary poet Musaeus considered Tartarus and Night to be first to exist, followed by Air.[56] Philodemus also writes that, according to Epimenides (7th or 6th century BC), the two first principles are Air and Night, from which "everything else is constituted".[57] The Neoplatonist Damascius adds to this, stating that from Air and Night is born Tartarus, and that Tartarus in turn produces two Titans (by Night?).[58] Philodemus, in his De pietate, mentions another cosmogony, in which Night and Tartarus come first, and from this pair "all things are born".[59]

Nyx also appears in several genealogies attributed to the logographer and mythographer Acusilaus (6th century BC). According to Damascius, Acusilaus considered Chaos to have preceded Erebus and Night, and this pair to have produced Aether, Eros, and Metis.[60] A scholium on Theocritus, in contrast, reports that Night and Aether are the parents of Eros in Acusilaus.[61]

Outside of the Theogony, there exist several references in early poetry to the location in which Nyx lives. As recorded by a scholium on Sophocles, the choral lyric poet Alcman (7th century BC) considered Nyx to live in the far north, having described the Riphean mountains as being "breast of black night".[62] In Stesichorus (6th century BC), Nyx seems to live beyond Oceanus in the far west, as in his Geryoneis he relates that Helios crosses the river at the end of the day, after which he "reach[es] the depths of holy, dark night".[63] The Pre-Socratic philosopher Parmenides (6th or 5th centuries BC), in the proem to his philosophical treatise, also seems to mention the house of Nyx, referring to "the gates of the ways of Night and Day", in an appropriation of Hesiod's description of the alternation of Nyx and Hemera;[64] according to Walter Burkert, he apparently also considered the Heliades to have lived in the house of Night.[65]

Various descriptions of Nyx can be found in 5th century BC tragedy. Euripides, in his play Ion, describes her as being "robed in black", and her chariot as being pulled by two horses.[66] He reports that she prepares her chariot as Helios finishes his journey across the sky at the end of the day, and that the stars are her companions in her course through the sky.[67] In a fragment from his Andromeda, he refers to her driving her chariot through Olympus,[68] while in his Orestes, he describes her as having wings,[69] and reports that she has her abode in Erebus.[70] Aeschylus describes her as having a robe which is black and "studded with colourful stars",[71] and refers to her "dark chariot",[72] while a fragment of Sophocles mentions the "springs of Night", which are located in the north.[73]

According to the Christian writer Irenaeus, Night featured in a cosmogony given by the playwright Antiphanes (4th century BC), in his play Theogony. In the work, Night is described as the first god to exist alongside Silence, and from these two comes Chaos. Then, from Night and Chaos springs Eros (Love), from whom comes Light and the first generation of the gods.[74] According to Philodemus, writing in his De pietate, Night also appeared in the first book of the Physics by the Stoic philosopher Chrysippus, where she is considered to be the "first goddess".[75]

Apollonius of Rhodes (3rd century BC), in the Argonautica, relates that the Eridanus river "ris[es] from the end of the earth, where the gates and precincts of Night are located",[76] apparently considering Nyx to have lived inside the Earth.[77] He also describes her as "putting the yoke on her horses" as the sun is setting,[78] while Theocritus (3rd century BC) mentions the stars as the "attendants at the chariot of quiet Night".[79]

Late[edit]

Nyx depicted in the Paris Psalter, a 10th-century Greek manuscript, National Library of France.

Nox, the Roman equivalent of Nyx, is given various descriptions in the works of Roman poets. In Virgil's Aeneid (1st century BC) she seems to have lived in the underworld,[80] and drives her chariot across the sky,[81] while Tibullus (1st century BC) describes her chariot as being pulled by four horses,[82] and relates that the Stars come behind her in her journey, with Sleep following after them.[83] In the Thebaid, Statius reports that Sleep is her "charioteer",[84] while Ovid, in his Fasti, describes her as wearing a "wreath of poppy" around her head.[85]

Nonnus (5th century AD), in his Dionysiaca, relates that Hera asks the goddess Iris to seek out Hypnos, and enlist his help by promising him the hand of Pasithea in marriage, and to do so in "the ugly form of Sleep's mother the blackgirdled goddess Night".[86] In the speech in which Iris convinces Hypnos,[87] she (as Nyx) refers to Gaia as her "father's age-mate", apparently meaning that Nonnus considered Nyx to have been produced from Chaos, as she is in the Theogony.[88]

According to Pindar, the Nereid Thetis receives the attention of both Poseidon and Zeus, until the two gods hear of a prophecy from the Titan Themis, who warns them that any son Thetis produces will be greater in power than his father.[89] According to one variant of the story, however, it is Nyx instead of Themis who delivers this prophecy to the two gods.[90]

Orphic[edit]

Nyx, or Night, plays an important role in a number of works attributed to the legendary poet Orpheus, which are referred to as "Orphic"; few of such works are extant, however, with most surviving only in fragments from other authors. Among these fragmentary works are several theogonies, which present accounts of the origin of the gods, as does Hesiod's Theogony. Of these works, Night is known to have featured prominently in the so called "Eudemian Theogony", the "Derveni Theogony", and the "Rhapsodic Theogony" (or "Rhapsodies"), and may have possibly also been present in the "Hieronyman Theogony".

An ancient theogony?[edit]

Several passages from early authors, which seem to be Orphic in influence, have been taken as evidence of the existence of an "old" or "ancient" Orphic theogony, in which Night was one of the earliest figures.[91] The earliest of these is a passage from Aristophanes' comedy The Birds (414 BC), which presents a parody of a cosmogony, often considered to have been derived from an Orphic theogony.[92] Night is described as one the first beings to come into existence, alongside Chaos, Erebus and Tartarus, and lays a "wind-egg" from which Eros is born:[93]

In the beginning were Chaos and Night and black Erebus and broad Tartarus, and no Earth, Air, or Sky. And in the boundless bosom of Erebus did black-winged Night at the very start bring forth a wind egg, from which as the seasons revolved came forth Eros the seductive, like to swift whirlwinds, his back aglitter with wings of gold.[94]

A passage from Euripides' play Hypsipyle (performed c. 411–407) also makes reference to Night and other early deities, seemingly containing traces of an early Orphic theogony:[95]

O mistress ... of the gods ... inscrutable (light) ... first-born (in) mist (or heaven) ... Erôs willed, when (Night) ... and was nurtured then ... family of gods ...[96]

Several modern scholars have interpreted these fragments as evidence of an early Orphic theogony in which Night featured as one of the first deities. According to Luc Brisson, the cosmogony which Aristophanes parodies came from a work which he calls the "ancient version" (la version ancienne), which he sees as the earliest Orphic theogony. In this work, he believes that Night is, by herself, the first being to exist (a position she loses in later Orphic theogonies), and that she produces an egg from which comes Eros (as she does in Aristophanes' parody), from whom all things arise.[97] Alberto Bernabé [es] similarly sees these fragments as alluding to an "ancient" theogony (priscae Orphicae theogoniae) which centred around the birth of Eros from an egg, produced by "Chaos-Night".[98]

Eudemian Theogony[edit]

Night seems to have been considered the first deity in the earliest known Orphic cosmogonies.[99] The oldest Orphic theogony in which Night is known to have appeared is the Eudemian Theogony (5th century BC),[100] which receives its name from the philosopher Eudemus of Rhodes, a student of Aristotle, who spoke of an Orphic theogony in one of his works; this theogony was later referred to by the Neoplatonist Damascius, in his De Principiis (On First Principles), using Eudemus as his source.[101] The only piece of information known for certain about this theogony is that it started with Night;[102] as Damascius writes:

The theology described in the Peripatetic Eudemus as being that of Orpheus is silent about the entire realm of the intelligible for it is completely inexpressible and unknowable by the method of exposition and narration: it made its start from Night, from whom also Homer begins, although he did not make his genealogy continuous.[103]

Aristotle similarly refers to earlier authors who attributed an primordial role to Night, presumably commenting upon the same text as his pupil.[104] In his Metaphysics, he makes reference to theologians "who make Night parent of all",[105] and describes Night as being one of the deities who are placed as "the first" by "the ancient poets".[106] In addition, the Byzantine author John the Lydian writes in his De Mensibus that "three first beginnings of generation sprouted out, according to Orpheus: Night, Ge, and Ouranos",[107] a passage which scholars have seen as referring to the Eudemian Theogony.[108] Because of this, it has been proposed that Night, presumably on her own, is described as the mother of Uranus and Gaia in the work;[109] West takes this further, claiming that Night is the mother of Uranus and Gaia, and that they are the parents of Oceanus and Tethys, who produce the Titans.[110]

Derveni Theogony[edit]

Night also featured in the Derveni Theogony (4th century BC), an Orphic poem which is known through the commentary found on it in the Derveni papyrus.[111] In the work, Night was seemingly the first deity,[112] existing eternally before the creation of the cosmos, when the universe sat in a state of "cold and passive darkness".[113] In a surviving line from the poem, quoted in the Derveni papyrus, she is described as the mother of Uranus:[114]

Ouranos, son of Night, who was the first to become king[115]

It is unclear, however, whether or not there was a father, and, if there was, his identity: Bernabé argues that Night produces him without a partner (though this view has been criticised),[116] while other scholars have suggested that Aether may have been the father,[117] or Phanes.[118] Some have also added Gaia as the offspring of Night in the poem, alongside Uranus.[119]

In the work, Night was called the "immortal nurse of the gods" (as quoted in the Derveni papyrus),[120] and in its narrative she nurtures and gives shelter to the young Zeus.[121] Later in the poem, after Zeus overthrows his father Cronus and becomes king, he consults Night on how he can consolidate his rule.[122] She is described as she "who knows all the oracles", and delivers a prophecy to him from within her shrine (adyton); several reconstructed lines from the work describe this:

And Zeus [... came to the cave, where]
Night sat, immortal nurse of the gods, knowing all oracles
... to prophesy from the innermost shrine.
She prophesied all that it was permitted him to achieve,
how he would hold the lovely seat in snowy Olympus.[123]

After Zeus receives this prophecy from Night (and one from his father Cronus), he apparently swallows either the phallus of Uranus (or, as other have suggested, the body of Phanes).[124]

The role which Night plays in the Derveni Theogony has been compared to that which Gaia plays in Hesiod's Theogony.[125] It has pointed out that both are described as the mother of Uranus, and occupy a similar position at the beginning of creation, with Gaia being the second being to exist in the Theogony.[126] In addition, following the creation of world, rather than becoming rulers themselves, both deities remain present and occasionally offer guidance and assistance to younger generations.[127] The prophecy which Night delivers to Zeus, which causes him to swallow Phanes, has been compared to the prophecy Gaia and Uranus report to Zeus in the Theogony, which leads him to swallow his wife Metis.[128] In the Theogony, Zeus is also given to Gaia after his birth, which has been connected to the role Night plays in nurturing the young Zeus in his infancy.[129]

Hieronyman Theogony[edit]

Damascius, in his De Principiis, summarises another Orphic theogony, of which his knowledge comes from "Hieronymus" and "Hellanicus",[130] and has been named the "Hieronyman Theogony" (second century BC?).[131] In the work, Night is no longer the first deity to exist, losing that position to the figure of Chronos (Time).[132] While there are no surviving references to Night appearing in the work,[133] West includes her in his reconstruction, where she plays a role similar to that which she has in the later Rhapsodic Theogony.[134]

Cult[edit]

There was no known temple dedicated to Nyx, but statues are known to have been made of her and a few cult practices of her are mentioned. According to Pausanias, she had an oracle on the acropolis at Megara.[135] Pausanias wrote:

When you have ascended the citadel [of Megara], which even at the present day is called Karia (Caria) from Kar (Car), son of Phoroneus, you see a temple of Dionysos Nyktelios (Nyctelius, Nocturnal), a sanctuary built to Aphrodite Epistrophia (She who turns men to love), an oracle called that of Nyx (Night) and a temple of Zeus Konios (Cronius, Dusty) without a roof.[136]

More often, Nyx was worshipped in the background of other cults. Thus there was a statue called "Night" in the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus.[137] The Spartans had a cult of Sleep and Death, conceived of as twins.[138] Cult titles composed of compounds of nyx- are attested for several deities, most notably Dionysus Nyktelios "nocturnal"[139] and Aphrodite Philopannyx "who loves the whole night".[140]

Roman authors mentioned cult practices and wrote hymns in the honor of their equivalent goddess Nox (Night). Ovid wrote: "May 9 Lemuria Nefastus. You ancient rite will be performed, Nox Lemuria; here will be offerings to the mute dead",[141] and she is also mentioned by Statius:

O Nox . . . Ever shall this house throughout the circling periods of the year hold thee high in honour and in worship; black bulls of chosen beauty shall pay thee sacrifice [black animals were sacrificed to the chthonic gods], O goddess! And Vulcanus' [Hephaistos'] fire shall eat the lustral entrails, where-o'er the new milk streams.[142]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Ferrari, p. 40; Metropolitan Museum of Art 41.162.29.
  2. ^ Tripp, p. 624.
  3. ^ LSJ, s.v. νύξ.
  4. ^ Grimal, s.v. Nyx, p. 314.
  5. ^ Tripp, s.v. Nyx, p. 399; Peck, s.v. Nyx.
  6. ^ Gantz, p. 4; Hard, pp. 23–4; Hesiod, Theogony 123–5.
  7. ^ Gantz, pp. 4–5; Hesiod, Theogony 211–25. The translations used here are those given by Gantz.
  8. ^ Hesiod, Works and Days 17 (pp. 86, 87) (two Strifes, one a daughter of Night); Pausanias, 7.5.3 (two Nemeses daughters of Night); PMG 1018 (Page, p. 536) (Fates daughters of Nyx; see Gantz, p. 8); Seneca, Hercules 1066–9 (pp. 102, 103) (Sleep and Death sons of Night); Nonnus, Dionysiaca 31.117 (pp. 430, 431) (Sleep son of Night). The Roman authors Cicero and Hyginus provide Nox, the Roman counterpart of Nyx, with similar lists of offspring (see below).
  9. ^ Chrysanthou, p. 303; Fowler 2013, p. 8; Meisner, p. 92; Epimenides fr. 5 Diels, p. 190.
  10. ^ Fowler 2013, p. 6; Cook, p. 315 n. 4; West, p. 209 n. 106; Acusilaus, fr. 6c Fowler, pp. 6–7.
  11. ^ Fowler 2013, pp. 5–6; Brill's New Pauly, s.v. Nyx; Acusilaus, fr. 6b Fowler, p. 6.
  12. ^ Bacchylides, Victory Odes 7.1–2 (pp. 156, 157).
  13. ^ Gantz, p. 26; Bacchylides, fr. 1B Campbell, pp. 252–5 [= Scholia on Apollonius of Rhodes, 3.467 (Wendel, p. 233)] [= P. Oxy. 2366.3–8].
  14. ^ Gantz, p. 13; Aeschylus, Eumenides 321–2 (pp. 394, 395), 416 (pp. 394, 395), 791–2 (pp. 454, 455), 821–2 (pp. 456, 457), 1034 (pp. 482, 483). According to Sommerstein, p. 395 n. 82 to line 322, Aeschylus seemingly identifies the Erinyes with the Keres, who are daughters of Nyx in Hesiod. See also Lycophron, Alexandra 437 (pp. 356, 357).
  15. ^ Parada, p. 110; Keightley, p. 44; Euripides, Herakles 823 (pp. 386, 387) (daughter of Night), 834 (pp. 388, 389) (daughter of Night), 844 (pp. 388, 389) (daughter of Night and Heaven).
  16. ^ Orphic fr. 10 Bernabé (p. 21) [= Derveni papyrus, col. 14.6 (Kouremenos, Parássoglou and Tsantsanoglou, pp. 133)]. There is debate surrounding whether there was a father, and his identity. Bernabé and Cristobal, p. 88 argue that there was no father, while Almqvist, p. 87 has doubted this. Betegh, p. 336 considers Aether to be the father, while Almqvist, p. 88 suggests he is Phanes. In an earlier account, in which Nyx is also described as the first deity, it has been proposed that she is the mother of the same children; see Meisner, p. 95; Betegh, p. 147; West, pp. 117–9.
  17. ^ West, p. 70; Meisner, pp. 168–9; Orphic frr. 149 (p. 146), 174 (p. 158) Bernabé.
  18. ^ See Betegh, pp. 148–9; Chrysanthou, pp. 301–3.
  19. ^ Hard, p. 25; Aristophanes, Birds 693–9.
  20. ^ Morand, p. 331; Orphic Hymn to the Stars (7), 3 (Athanassakis and Wolkow, p. 9).
  21. ^ Meisner, p. 172; Smith, s.v. Nyx; Orphic Argonautica, 14–5 (Vian, p. 75).
  22. ^ Cicero, De Natura Deorum 3.44 (pp. 328, 329).
  23. ^ Fontenrose, pp. 222–3; Hyginus, Fabulae Theogony 1 (Smith and Trzaskoma, p. 95; Latin text). According to Fontenrose, this genealogy may be derived from Eumelus (8th century BC), the author of the Titanomachia; so too Kovaleva, p. 143.
  24. ^ Hyginus, Fabulae Theogony 1 (Smith and Trzaskoma, p. 95; Latin text).
  25. ^ Virgil, Aeneid 6.250, 7.323–332, 12.845–6; Ovid, Metamorphoses 4.451–2 (pp. 210, 211).
  26. ^ Quintus Smyrnaeus, Posthomerica 2.625–6; see also Aeschylus, Agamemnon 265, which calls Night the mother of Dawn.
  27. ^ Hard, p. 46.
  28. ^ Smith, s.v. Moira; Tzetzes on Lycophron's Alexandra, 406 (pp. 584–6).
  29. ^ Kouremenos, Parássoglou and Tsantsanoglou, p. 186; Hesiod, Theogony 744–59.
  30. ^ Pucci, pp. 182–3; Gantz, p. 5; Hard, p. 25; Homer, Iliad 14.231–61.
  31. ^ Homer, Iliad 14.231–41.
  32. ^ Homer, Iliad 14.242–55.
  33. ^ Homer, Iliad 14.56–61. The translation quoted here is that given by Lattimore, p. 301. According to Janko, p. 193 on lines 256–61, she likely saves him by making him invisible. Keightley, p. 45 sees no reason to believe that Hypnos is Nyx's daughter in this account, and also states "[t]he dwelling of both would seem to be on Olympos".
  34. ^ Meisner, p. 168.
  35. ^ West, p. 71; Orphic frr. 98 III (p. 106), IV (p. 106) Bernabé. West, pp. 234–5 characterises the reign of Nyx as "entirely eventless".
  36. ^ Meisner, pp. 205–6; West, p. 71.
  37. ^ Meisner, pp. 202, 203, 206.
  38. ^ Chrysanthou, p. 311; West, p. 71.
  39. ^ Meisner, pp. 169, 216–7; Edmonds, p. 234.
  40. ^ Meisner, pp. 169, 203, 222. It is unclear whether this consultation with Nyx is a separate one to that in which he asks her how he can overthrow his father; see Meisner, p. 221.
  41. ^ Meisner, p. 208.
  42. ^ Smith, s.v. Nyx; Homer, Iliad 14.259, 14.261. The translation quoted here is that given by Lattimore, p. 301.
  43. ^ West, p. 120; Meisner, p. 99; see also Kirk, Raven and Schofield, p. 17. For Oceanus and Tethys as primeval parents, see Fowler 2013, p. 11; West, pp. 119–20.
  44. ^ Pucci, p. 183 n. 75. Pucci suggests "an earlier Gigantomachy or Herakleia" as candidates.
  45. ^ Hard, p. 21.
  46. ^ Gantz, p. 4; Betegh, p. 169.
  47. ^ Almqvist, p. 37; Caldwell, p. 6; see also Hard, p. 24.
  48. ^ Hesiod, Theogony 123–5.
  49. ^ Almqvist, p. 37; Hesiod, Theogony 211–25.
  50. ^ Hard, p. 26.
  51. ^ Keightley, p. 45; Grimal, s.v. Nyx, p. 314; Gantz, pp. 5, 129; Hesiod, Theogony 274–6.
  52. ^ Keightley, p. 45.
  53. ^ Gantz, pp. 127, 129. Hesiod, Theogony 744–5.
  54. ^ Gantz, pp. 5, 127, 129; Hesiod, Theogony 746–8, 758–9.
  55. ^ Hesiod, Theogony 756–7.
  56. ^ Fowler 2013, p. 7; Gantz, p. 2; Musaeus fr. 14 Diels, pp. 182–3 [= fr. 81 Bernabé (II.2 p. 40) = Philodemus, De pietate 47 (Obbink, p. 351)].
  57. ^ Fowler 2013, p. 7; Epimenides fr. 5 Diels, p. 190 [= fr. 46 II Bernabé (II.2 p. 154) = BNJ 457 F4a = Philodemus, De pietate 47 (Obbink, p. 351)]. The translation used here is that given by Obbink. According to Fowler, in his placement of Night, Epimenides' "inspiration surely came from Orphic theogony".
  58. ^ Fowler 2013, p. 8; Chrysanthou, p. 303; Meisner, p. 92; Epimenides, fr. 5 Diels, p. 190 [= fr. 46 I Bernabé (II.2 pp. 153–4) = BNJ 457 F4a = Damascius, De Principiis 124]. According to Fowler, Tartarus produces the two Titans either by a mother who "would have to be Night", or, alternatively, without a mother. The identity of the two Titans is also unclear; Fowler suggests Cronus and Rhea, and Oceanus and Tethys as possibilities.
  59. ^ Philodemus, De pietate 47 (Obbink, p. 351).
  60. ^ Fowler 2013, pp. 5–6; Cook, p. 315 n. 4; Acusilaus, fr. 6b Fowler, p. 6 [= Damascius, De Principiis 124].
  61. ^ Fowler 2013, p. 6; West, p. 209 n. 106; Acusilaus, fr. 6c Fowler, pp. 6–7 [= Scholia on Theocritus, Idylls 13.1/2c (Wendel, p. 258)].
  62. ^ Brill's New Pauly, s.v. Nyx; Keightley, p. 45; Alcman, fr. 90 Campbell, pp. 456, 457 [= PMG 90 (Page, p. 60) = Scholia on Sophocles' Oedipus at Colonus, 1248 (Xenis, pp. 195–6)]. The scholiast mistakenly claims that the mountains are located in the far west; see Bolton, p. 187 n. 4 to p. 41.
  63. ^ Keightley, pp. 45, 48, 49; Stesichorus, fr. 17 Campbell, pp. 78, 79 [= PMG 185 (Page, pp. 100–1) = Athenaeus, Deipnosophists 11.469e (pp. 276–9)].
  64. ^ Miller, p. 220; Parmenides, fr. 1.11 Kirk, Raven and Schofield, pp. 242–3. The translation used here is that given by Miller.
  65. ^ Burkert, pp. 93, 95–6, 100; see Parmenides, fr. 1.9 Kirk, Raven and Schofield, pp. 242–3: "the daughters of the Sun made haste to escort me, having left the halls of Night". Burkert points to Stesichorus, fr. 17 Campbell, pp. 78, 79 (see above), which states that once Helios reaches the "depths of holy, dark night", he will see "his mother and wedded wife and dear children", as attestation of this elsewhere.
  66. ^ Euripides, Ion 1150–1 (pp. 456, 457).
  67. ^ Smith, s.v. Nyx; Euripides, Ion 1149–51 (pp. 456, 457).
  68. ^ Keightley, p. 45; Euripides, Andromeda fr. 114 Collard and Cropp, pp. 132, 133; see also Aristophanes, Thesmophoriazusae 1065–9.
  69. ^ Smith, s.v. Nyx; Euripides, Orestes 176 (p. 430, 431); see also Anonymous fr. 929g Campbell, pp. 324, 325.
  70. ^ Brill's New Pauly, s.v. Nyx; Euripides, Orestes 176 (p. 430, 431).
  71. ^ Brill's New Pauly, s.v. Nyx.
  72. ^ Keightley, p. 45.
  73. ^ Keightley, p. 45.
  74. ^ Santamaría, pp. 377–8; Antiphanes, PCG 104 (Kassel and Austin, pp. 366–7) [= Irenaeus, Against Heresies 2.14.1]. According to Santamaría pp. 378–9, Silence may have been an invention on the part of Antiphanes, though he also suggests that the figure may not have been present in Antiphanes' original account, and that the first god alongside Night was instead Tartarus or Erebus, with Irenaeus later inserting the figure of Silence in their place in his retelling.
  75. ^ Meisner, pp. 95–6; Betegh, p. 154; Chrysippus, SVF 636 (Arnim, p. 192) [= Philodemus, De pietate 14]. According to Meisner, while this fragment has been considered Orphic, "there is no compelling reason" to believe Chrysippus' source was an Orphic theogony. Bremmer 2008, p. 5 n. 23 states that the genealogy later given by Cicero (see above) "probably refers to this text".
  76. ^ Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica 4.629–30 (pp. 378, 379).
  77. ^ Keightley, p. 45; cf. Race, p. 379 n. 84: "In the far west".
  78. ^ Keightley, p. 45; Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica 3.1193 (pp. 310, 311).
  79. ^ Keightley, p. 45; Theocritus, Idylls 2.166 (pp. 56, 57).
  80. ^ Smith, s.v. Nyx; Virgil, Aeneid 6.390 (pp. 558–61).
  81. ^ Virgil, Aeneid 5.721 (pp. 520, 521).
  82. ^ Tibullus, 3.4.17 (pp. 294, 295).
  83. ^ Tibullus, 2.1.87–90 (pp. 258, 259).
  84. ^ Keightley, p. 46; Statius, Thebaid 2.59–60 (pp. 98, 99). Cf. Brill's New Pauly, s.v. Nyx, which calls him her "coachman".
  85. ^ Brill's New Pauly, s.v. Nyx; Ovid, Fasti 661–2 (pp. 236, 237).
  86. ^ Verhelst, p. 56; Nonnus, Dionysiaca 31.110–96 (pp. 430–7). Verhelst compares this to the story in the Iliad in which Hera tries to convince Hypnos (see above).
  87. ^ For a discussion of this speech, see Verhelst, pp. 56–61.
  88. ^ Rouse, p. 435 note c to 31.176; Nonnus, Dionysiaca 31.176 (pp. 434, 435).
  89. ^ Hard, p. 52.
  90. ^ Hard, pp. 25–6; Westermann, p. 379.
  91. ^ Bernabé 2004, pp. 72–3, p. 73 on fr. 64, p. 74 on fr. 65; Bernabé and Casadesús, pp. 295–6; Bernabé 2007, p. 128; Brisson 1995, pp. 3–4, I pp. 390–2, III pp. 38–9, IV pp. 2876–7; Calame, pp. 236–7; see also West, pp. 111–2.
  92. ^ Brisson 1995, pp. 3–4, I pp. 390–1, III pp. 38–9, IV pp. 2876–7; Bernabé 2004, p. 73 on fr. 64; Bernabé 2007, p. 128; see also West, p. 111. For discussions of whether Aristophanes' source is an Orphic theogony, see Betegh, pp. 148–9; Chrysanthou, pp. 301–3; Meisner, pp. 89, 92–4. Chrysanthou, p. 303 suggests that his source is Epimenides, but says it is "more probable that [he] has in mind an Orphic Theogony", while Betegh, p. 149 states that it is most likely he "created a comic pastiche of different theogonies".
  93. ^ Brisson 1995, pp. 3–4. The meaning of the term "wind-egg" here is not clear; see Meisner, pp. 89–90. Bremmer 2008, p. 15 (following Dunbar) states that it likely indicates that Night gives rise to the egg pathogenetically.
  94. ^ Aristophanes, The Birds 693–9 (pp. 116, 117) [= Orphic fr. 64V Bernabé (pp. 73–5) = fr. 1 Kern, p. 80].
  95. ^ Bernabé 2004, p. 74 on fr. 65; Calame, p. 232; Chrysanthou, p. 305; Bremmer 2011, p. 5; see also West, p. 112.
  96. ^ Euripides Hypsipyle fr. 758a.1103–8 Collard and Cropp, pp. 304, 305 [= Orphic fr. 65V Bernabé (pp. 75–7) = fr. 2 Kern, p. 81].
  97. ^ Brisson, pp. 3–4, I pp. 390–2, III pp. 38–9, IV pp. 2876–7.
  98. ^ Bernabé 2004, p. 72; Bernabé and Casadesús, pp. 295–6; Bernabé 2007, pp. 128–9.
  99. ^ Edmonds, p. 228.
  100. ^ Meisner, p. 1.
  101. ^ Meisner, p. 87; Orphic fr. 20 I Bernabé (p. 35) [= Eudemus fr. 150 Wehrli = Damascius, De Principiis 124].
  102. ^ Edmonds, p. 228; Betegh, p. 146.
  103. ^ Damascius, De Principiis 124 [= Orphic fr. 20 I Bernabé (p. 35)]. The translation used here is that given by Betegh, p. 146.
  104. ^ Bernabé 2008, p. 35 on fr. 20.
  105. ^ Meisner, p. 94; Fowler, p. 13; Orphic fr. 20 II Bernabé (p. 35) [= fr. 24 Kern = Aristotle, Metaphysics 1071b 26]. The translation used here is that given by Fowler.
  106. ^ Meisner, p. 94; Orphic fr. 20 IV Bernabé (p. 35) [= Aristotle, Metaphysics 1091b 4]; see also Orphic fr. 20 III Bernabé (p. 35) [= Aristotle, Metaphysics 1072a 7].
  107. ^ Meisner, p. 95; Orphic fr. 20 V (p. 35) [= fr. 28a Kern = John the Lydian, De Mensibus 2.8].
  108. ^ Meisner, p. 95.
  109. ^ Meisner, p. 95; Alderink, p. 37, table 3.
  110. ^ West, pp. 117–9. West takes this genealogy from Plato, Timaeus 40e (pp. 86, 87) [= fr. 21 Bernabé (p. 36) = fr. 16 Kern], which contains the same sequence of generations, excluding Night. West explains the absence of Night from the passage by arguing that in the Timaeus "night cannot be a god, being merely something produced by the earth's shadow and a unit of time".
  111. ^ Meisner, p. 1.
  112. ^ Meisner, p. 37; Bernabé 2018, p. 350; Brisson 1995, I pp. 399–400; cf. West, p. 86, who considers Phanes to have been the first deity.
  113. ^ Bernabé 2018, p. 350.
  114. ^ Bernabé 2018, p. 350; Meisner, p. 70.
  115. ^ Orphic fr. 10 I Bernabé (p. 21) [= Derveni papyrus, col. 14.6 (Kouremenos, Parássoglou, and Tsantsanoglou, pp. 133)]. The translation used here is that given by Meisner, p. 70.
  116. ^ Bernabé and Cristobal, p. 88 argue that the use of the matronymic Οὐρανὸς Εὐφρονίδης ("son of Night") in reference to Uranus precludes the existence of a father; Almqvist, p. 87, however, is sceptical of this.
  117. ^ Betegh, p. 336.
  118. ^ Almqvist, p. 88.
  119. ^ Betegh, p. 336.
  120. ^ Meisner, p. 82; Orphic fr. 6 I Bernabé (p. 16) [= Derveni papyrus, col. 10.9–12 (Kouremenos, Parássoglou and Tsantsanoglou, pp. 80–1)].
  121. ^ Betegh, p. 207
  122. ^ Meisner, p. 68.
  123. ^ Bernabé 2007, pp. 104–5; Orphic fr. 6 Bernabé (pp. 16–7).
  124. ^ Meisner, pp. 69, 71. Bernabé 2007, pp. 107–8 and Betegh, p. 121 see it as Uranus' phallus which Zeus swallows, while West, pp. 86–8 takes it to be the body of Phanes.
  125. ^ Edmonds, pp. 228–9; Almqvist, p. 87; Betegh, p. 168; West, p. 87; Santamaría, p. 375.
  126. ^ Betegh, p. 168; Almqvist, p. 87. Gaia is described as coming into existence after only Chaos, and produces Uranus without a father; see Hesiod, Theogony 117, 126–7.
  127. ^ Edmonds, p. 228–9.
  128. ^ West, pp. 87–8; Betegh, p. 146. For the prophecy delivered by Gaia and Uranus, see Hesiod, Theogony 886–900.
  129. ^ Betegh, p. 146; see also Almqvist, p. 87. For Gaia being given the newborn Zeus, see Hesiod, Theogony 479.
  130. ^ Meisner, pp. 119, 122.
  131. ^ Meisner, p. 1.
  132. ^ Meisner, p. 120. Brisson believes that this change is a result of the influence of Mithraism; see Meisner, p. 16 n. 48.
  133. ^ Betegh, p. 146 with n. 67; Meisner, p. 181.
  134. ^ West, p. 208; Betegh, p. 146 n. 67.
  135. ^ Pausanias, 1.40.1
  136. ^ Pausanias, 1.40.6
  137. ^ Pausanias, 10.38.6
  138. ^ Pausanias, 3.18.1
  139. ^ Pausanias, 1.40.6
  140. ^ Orphic Hymn 55 to Aphrodite 3 (Athanassakis & Wolkow, p. 46).
  141. ^ Ovid, Fasti 5.421–422 (trans.Boyle)
  142. ^ Thebaid 1. 497 ff (trans. Mozley)

References[edit]

External links[edit]

  • Media related to Nyx at Wikimedia Commons
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