Hypnos Hypnos In Greek mythology, Hypnos (; , "sleep") is the personification of sleep; the Roman equivalent is known as Somnus. In the Greek mythology, Hypnos is the son of Nyx ("The Night") and Erebus ("The Darkness"). His brother is Thanatos ("Death"). Both siblings live in the underworld ("Hades") or in Erebus, another valley of the Greek underworld. According to rumors, Hypnos lived in a big cave, which the river Lethe ("Forgetfulness") comes from and where night and day meet. His bed is made of ebony, on the entrance of the cave grow a number of poppies and other hypnotic plants.
Bronze Head of Hypnos from Civitella d'Arna and poppies in his hands. Sculptural images of Hypnos are unusual, and only a handful of similar statues are known in Western Europe. The bronze head was originally discovered in the small Umbrian town of Civitella d'Arna. Little is known of the circumstances of the find until it became part of the Castellani Collection. The British Museum purchased the bronze sculpture, along with other parts of the collection, in 1868. Bronze Head of Hypnos from Civitella d'Arna The Bronze Head of Hypnos is a Roman copy of an ancient Greek statue found at Civitella d'Arna near Perugia in central Italy.